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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..3544da3 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #62442 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/62442) diff --git a/old/62442-0.txt b/old/62442-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 647e0c8..0000000 --- a/old/62442-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6673 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Greycliff Wings, by Harriet Pyne Grove - -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: Greycliff Wings - -Author: Harriet Pyne Grove - -Release Date: June 21, 2020 [EBook #62442] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GREYCLIFF WINGS *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - -Greycliff Wings - - - - -[Illustration: - “Listen, girls,” said Pauline, “there’s the plane right over us.” - - “The Nighthawk,” said Isabel. “Why, there’s something the matter; - it’s coming down!” -] - - - - -GREYCLIFF WINGS - -By HARRIET PYNE GROVE - -Author of - “Cathalina at Greycliff,” “The Girls of Greycliff,” - “The Greycliff Girls in Camp,” “Greycliff Heroines.” - -A. L. BURT COMPANY - -Publishers, New York - - - - -THE RADIO BOYS SERIES - -A SERIES OF STORIES FOR BOYS OF ALL AGES - -By GERALD BRECKENRIDGE - - The Radio Boys on the Mexican Border - The Radio Boys on Secret Service Duty - The Radio Boys with the Revenue Guards - The Radio Boys Search for the Inca’s Treasure - The Radio Boys Rescue the Lost Alaska Expedition - The Radio Boys Seek the Lost Atlantis - The Radio Boys In Darkest Africa - -Copyright, 1923 - -By A. L. BURT COMPANY - -THE RADIO BOYS IN DARKEST AFRICA - -Made in “U. S. A.” - - - - -CHAPTER I: A SENIOR PICNIC AND WHITE WINGS - - -Deepest of sapphire skies, freshest of air, most sparkling of lake -waters greeted the senior collegiates, dignified by their position at -the head of the school, on their first picnic of the year. By ones, -twos, threes and more, they added to the company which sought seats upon -the dancing _Greycliff_, freshly painted during the summer, the black -letters of the name showing clearly against a pearl-grey side. The -starry-eyed Eloise Winthrop, her dark locks done up in a new way, looked -prettier than ever, as she stood up and waved wildly to Cathalina Van -Buskirk and Lilian North, who were just climbing into the launch. - -“This way, girls!” she called. “Here’s Betty,—and Hilary and Pauline!” - -“Cathalina and Lilian are getting to look like sisters,” said Pauline. - -“It is more their manner,” said Eloise, “and Lilian dresses more like -Cathalina now that she lives in New York. Their features are not alike. -Lilian’s look like a cameo. How much older she looks with her hair up, -in that way too. Cathalina is still our little dreamer,—isn’t she -lovely!” - -“Being engaged had made Lilian seem older,” said Pauline. “I noticed it -last year when she came back after Christmas, even before she wore her -ring. Where _is_ Cathalina’s brother now? Do you know, Hilary?” - -“Yes. He and his cousin, Campbell Stuart, and Robert Paget, Philip’s -other chum, have all been sent to a Southern camp to train recruits. -They are lieutenants or something. You know they were at a military -school before they went to the university for their last years.” - -“Ah, Hilary Lancaster,—I might have known that you would know all about -it. There’s Helen Paget now. Robert is her cousin, isn’t he?” - -“Yes, Miss Tracy,” replied Hilary, pretending to be distant because of -Pauline’s implied reference to Hilary’s interest in Campbell Stuart. - -Lilian and Cathalina had stopped to chat a moment with Isabel Hunt and -Virginia Hope, two juniors, who had come down to the beach to see them -off. The sun fell on Lilian’s gold locks and Cathalina’s light brown -ones as they leaned over the side of the boat talking. Neither girl wore -a hat, but each had a silk scarf around her neck to tie over flying hair -if the wind proved too troublesome. - -“Why didn’t we have a senior-junior affair, Isabel,” Lilian was saying, -“So you and Virgie could come along?” - -“Couldn’t overload the _Greycliff_,” replied Isabel. “Now if it looks -like a storm don’t start back in a hurry,” warned she. “I don’t want to -walk the floor the way I did two years ago on the night of the wreck!” - -“No danger, is there, Mickey,” replied Cathalina, looking at the -ubiquitous and efficient Mickey, who was stowing away various -impedimenta in the little cabin of the _Greycliff_. Mickey was still the -chief life-saver and mainstay of Greycliff school in more lines than -one. - -“The weather’s goin’ to be foine,” replied Mickey, without much -enthusiasm, for he was used to the ways of girls. “And oime goin’ meself -this trip.” - -“Thanks, Mickey. An awful load is off my mind. Goodbye, girls, have a -good time.” - -“Sit here, Cathalina and Lilian, do!” invited Juliet Howe and Helen -Paget, as the girls passed them, and pointed to two seats near. - -“Yes, do,” seconded Diane Percy, moving along to make room. - -“Aren’t you nice—” said Cathalina patting Diane’s red cheeks lightly as -she edged her way on, “but the girls are saving seats for us, you see. -How does it happen that you are not with your room-mates?” she -continued, looking at Juliet and Helen. - -“O, we thought that Pauline and Eloise needed a rest,” said Juliet, with -a laugh. “We still speak to each other, however.” - -There had been some changes in the matter of room-mates, but the -personnel of “Lakeview Suite,” so long the headquarters of Hilary -Lancaster, Betty Barnes, Cathalina Van Buskirk and Lilian North, was -unchanged. The neighboring suite, occupied by Juliet and Pauline, Eloise -and Helen, had also earned a name, but the girls were as yet uncertain -what to call it, though as Pauline said it was high time they called it -something before their last year at Greycliff should be over. When they -were making out their schedules of study for the year, Eloise had -suggested that it be called the “Labor Union,” but that name was -scornfully rejected as not inspirational enough. As Helen was now -president of the Psyche Club, Cathalina had suggested that the suite be -called the Olympic Portal, or O. P., and while the girls had also -rejected this name, she and Betty sometimes referred to the suite as the -“O. P.” - -Cathalina and Lilian finally settled themselves, Cathalina by Betty, -still her room-mate, and Lilian by Eloise, for Lilian had brought her -guitar and hastened to get it out of its case. Eloise was already -strumming upon her ukulele, and rose to look around for anyone else who -had one. But the other girls had either forgotten their instruments or -had not wanted to bother with them. - -“Start ’em off, Hilary,” said Lilian to her room-mate. “I can’t lead and -play too, and neither can Eloise.” - -Hilary obediently started the Greycliff songs and some of the war songs -so popular then, for the girls never started anywhere upon the water -without singing. “The Long, Long Trail,” “Tipperary,” and “Keep the Home -Fires Burning,” followed in due order after the Greycliff songs, and -Eloise and Lilian sang “I May Be Gone For a Long, Long Time,” which -Lilian had brought with her from New York. It was comparatively new to -the girls, but one after the other joined, as the catchy tune was -supplemented by the chords and “plunks” of guitar and ukulele. Lilian -was in a gay humor, for she had just received a bright letter from Phil, -who complained that he supposed he would be kept training in this -country till the end of the war, but told of many funny experiences, and -the fact that he might be in America for some time to come was of much -relief to both Lilian and Cathalina. - -“Why, where are you _going_, Mickey?” asked one of the girls in -surprise, as she saw that they were going out in the open lake far -beyond where they usually turned toward the famous old “Island.” This -could now be seen at their left in the distance. - -“Oi have a surprise fur ye,” said Mickey, turning the wheel a little. -“Wait a minute an’ ye can see a little flag on the shore. The trustees -has bought a new playground for ye, where there ain’t no rocks.” - -Great surprise and pleasure was evident on the faces of all the girls -who could hear what Mickey said, and the word was passed around to the -others. They all watched with interest, while the boat chugged on, -several miles further on, and then turned nearer shore, toward a sandy -beach and a new dock. As they approached, several gulls which had been -perching there spread their wings and flew away. “Oh,” exclaimed Lilian, -“this ought to be called ‘White Wings.’ Look at the terns fishing out -there!” - -“It does seem to be a regular feeding place for the birds,” said Hilary -with great interest. “Of course, the wings are not all white, really,” -she added. - -“But they look so,” insisted Lilian. “Have they named the place, -Mickey?” - -“No, m’am, not as I know of,” replied Mickey. - -“I’ll write it up, then, for the _Greycliff Star_,” said Lilian who, as -chief editor this year was always looking for “copy,”—“and call it -‘White Wings,’ and perhaps the name will stick to it.” - -Carefully the _Greycliff_ was docked and the girls helped carry the -lunch ashore, hurrying toward a pretty little summer house which Mickey -pointed out to them. It stood back among the trees and was screened, -with a floor and picnic tables. - -“Hurrah!” exclaimed Betty, “no mosquitoes or bugs at our meals. -Blessings on the Greycliff trustees!” - -“Let’s ask Miss Perin about it,” suggested Hilary. “She did not look the -least bit surprised when Mickey was telling about it, and has probably -heard all about it at faculty meeting.” - -“All right,” replied Betty,—“isn’t it the funniest thing not to have -Miss West for chaperone? We always used to ask for her. I had the shock -of my life not to find her here.” - -“Our dear ‘Patty’ is getting married about now, I suppose,” said Hilary. -“Dr. Norris, I mean Lieutenant Norris, was to have leave of absence and -they were to be married this week. But Patty is coming back here as soon -as he leaves for France.” - -“When will that be?” - -“Nobody knows.” - -“There is Miss Perin now. Ask her, Hilary.” - -The girls joined their young chaperone, who was taking Miss West’s -place, with English and Latin classes, at Greycliff. - -“Yes,” Miss Perin replied, in answer to Hilary’s question, “this is a -farm which was willed to Greycliff and they came into possession of it -this past summer. The beach was so fine that they decided to make a new -picnic place for the girls of the school, and they rented the farm to a -man who is supposed to keep an eye on this part of the grounds as well. -They say that they were able to secure a real scientific farmer to run -the place because he wanted to experiment with a hydroplane here. He has -one or two helpers that are very good and the trustees got him for a -very reasonable price to furnish certain things to the school. It gives -him a convenient market, too.” - -The girls scattered about the beautiful place to see what was there. The -“picnic grounds” proper were out upon a point or peninsula where the -little screened house had been erected, with a small boat house and -another building which proved to be an ice house. Easy enough was it to -get a supply of ice to last over the summer. Grounds stretched out to -left and right toward the lake, and on the right hand was a little bay, -an ideal place for the experiments with hydroplanes. Another small dock -was here. - -Leaving the picnic point behind, the girls crossed a little road to the -farm proper, where the usual farm-house and other buildings were -located. There seemed to have been an old log house as the original -home. This stood back upon a rise of ground, while some distance to the -side and front of it was a modern farm-house, a large barn and silo -still further over. Back of the bay were open fields. A vineyard of -well-trained grape-vines was on a slope and stretched for quite a -distance. A big orchard and a pretty stretch of woodland attracted the -bird lovers, who ran up the slope to investigate. - -Betty and Cathalina were together. Although Lilian loved Cathalina -dearly, and for Phil’s sake now as well as her own, still Hilary, her -room-mate, was her chief confidante whenever they were within reach of -each other. And Hilary had visited Lilian during the summer, enjoying a -little of the time with her own as yet undeclared lover, Campbell -Stuart, cousin to Cathalina and Philip Van Buskirk. It was plain to all -what Campbell thought of Hilary, but he thought that she should be free -until after the war. Lilian and Philip, on the other hand, were openly -engaged, and by common consent were permitted to enjoy each other’s -society in the few days they had together. The Norths had moved further -out, for the judge felt too cramped in the apartment to which they had -first moved when they went to New York. - -Both Lilian and Hilary were lingering near the bay to discuss matters -pertaining to their future, while Cathalina suggested to Betty that they -go through the rows of vines to reach the woods. They did so, but paused -to listen to a wren song. “That’s a Bewick wren, Cathalina,” said Betty. -“Take the glass and see if you can find him.” - -Betty handed the glass to Cathalina, and turning, saw a man who was -tying up one of the vines and had turned to look at her. Betty caught a -flashing look of recognition and then the man’s back was quickly turned. -Betty was instinctively on guard, and in even tones continued her low -conversation with Cathalina. “Do you get it, Cathalina?” - -“Yes, Betty. _You_ look now. It is on that low bush. See?” - -The girls satisfied themselves in regard to the wren and went on up the -slope toward the old log house, on whose step they sat down to look over -the whole place with their field glass, for they had decided that one -was enough to bring on a picnic. - -Betty glanced around to see if any one was within hearing. “I’ve -something to tell you,” she said. “Did you notice the man that was tying -up the vines as we came along?” - -“Why, yes, I believe I did see somebody, one of the hands, I suppose.” - -“Yes, and he gave me the funniest look and hurried to turn his back on -us. Now where have I seen those flashing eyes before? I certainly -haven’t any acquaintances like that!” - -“You have had some queer experiences, Bettina, for a timid little lady -like yourself. Think of your friend Captain Holley.” - -“I have it, Cathalina. Your suggestion fits. This is one of the men in -that boat, way back in our second year at Greycliff, there at that place -where afterwards Isabel and I heard somebody in the cave, you know, and -then saw Captain Holley come out, and the men carried away the box. You -remember that we went there once with Patty last year, but didn’t see -anything and were afraid to investigate much.” - -“Oh yes. You and Isabel told Dr. Norris or somebody about it, but I -guess nobody thought much about it.” - -“Everybody had too much to do. Do you suppose Captain Holley is still at -the military school? He’s an ‘enemy alien’ now.” - -“Yes, he is there. Louise is back, you know, and I heard her say that -her brother was coming over to dinner with her Sunday. Louise is a lot -nicer to the girls than she used to be, and I heard her say that she was -very unhappy to think that her country and her adopted country were at -war.” - -“Oh, well, let’s not think about them!” - -“I suppose this man is some one who lives around here. But it is funny -that he did not want you to look at him. It looks as if there were -something out of the way going on, that time at the cave.” - -“It does indeed! Isn’t there a pretty view from here? There come Hilary -and Lil. Let’s go on to the woods. The birds are in the fall migration -now, perhaps we’ll find something different. Think of it, Cathalina, -only one more beautiful spring here! Do you suppose we’ll like it as -well at college?” - -“It will be different. I don’t believe any place could be to us what -dear old Greycliff has been. I can’t realize yet that we are seniors. -Wouldn’t it be fine if they would add the two more years of a college -course?” - -“They don’t want that kind of a school here. Have you any idea where you -will go?” - -“Yes, in New York, but whether I get right into Columbia or not I don’t -know. Perhaps I’ll just take what I want. But mother wants me there. She -pretty nearly kept me at home this time. It is hard on her, you know, -with Philip away at camp. But Aunt Katherine was strong for having me -finish up this course here, and Father said, ‘Your Aunt Knickerbocker’s -idea of sending Cathalina to Greycliff worked out pretty well’!” - -“He usually calls her that, doesn’t he?” - -“Yes. Then Aunt Katherine reminded Mother that she would be head over -heels—she didn’t say that—in war work, and Mother is on about forty -committees more or less, so it was decided.” - -“How about little Cathalina? Didn’t she have any voice in the matter?” - -“Yes indeed. But I thought if Mother really needed me I would stay -without a word. I’ve been so upset in plans myself, as all of us have -been, and I thought I’d like to be where I’d see Phil if he is sent over -very soon. But they are to telegraph, and Lilian and I will go on. And -say, Betty, the last letter I had from Captain Van Horne said that it -will not be very long until the Rainbow Division goes over.” - -“Is he with that?” - -“Yes.” - -“Does he write often?” - -“Oh, no, not so very often,—not like Lilian and Phil, or Hilary and -Campbell. By the way, what was it you told me about Donald Hilton? I’ve -been on such a rush ever since we began school that I have a lot of -confused impressions about different things.” - -“Donald joined the marines! I never was so surprised.” - -“Why, did he know anything about the navy?” - -“Not a thing, but it seems he always has been crazy about ships and -things. You must read some of his letters,—they are so interesting.” - -“I’d love to, if you don’t mind.” - -“Oh, I always tell you anything flattering that he says in them anyway. -Do you ever hear from Bob Paget, or Lawrence Haverhill?” - -“Yes, both boys have written since I came here. Lawrence is in a -different camp, it seems, and is sorry not to be with the other boys.” - -“That was such a lovely house-party that we had last year, just a year -ago, after camp.” - -“The next one will probably be for Lil’s wedding, after the war.” - -“_Lil’s_ wedding?—and you Phil’s sister!” - -“Yes, the wedding is chiefly the bride’s, I guess. I wish I had another -brother or cousin for you, Betty, though the future Admiral Hilton -wouldn’t thank me for that, I suppose. But to have you ’way off in -Chicago!” - -“Don’t you think that we are going ahead just a little too fast, -Cathalina?” - -“I guess we are, especially if the war lasts for years and years!” - -“Donald says it can’t after he and the other boys from Grant Academy get -over there! He is always joking that way.” - -“I wonder where the farm ends,” said Cathalina, looking through the -woods which seemed to stretch endlessly along the bluff above the shore. - -“We’d better not go too far. I don’t see Hilary and Lilian now. Let’s go -back. That looks like another shack or cabin ahead of us. Perhaps it -belongs to some other farm.” - -The girls retraced their steps, finding other girls strolling about, and -joining some of them to go where some fine stock was grazing. Betty -leaned over a fence to snap some pictures of the cattle. “Nice old -bossies,” she said. “I guess this place is where that grand cream we’re -having now comes from. Come on, let’s get the farmer to pose for us with -some of the horses, or the family, if they, want to.” - -“There isn’t any family there yet, but the tenants live back in that -little bit of a house. See?” Eloise was pointing as she spoke. “And it’s -no use to ask the farmer. Some of the girls did, and he acted as if he -were mad about it. I don’t believe he likes to have the girls come here. -Listen! That’s the dinner bell. Doesn’t it make you think of -Merry-meeting Camp?” - -“Where do we have our lunch?—O, yes, of course, in the little summer -house they made on purpose. Say, Eloise, wouldn’t it be fun to snap the -farmer when he wasn’t looking? Where is he?” Betty was looking all -around to find the new farmer of whom she had had a glimpse as they went -up to the wood. “He’s such a straight, fine-looking man that he would -make a good picture for our memory books, if we could get him with a -good background of the woods and lake, or the vineyard, or some of the -pretty surroundings here.” - -“He doesn’t look as if hard work had broken him down, does he?” said -Diane. - -“No, he doesn’t,” said Betty. “I tell you, some of you girls stop and -talk to him, and I’ll get behind some bushes or something and watch for -a good chance to snap him. There he is now, bringing out that handsome -black horse from the barn. Come on.” - -The black horse was restive, and Betty, hurrying on, caught an excellent -picture of both horse and man, while the farmer was too busy with the -horse to observe anything else. When he did observe her and her camera -he took pains to keep his face turned away. - -“Funny folks around here,” remarked Betty to Cathalina. “One man does -not want to be seen at all, and another can’t bear to have his picture -taken and doesn’t like girls much, I guess. Now I must get a picture of -the beach and some of the birds, if Lilian is going to call the place -White Wings. I wonder if they won’t let the seniors name it. I suppose -that shed or something down there is where the hydroplane is. Wouldn’t -it be wonderful if we could get that, too. Perhaps we can when it’s -finished.” - -“And name it White Wings, too,” suggested Eloise. - -“Some of the girls started to peek in a while ago, and the crossest man, -worse than the farmer, told them that they weren’t to come around there -at all.” - -“I imagine it upsets them to have us all over the place like this,” said -Cathalina, “but they’ll get used to it, unless they make a rule that -picnic parties have to keep to the picnic ground. But the girls were -told not to break off any of the fruit or do anything ‘destructive’ and -I don’t think any of the senior girls would. My, Diane, do you see that -wonderful basket of grapes that man is carrying across the road for us!” - -“Who wouldn’t be a senior girl at Greycliff Farm?” inquired Eloise of -the squirrels or birds or anybody who happened to be listening, as they -hurried to the little summer house. - -“Really, this is the best part of the place for us,” said Hilary. “There -isn’t a better beach anywhere along than this, and about two or three -o’clock we can have a fine swim. Have you noticed the swings and seats -in that grassy spot under those old trees?—over in that direction. I’m -going to get out my knitting as soon as lunch is over and go there to -rest my bones.” - -“I didn’t bring my knitting,” said Betty, “but have a good story, one -that I bought to read on the train, but didn’t read it there, nor have I -had any time since. If you like I can read aloud a while. I move that we -offer resolutions of thanks to whoever got up all these things.” - -“Miss Randolph thought it up, I imagine,” said Lilian. “She hasn’t liked -the Island very well, though I suppose they will go there sometimes -still.” - -“The Island is very romantic,” said Helen Paget, in her pretty Southern -way. “There is the cave, you know, and the rocks, and the place where -the water rushes through. I’m glad we had it.” - -“Speaking of caves,” said Diane, “you girls never took me to that one -you told such wonderful tales about last year. Didn’t you and Isabel, -Betty, explore one the year that I wasn’t at Greycliff?” - -“We didn’t exactly explore it,” replied Betty. “We must go there before -it gets cold. As senior girls, we ought to be able to get permission to -go beyond the place where the breakwater is.” - -“In boats?” - -“O, no; just around the cliffs toward Greycliff Heights, you know, where -all those big rocks are. But I want to have a lot of the girls along.” - -Fruit and rich cream were the chief contributions of the farm to the -lunch of the seniors. Sandwiches and other good things had been brought -from the school. After the lunch, the girls really rested for some time. -Senior days are strenuous at times, with many activities and the home -stretch of studies, and a day of freedom from lessons is welcomed. - -The sun was warm when the girls splashed in the cool waters, swimming -out as far as Mickey permitted, or diving from the new diving board. - -It was not until the girls were gathering up their different belongings, -as the _Greycliff_ approached the school dock, that Betty missed her -camera. “I thought you had it, Cathalina,” she said. “Didn’t you tell me -that you would look after it?” - -“Yes, I did, but when I went to the place you said you left it, it -wasn’t there, and I thought you had taken it after all. You were on the -boat first, you know.” - -After all the girls were out of the _Greycliff_, the two girls searched -the boat, in the hope that some one had seen the camera and brought it, -but no camera was there. - -“It’s the funniest thing, Cathalina,” said Betty, as they walked up -toward the Hall. “I put it right with Lilian’s guitar and Eloise’s -ukulele when I said I’d help Miss Perin carry some of her things to the -boat, and it wasn’t five minutes after that when you went to get it.” - -“Yes, I told you I would, when you passed Hilary and me and said if one -of us would bring your camera you wouldn’t have to come back. Then when -I went into the summer house to get it, there wasn’t a thing in the -whole place but the guitar and the uke. I even looked into the little -cupboards. So I thought that you must have found you could carry it and -had gone back after it, or told somebody else to get it. I was jabbering -to the girls and didn’t notice what you did or I might have seen you go -straight on and get on the _Greycliff_. It’s a perfect shame!” - -“Well, it isn’t your fault, Cathalina. I’m real sorry, because I had -some such pretty pictures of the place. I got one gull just spreading -his wings to fly, and I thought that perhaps Lilian might have a cut -made of that for the _Greycliff Star_, if she is going to write up -‘White Wings.’” - -“We’ll advertise for the camera, but I can’t think of a senior girl who -would take it for a joke or on purpose.” - -“Yes, I’ll have a little notice read and tell about the pictures, and it -may turn up.” - - - - -CHAPTER II: “WHITTIERS” - - -Isabel Hunt and Virginia Hope, juniors, were together in a single room -on Lakeview Corridor. It was the same room which Isabel had occupied -with Avalon Moore when they first came to Greycliff. While the -scholarship which Virginia had won the year before was a great help to -her financially, she still felt that she must be as economical as -possible, and single rooms cost less than suites, even when the expense -of a suite was divided among four. Isabel said that she, too, was well -suited by making careful plans, for Jim and her father were saving -against the time when all the boys would be in the army and business -might suffer. Then, Avalon Moore and Olivia Holmes, who had shared the -suite with them, were not back this year. Avalon’s father was an officer -in the regular army, and Avalon was with her mother and the other -children, while her father was in France. Olivia’s people had moved from -the South to California, where her sister lived. - -“Honestly, Virgie,” said Isabel one evening, “I believe it is easier to -study with just you and me here. It’s such a temptation to talk when -there are more of us.” - -Virginia looked up from her book with an amused glance. - -“I know what you are thinking,” continued Isabel with a laugh, “but I -only break out by spells. I wonder what Olivia and Avalon are doing -tonight.” - -“Getting lessons too, I suspect.” - -“Yes, Olivia wrote that she likes her school out there pretty well, but -misses all of us girls. There is her letter, Virgie. I forgot to tell -you to read it. She says that the girls are crazy about her butterfly -pin and want to start a Psyche Club there. And she wants us to write and -tell her every single thing about Greycliff, who is back and who isn’t, -and where the Grant Academy boys are, if we know, and everything. I -wonder what she has done with her fur coat!” - -Both girls laughed as they recalled how eager Olivia had been for the -new experiences of the North, and how she had run to her closet for the -coat as soon as the fire alarm rang, not long after her arrival. - -“She got to be one of the best skaters here, and _adored_ skiing!” -Isabel shook her head in regret for the lost opportunities of the absent -Olivia. - -“Oh, well,” said Virginia, “when we’re freezing our noses and toeses -this winter, she’ll be picking roses and oranges.” - -“That is pretty nearly a poem, Virgie. Can’t you fix it up a little? -Noses, toeses and roses are so poetic!” - -“No,” said Virgie, “I’m capable of rhyme, but not of meter. Lilian can -make up poetry enough for our club. By the way, I’m in favor of Olivia’s -starting a Psyche Club out there if they want to. Faith, love, effort, -and ‘on to Olympus,’ or immortality, aren’t bad ideals. It certainly -impressed me when I first came here, and you all were so perfectly -lovely to me. Do you know, it didn’t seem a bit hard to go back to the -ranch this summer. I wanted so to see Father that it took away my dread, -and when I got there I found the world such a big place to me, after the -school life, that it didn’t make so much difference about what happened -for a little while on the ranch. Then my stepmother had been sick and -worried about Father—she was _glad_ to see me! So I took hold to help, -and it was easier, and I had learned to appreciate the big country -around us, and instead of its being an awful summer it was one of the -best I ever had! I kept thinking, too, that I could probably have at -least one more year of education here, and perhaps earn the rest -myself.” - -“Yes, isn’t it queer how you find out you can do things? Why, if anybody -had told me once that I would _enjoy_ debating, I would have thought -them, him or her, crazy!” - -“It’s a good thing I don’t have to make candy this year to help out the -expenses. Isn’t it queer about the sugar?” - -“Everything is queer this year, with the boys gone and going. It is a -good thing that we have so much to do.” - -“I wonder why Myrtle Wiseman isn’t back this year.” - -“I’m sure I don’t know. Juliet said that it was so much easier to have -the class elections this year without the schemes.” - -“Perhaps we could get Dorothy Appleton and Jane Mills in the Psyche -Club, then.” - -“I think it is too late, at least the girls think so, and they are in -the other society, you know. Lilian said that we had all formed -different groups. But they are lovely girls and very friendly. When they -went into the Emerson Literary Society last year, they were with a -different crowd, and now, of course, they are ‘rushing’ against our -girls, that is, I suppose we can call them our girls!” - -“Do you think they will ask us to join the Whittiers?” - -“Do I _think_ so?—with Cathalina president, and Hilary secretary, and -Lilian on the program committee? Yes, Miss Hope, I think that it is -quite likely. One of the girls in the debating club asked me the other -day if it was of any use for the Emerson Society to invite us. She said, -‘With all those girls in your Psyche Club that are in the Whittier -Society, I suppose you wouldn’t think of being an “Emerson,” but you and -Virgie are such fine debaters that we’d get you in if we could.’ Now -wasn’t that nice?” - -“Who was it?” - -“Lucile Houston, and Jane Mills was with her. I just said something -about appreciating their good opinion. I was so overcome by it, you see, -that I neglected altogether to state whether or not we were interested -in an invitation from the Emersons.” - -“Doesn’t it seem funny not to be in society tonight?” - -“Yes. I felt as if I ought to rush down to the Shakespearean Society and -call the meeting to order tonight. But I am glad of the rest. And I feel -so grown up to be in the first real collegiate class that I scarcely -know myself. I mean to get ahead on work these few weeks before we get -into society work, and say, I can knit like everything while I commit my -debate speeches or the other things we have to learn for the oratory -class. As soon as I finish a scarf or two, I’m going to begin on -sweaters. It is so crazy that I never learned before, with Aunt Helen -right there to teach me. But I learned how to knit socks this summer.” - -The corridors were full of girls in the pretty dresses which they had -worn to dinner, hurrying toward the different society halls. Soft bells -were ringing here and there. These were important meetings, for new -members were to be elected, matters connected with the sending out of -invitations to be decided, besides the usual pressing affairs of girls’ -literary societies. There were only two societies in the two collegiate -classes, hence the rivalry. One or two others had ingloriously died soon -after their birth. Only the devoted Whittiers and Emersons had survived. - -Two pink spots burned on the cheeks of Cathalina Van Buskirk, for she -was to take the “oath of office” tonight, sit in the famous chair on the -little platform and wield the gavel of ebony, presented by a famous -graduate who had made a name for herself. The other new officers were -also to be initiated, and then the important matters of business were to -be conducted. “Hilary, wink at me if I do anything wrong, and then I -will find it necessary to consult the secretary,” said Cathalina gayly, -as they entered the door. - -“You will get along as well as I did when I was president of the -Shakespearean Society. Didn’t we read Robert’s Rules of Order together? -I shall have to learn the duties of a secretary. It seems funny, but -with all the church societies I have been in I’ve never been a -secretary, and in this society, recording and corresponding secretaries -are one. They usually wanted me to be the president, or treasurer. I -suppose they thought they could trust the preacher’s daughter!” - -“You will have the old books to go by. I imagine that we can remember -what the seniors did last year after we get started in.” - -“Hurry up, Lilian,” said Hilary, turning back, “time to begin.” - -“Don’t you love this hall?” asked Lilian of both girls. “It was fun -working for the Shakespearean Society and getting our new furniture and -all, but I believe this seems more artistic because it is older. The -tone of the piano is not as good, though. We must have a new one, don’t -you think so, Hilary?” - -“This hall is a better, larger room with more windows,” said Cathalina. -“It was possible in the first place to make a prettier hall of it, and, -yes, the furniture is more handsome than we thought we could afford when -we started the academy society. The older society really ought to be the -more dignified.” - -“We didn’t think so when we were in the academy!” - -“No, indeed. How we do change!” - -No embarrassment could ever make Cathalina awkward. The girls were -always sure to be proud of Cathalina’s manner and language either in -public or private. Isabel was as devoted to Cathalina as ever and felt -an added gratitude since Cathalina had saved her, as she said, “from a -watery grave” the year before. Cathalina herself was pleased that the -girls had chosen her their president, and had made detailed preparations -having in her hand a neat little outline of the affairs to be put -through tonight. There was to be no regular program until the new -members were brought in at the next meeting, but if the business did not -take up the whole time, Evelyn Calvert had promised to give a “reading” -in the dialect for which she was famous in the school, and Eloise was to -sing. Among girls of so many gifts, the program committee did not have a -very difficult task. The only trouble was to make sure that the girls -prepared for their duties, for it was easy to be lazy about society -affairs when there were so many pressing school duties all the time. - -Pretty and dainty Cathalina looked when, after the ceremony with which -the officers were initiated, she sat in state in the big chair. “The -Secretary will now call the roll,” said she, whereupon Hilary called the -names of the members from what she now called the “Sibylline Books.” The -treasurer was called upon for a report of the money left over in the -treasury from last year, and Pauline Tracy reported a comfortable little -sum. A report was called from the chairman of the program committee, -Lilian responding. - -“Madam President,” said Lilian, “and members of the Whittier Society, -nothing has been done yet except the arrangements for the first program -at the initiation of the new members. You will remember that it was -decided last year to complete a program for one-third of the year, then -to pass on the programs, changed as they sometimes have to be when some -one fails to serve, to the next program committee, with the list of -those members who have not yet been on duty. I would like to remind the -society, that every member is supposed to be on duty several times -through the year and that the duties will be varied. For instance, if -the musical members should only have to furnish music, they would miss -the training in speaking before the society, or debating.” - -“Madam President,” said Juliet, rising. - -“Miss Howe,” responded the president. - -“I should like to ask why we have the program divided into three -parts,—like ‘all Gaul’.” A titter ran around the room. - -Lilian rose again and was recognized by the chair. - -“Madam President,—there used to be three terms, and three sets of -officers elected, of course. Now with the two semesters, the society has -several times considered changing its schedule, but has concluded that -it is better to give the opportunity to have the three elections and -more girls occupying the responsible positions during the year.” - -“Is there any unfinished business?” inquired the president. “If not, a -motion to present the names of the prospective members is in order.” - -This was the time for careful management on the part of the president. -Nothing unkind should be said that could be reported to girls under -consideration. - -“Madam President,” said Helen Paget, “I so move, that we proceed at once -to the election of new members.” - -“I second the motion,” crisply said Diane of the distinct enunciation. - -This motion duly passed, Eloise Winthrop rose to make a few remarks. -“Madam President,” said she, “may we have some discussion of the names -proposed last week? I remember how we all agreed that nothing unpleasant -should be said, but it seems to me that if there is any real objection -to anybody, we ought to know it, and perhaps leave their names until the -next election. There are a few girls, too, that I do not know very well, -some new ones, and I should like to hear reasons why they should be -invited.” - -“Chiefly because the Emersons want them,” quickly said one girl, and -without addressing the president. The girls laughed and Cathalina tapped -for order. - -“The names are posted at the sides of the room,” said the president, -“but the secretary will read the names proposed last week, and if there -are other names that you have thought of since, they may be proposed -then. Will the secretary also give some of the reasons why we invite -girls to the society?” - -As Hilary rose, to read the list and comply with Cathalina’s request, -she hesitated a little, smiled, and put down her papers on the little -carved table before her. “I suppose the first real reason, if we are -honest,” said she, “is that we want our best friends with us in our -society, just as we like to be in the same school and the same classes. -Then we want to get girls into the society that will do it honor, girls -that will try to help and girls that are gifted or have some qualities -that make them desirable. A girl may not have any great gift, but be so -utterly lovable and perhaps helpful to everybody that we couldn’t get -along without her. And then we want girls that need the society -work,—indeed we all need it. I remember a girl that was so timid she was -afraid to do anything in public, but she was enthusiastic for the -society she was in, helped in all the practical ways, finally tried to -take part in the programs, and got all over being so scared. We put her -on for reading little things at first, or singing in a quartet, or doing -other things with several girls, until she found that she was valuable -in those places and liked it. You never can tell. I’m in favor of taking -in as many nice girls as we can, up to the number we decided upon.” - -Hilary then read the list and with the help of several other girls -passed the ballots, long ones on ruled paper. - -“Now does any one want to speak for her candidate?” asked Cathalina. -Several girls did. Isabel and Virginia were heralded as fine debaters -and willing to do anything for the society they were in. The new girls -were duly considered, as musical, or literary, or valuable additions in -one respect or another. Some of the girls had been dreading to do what -they ought to do in reference to one name, but when it was -enthusiastically pushed by one or two of the girls, Eloise rose, her -cheeks flushed and her dark eyes glowing. - -“Madam President, I do hate to say what I feel that I ought to say, and -I hope you all know that I haven’t a thing against this girl personally. -She is pretty and attractive and a good student, but they tell me that -she is a regular trouble-maker and always stirs up things wherever she -is. I hope that it isn’t so, but she has had a change of room-mates -already, and I have noticed myself that she is not on speaking terms -with one or two others.” - -“Miss Howe,” said Cathalina, recognizing Juliet. “I am sorry to confirm -what Eloise says. You know that the Alpha Zetas, which really does not -exist, because we are not allowed to have sororities, or any secret -societies,”—smiles went round the room at this remark, and one or two of -the girls put on a look of supreme ignorance. - -“—began to rush her vigorously, and all of a sudden they stopped. I -think that she is just a spoiled girl who may find out later that having -her own way at other girls’ expense is not the way to get along. I would -suggest that we wait a while about electing her.” - -“Madam President,” said one of the girls who had recommended this new -girl, a recent addition to the junior collegiate class, from some high -school. “I haven’t seen a thing disagreeable in Alice, and it’s just -going to be a tragedy! She is counting on it so!” The eyes of Alice’s -defender were full of tears as she sat down. - -Cathalina looked sympathetic and asked if there were any one else who -would speak in favor of Alice or any other candidate, but the society -seemed to be through with discussion and the election proceeded. Alas -for the occasional heartaches, but a girls’ school is a fine place in -which to learn to live with other people. - - - - -CHAPTER III: THE RETURN OF “PATTY” - - -The lights from Greycliff parlors shone out over the campus. Here and -there, in the rooms above, a light would flash out, as the occupant of a -room entered it and turned on her electricity. In the larger reception -room, Hilary was at the piano, while Eloise, Lilian and some of the -other girls were singing. The sounds of the music and happy conservation -floated out and reached the ears of a young woman who had just alighted -from a taxi. She paid the chauffeur, hurried up the steps and entered -the entrance hall,—so far, alone, but only for a few moments, for -exclamations of “It’s Patty, girls!” or “Oh, here’s Patty!” began to be -heard. Soon the newcomer was the center of a welcoming group of girls. -One took her traveling bag, another her pocketbook, and since the hat -with its veil seemed to be in the way, she unpinned the stylish little -affair and handed it to another of the girls. - -“Oh, Miss West,—I mean Mrs. Norris, it is so _grand_ to have you back!” - -“Yes, indeed. Miss Carver is crosser than ever since the——” - -“Hush! Don’t say anything about the war; Patty can’t stand it!” - -“Oh, are you really married?” - -“Yes, girls, I’m really married, and it is wonderful to have you glad to -see me, like this,—I’m going to need—lots of company!” Patty put her -face for a moment on Pauline’s comfortable shoulder, but lifted it -bravely, smiling as she finished, “—he belongs to me anyhow, and he sent -his warmest greetings to you all.” - -“Who in the world is she?” asked one of the “new girls,” “and who is the -‘he’ she is talking about?” - -“It is Mrs. Norris, who was Miss West and has been a teacher here for -several years. Dr. Norris came here to teach, too, and they were engaged -all last year. Then he was in camp and couldn’t get away to be married, -I guess. Anyway, they were just married recently, and I suppose she has -seen him off to France.” - -Betty, Cathalina and Pauline saw their “Patty” to her room, put away her -things for her, and hovered around till Miss Randolph, hearing of the -arrival, came up herself to greet the bride. Mrs. Norris hastened to say -that her next act was to have been a visit to Miss Randolph, after the -dust of travel was removed, but Miss Randolph replied that she was only -too glad to come to her. The girls immediately withdrew and went out to -join the other interested girls, who wanted to hear all about the -romantic wedding. - -“We don’t know a thing,” said Betty. “Of course, we wouldn’t _ask_ her, -and it must be terrible to come back to teaching after just saying -goodbye to your husband. But I imagine that she will tell us things -after a while. Isn’t she a dear?” - -On the next morning, the returned teacher met her classes as usual, a -group of friendly girls clustering around her desk before the first -recitation. A little before the second bell, one of the senior girls -came in, her finger on a difficult line in Horace’s Satires, and said, -“I simply can not understand, Dr. Carver, what he means!” - -“Dr. Carver!” - -“‘Dr. Carver’, indeed, do you want to insult her?” - -The senior looked up wonderingly at the girls who thus exclaimed, for -she was not conscious of having used the wrong name. Then she laughed. -“Please forgive me, Miss West, I did not realize what I was saying. My -mind was on those lines I could not get. Why, what is wrong _now_? You -are all laughing!” - -Mrs. Norris laughed, too, patted the senior’s arm and said, “Never mind, -you will get used to the change. I don’t mind at all. If you forget, you -need not apologize, but try to get it right the next time. There is the -bell. Take your seats, please.” - -No one would have known that Patricia West Norris had anything to worry -over, and if there was any difference it was only that she was more -inspiring. “I am a soldier’s wife,” she said to Betty, as one day they -clambered out over the rocks and sat viewing restless waters, floating -clouds and flying gulls. “If he can go as cheerfully as they all are -going, to face the guns, I certainly will have to live up to him. I -shall want to be by myself a little, of course, to think and to write -letters, but you girls are helping me very much, and I am not going to -mourn till something happens, and I am hoping that nothing will. I -shan’t pretend that it is easy, though.” - -Betty stroked her hand and they sat silently a little while. Betty had -her own reasons for sober thoughts at times, but kept a bright face. - -“See, Mrs. Patty (which was Betty’s name for her), there is smoke coming -from that little house over the cave, and somebody is out in a boat -fishing. We were always going to investigate that place.” - -“It is probably the headquarters for some rough fishermen and you girls -must keep away.” - -“Oh, yes, we will. I have certainly lost all curiosity about it, though -it is more or less mysterious. I’ll never get over wondering why Captain -Holley was there and what was in the box and what he threw into the lake -in such a hurry. It makes me think now of what the boys write about hand -grenades and things.” - -“Did it explode?” - -“I couldn’t tell. We kept as still as mice, Isabel and I, until we -thought the boat was far enough away for them not to see us. Even then -we kept behind the bushes for a while and near the cliff as we went back -to the Hall.” - -“What do your hear from Donald Hilton?” - -“Donald wrote me that he has a new kind of work, but couldn’t tell me -just what it was for a while. It’s as bad as ‘Somewhere in France!’ We -hardly know what the boys are doing! However, I’ve had long letters, -from both Donald and my brother, telling me lots of things.” - -“It is pretty chilly out here,” remarked Mrs. Norris. “Suppose we go -back and walk along the beach a while to stir us up before we go in.” - -“I am a little shivery,” acknowledged Betty, “for that wind is getting -cold. But I love the water. I think that this is the most beautiful spot -for a school that there could be. We just have _everything_—boating and -riding, canoeing, the winter sports and all!” - -“There come the girls. I suspect that Cathalina is looking for you.” - -“I imagine that she is looking for you, too. When I left she was working -on a poster for the Latin Club. It meets tomorrow, doesn’t it?” - -“Yes.” - -“Then we are getting up a little stunt for society. All the clubs -represented in the Whittier Society have to do something next time we -meet. They may take it from what they have had in the regular club -meeting, if they want to, but it is to be funny if possible. Isabel and -Virgie are getting up a perfectly killing debate. Isabel’s ‘points’ are -too funny for words. They don’t mean a thing, and she gets them off with -all the oratorical agony she can put on. She goes all around the bush, -tells what she is going to prove and doesn’t prove it. Eloise and I just -lay back on the bed and laughed, when she was going over it in her room -yesterday! They only have five minutes apiece, no rebuttals or anything, -and I’m sure that the judges will decide in favor of Isabel, for Virgie -declares that she can never get up anything as funny. She can think up -points, though, and may capture the judges after all.” - -“Oh, here you are, folks!” - -Cathalina, with note book and pencil, approached Betty and Mrs. Norris, -while walking down the slope behind her came Isabel, Lilian, Juliet and -Hilary. The girls all wore their bright sweaters and locks were flying -in the wind. - -“How will this do for the announcement, Mrs. Norris?” Cathalina handed -Patricia a slip of paper from which she read aloud - - “NOTA BENE - SOCIETAS LATINA HODIE CONVENIT. - VENITE, SOCII, VENITE. OMNES ADSINT. - LINGUA LATINA IN LITERATURA, ETC. - (Latin Club, Room 32, Today)” - -“Would you say ‘Societas Romana’ instead of ‘Latina’? asked Cathalina. - -“I believe I would. That is good, Cathalina. Translate it, Betty.” - -“Take notice. The Latin Club meets today. Come, -friends—associates?—companions?—come. Let all be present. The Latin -language in literature and so forth.” - -“What would Greycliff be in Latin, Mrs. Norris?” - -“Let me see. ‘Mons’, ‘collis’, ‘saxum’, ‘rupes,’—that is it, ‘rupes.’ -Then ‘glaucus’ is blue-grey, sometimes silver-grey, or sea-green.” - -“Rupes, is feminine,” announced Eloise. “Q. E. D., Rupus Glauca, -Greycliff! Feminae Rupis-Glaucae sumus. Est optima schola omnium -gentium!” - -“Mercy, Elo’, don’t go so fast; I can’t keep up with you!” cried Isabel. -“We are the girls, or women, of Greycliff. It is——” - -“The best school in the world,” finished Eloise. “Cathalina found some -Latin by Charles Lamb, giving some lines of ‘Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary’ -and ‘Little Jack Horner’; so two of the girls are going to dress up as -children and recite them, and some others that Cathalina made up. Come -on, Cathalina, cheer up your Latin teacher by reciting your latest -masterpiece!” - -“Mercy, I couldn’t before her.” - -“Just ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’!” - -“All right.” Cathalina dropped a little curtsey, put one finger to her -mouth and took hold of her dress with the other hand. - - “Ma_ri_a agnellum ha_be_bat, - Cujus vellus niveum erat; - Et quacunque M_a_ria - Iter faci_e_bat, - Ag_nel_lus eti_am_ semper _i_bat.” - -“There is more, but I have forgotten it. You have to accent the ‘i’ the -first time in ‘Maria,’ and the first ‘a’ the second time, to get the -right effect. The ‘i’ is either long or short. - -“O, give us ‘Vetus Mater Hubbard ad armarium venit’,” urged Isabel. - -“Can’t. I’ve forgotten it.” - -Mrs. Norris was smiling over the fun. “Have you any serious Latin on -your program?” - -“O, yes. Most of the program is serious. Dorothy has an article on the -famous Latin Hymns and some girls are going to sing the Adeste Fideles. -Then one of the Academy girls is going to recite the first part of -Cicero’s First Oration against Catiline, and there are some other -things,—historia, musica, scientia, et multae res de quibus dicere -tempus non est!” - -“Listen to her!” exclaimed Isabel. - -“I’ve just been writing it out, you know,” apologized Cathalina. -“Tomorrow, when we have composition, Mrs. Norris, I probably can’t think -of a thing!” - -“Who is that waving out there?” inquired Pauline. - -The party all turned to look toward the lake. A boat was bobbing over -the waves, and soon a voice called. Somebody was using a pair of long -glasses and had discovered who they were. - -“They’re in sailor costume!” exclaimed Betty. “What do you think of -that! It is Donald Hilton standing up there. I should think he would -fall in!” - -A fine-looking lot of sailors they were, rowing away. At a distance -there was a small vessel from which they had come. Presently the boat -came up to the dock, where by this time the whole party were waiting. -The sailors rested on their oars, smiling in friendly fashion, while the -officer in charge gave some order to Donald as he leaped out. - -“I’ve just about five minutes, folks,” said Donald, as he shook hands -with one and another in turn. “Have I permission, Mrs. Norris?” - -“Just as long as you like, Mr. Hilton—I do not know your rank. I am only -familiar with the infantry insignia.” - -“Not very far up yet, Mrs. Norris. What is the Doctor by now?” - -“A first lieutenant.” - -“We’re doing a little scouting for Uncle Sam, and I got permission to -stop here a few minutes to ‘see my folks’, or some of them.” Donald gave -a whimsical glance at Betty. - -“I think I’ll give you a little opportunity to visit with Betty,” said -Mrs. Norris. “Since you can have so short a time, we will shake hands -again and wish you safety and success. Come again.” - -Mrs. Norris and the other girls drew away, walking slowly along the -beach in the direction of the school. It was quite marked, the -appropriation of Betty, yet in those times a few precious moments, with -friends perhaps so soon to go across, were of first importance. - -“Wasn’t that good of her? Betty, I’ve got your dear little picture safe -in here,” and Donald patted the place where his heart was supposed to -be. “I live on your letters, and haven’t been where I could get them for -a week or two. We’re on a little detail with some secret service men. I -can’t tell you about it now, and please don’t mention the secret -service.” - -“I won’t,” said Betty, rather dazed. “Are you really here, or not?” - -“I am. This is me, in the language of the poet. We may be in these parts -for a while, cruising around, and we may not. We are going to pretend to -leave anyway, and you will see the old tub steaming away shortly. If I -get a chance, I’m going to come again. Will you be glad to see me?” - -“Oh, yes, Donald, you know I will.” Betty did not know just how glad she -would be the next time she was to see him. - -They sat down inside the little boat house, on one of the benches, and -managed to say a good deal in the short time allotted them. The men in -the boat, young men, all of them, talked, joked and sang while they -waited. Finally the officer spoke to Donald, who said a last goodbye to -Betty and climbed into the boat. Betty felt a little self-conscious, but -stood out on the dock, poised like a bird, as she waved to Donald. The -sailor lads waved their caps as they pushed off, then bent to the task -of rowing back to the ship. Their voices came back to her as they sang -one of the old sailor chanteys, though these were mostly college boys, -with little experience as yet except in rowing for the championship of -their schools. - -Betty walked slowly away, looking back and out at the boat and small -steamer. “Is this I, or isn’t it?” she thought. “Did anybody ever have -such unusual things happen? Here came Donald, out of the lake, so to -speak. Presto, a lot of good-looking boys like him, and a friendly -officer, appear from ‘the deep,’ serenade Donald and me and the girls, -and row off again.” - -When Betty caught up with her friends, their comments were not unlike -her own. “Betty’s always having adventures,” said Isabel. “Here am I, -longing for romance and adventure, and nothing happens.” - -“You were almost drowned last year,” suggested Betty. - -“Yes, but I was unconscious all the time I was being rescued and missed -all the thrills.” - -“Mercy, child! You were welcome to all Cathalina and I had!” remarked -Hilary. - -“If it had only been good form for Mrs. Norris and us girls to get -acquainted with some of those nice boys in the boat, life would not seem -so barren,” sighed Isabel, with pretended sorrow. - -“You very well know that you were the first to leave, and would have -been horrified at the thought of talking to them!” exclaimed Cathalina, -taking Isabel seriously. - -“Perhaps, gentle mentor,” said Isabel, putting her arm about Cathalina. - - “I would not love a sailor lad, - However bright his e’e; - A deck would have his roving feet, - No hearth-stane warm, with me!” - -“Set that to music, Lilian, and sing it to Betty.” - -“Is that your own, Isabel?” - -“Yes. I thought it up while we were waiting for Betty. Donald is sort of -Scotch, you know, so I put in ‘e’e’ and ‘stane’.” - -“It seems to be catching,” said Eloise. “Lilian and Cathalina are always -making verses, and now Isabel.” - - - - -CHAPTER IV: AGAIN THE GREYCLIFF GHOST - - -“Whither now, Lily Ann?” Diane was strolling out of classroom number -five behind Lilian. - -“I don’t answer to that name,” replied Lilian, pausing, however, and -linking her arm in that of Diane. “How becoming that crimson frock is.” - -“Do you like it?” - -“Yes. It matches your cheeks and brings out the shepherdess complexion.” - -“Shepherdess yourself, Lilian, and you have the golden locks as well. -Going up to the library?” - -“Yes; I have to read a little for Lit. We have a perfectly terrible book -to write on it, all our notes in class and on our collateral reading. -The first half has to be ready to hand in at the first of the second -semester. I pity the girls who haven’t written up their notes right -along.” - -“I was sorry that I did not take that advanced course in Literature. It -wasn’t required, so I did not try it. I have so much to make up, anyway. -But your book prospect does not look so inviting,—I’m not so sorry after -all.” - -The two girls were climbing the stairs of the library building, tripping -up the wide steps with light feet. - -“Did you hear about the ghost?” continued Diane. - -“No, is that the latest thrill?” - -“Yes; Greycliff’s old standby, the Woman in Black, has appeared again. -One of the academy girls nearly went into hysterics the other night, -they say, after she saw it, or thought she saw it. She said that it -moaned and waved black arms, with wide sleeves or something, and glided -by as ghosts are supposed to glide, but very rapidly.” - -“I haven’t heard anything about the Woman in Black for some time. Let me -see. It was Isabel that declared she saw it two or three years ago. How -many times has it appeared this time?” - -“Several times, according to all accounts. There are all sorts of wild -tales about it. One girl said that it started toward her, then turned -back and just disappeared.” - -“Around a corner probably. If there is any appearance of the sort, I’m -sure it’s human. Somebody is trying to trick the girls. The other time, -when we had such an excitement about it, Miss Randolph just put some -extra folks on guard at night and there was no more ghost.” - -“All the same, the halls are sort of spooky at night, and I don’t -believe that I’ll watch for it. Diane is going to keep to her little -cot!” - -“All the more reason for that if it is human. Any account of its getting -into the rooms, or has anything been stolen?” - -“One girl tells about seeing it standing over her bed, but I think that -she was having a nightmare. She had heard about it and dreamed of it!” - -By this time the girls were in the library, where conversation was not -desired. Lilian went to look over the reference books and Diane -consulted the librarian about something. Isabel, Evelyn and Helen were -sitting at one of the tables and nodded to the girls. Isabel was -scribbling away for dear life, turning page after page of a tablet. -Evelyn was drawing cartoons and showing them from time to time to Helen, -who appeared much amused. Helen was reading, when not in consultation -with Evelyn. Presently Lilian and Diane went over to the same table and -drew up chairs. “What’s the fun?” whispered Diane. - -Helen smiled broadly, took the drawings from Evelyn and pushed them over -to Diane and Lilian. The girls bent their heads over them. Isabel looked -up, amused, and continued scribbling. The first picture was labeled “The -Greycliff Ghost,” and showed a skeleton, clothed in filmy black, and -bending over a terrified girl in her cot. The covers were drawn up over -the lower part of the girl’s face, only the big eyes looking up at the -ghost. The second picture was called “The Woman in Black” and depicted a -veiled figure in motion, arms stretched out before her, wide sleeves and -draperies flying, the head wrapped in a veil, but showing a mask and two -wild eyes. As the girls looked at these drawings, Evelyn, who was -watching them, offered a piece of paper on which was printed “DO YOU -BELIEVE IN GHOSTS?” - -Lilian promptly wrote her reply “No. Do You?” - -“YES. I’VE BEEN IN A HAUNTED HOUSE. LET’S TELL GHOST STORIES AFTER -DINNER.” - -“All right, but people that believe in ghosts are likely to have bad -dreams.” - -“WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU SAW A GHOST?” - -This last query of Evelyn’s was passed around to the girls. Lilian -wrote, “Watch it go by.” Diane wrote, “Run.” Isabel stopped her rapid -note-taking long enough to answer, “Try one of the boys’ tricks,—stick -out my foot to see if I could trip it.” - -“Diane’s answer is the only sensible one,” whispered Evelyn as she read -the different replies. Tucking away her pictures in her note book she -proceeded with the more serious work for which she had come to the -library. The other girls were also absorbed in their books. But later, -when they left the library for Greycliff Hall, there was laughter, and -stories of mysterious doings were told. “Of _course_ I believe in -ghosts,” insisted Evelyn, who had never outgrown the coquettish ways and -naive speech with which she had come to Greycliff. “Didn’t my mother’s -old Mammy bring me up on ‘ghos’es’ and ha’nts? _I_ never saw any, but -she did.” - -“You just want to for the excitement of it,” said Isabel. “I wish the -seniors would give Hamlet this spring, for their play, and let me play -the part of the ghost.” - -“That isn’t much of a part,” said Lilian. “I should think you would want -Hamlet.” - -“I would, but the seniors would want that themselves. ‘To be or-r-r-r-r -not to be. That iz-z-z-z-z the question!’ I heard an elocutionist do it -that way once. What are you girls going to give for your senior play?” - -“We haven’t decided yet, but we thought of having it outdoors and giving -‘As You Like It’.” - -“That will be wonderful!” exclaimed Isabel. “There are so many places -about the campus that would make a fine setting.” - -“Come around to our room after dinner for the ghost stories,” reminded -Evelyn, as she and Diane left the other girls on their way to their -respective rooms. Like Isabel and Virginia, Evelyn and Diane were -occupying a large single room this year. But Greycliff seniors have not -so much time for ghost stories and the like, and Evelyn herself, with -her knitting, was in the parlors after dinner, listening to some -singing, and chatting to Isabel, Lilian, Hilary, Cathalina and Betty. - -“I believe that Evelyn has begun two or three sweaters,” said Isabel. -“Which one is this for?” - -“Oh, I can’t be partial, you know,” said Evelyn, smiling as she -recovered a dropped stitch. “Geo’ge and Pehcy ah in the same company, -and if I send one a sweatah I must send the otheh one, too. I did think -that I would send this one to Cousin Francis,—I used to be engaged to -him, you know. We ah only thi’d cousins.” - -“Which one are you engaged to now, Evelyn?” asked Isabel, adding -hastily, “You need not answer that, of course. It is rude of me to ask.” - -“O, I don’t mind,” said Evelyn, putting her hand on one side to survey -the sweater which she held up to view. “Do you think that is big enough -to go over the head?” - -“It looks pretty small to me,” said Cathalina. “Is he big or little?” - -“My head just comes to his shoulder. Yes, he is pretty big, Pehcy is.” - -“I wonder if that is my answer,” remarked Isabel to Cathalina. - -“No telling.” - -“Well, girls,” said Hilary, “I’d like to visit longer, but I have to get -to work. I see a hectic evening before me. I don’t know when I’ve been -so behind with everything. I’ve been doing too much knitting and -letter-writing, I am afraid. However, under the circumstances, I can’t -regret it. Patriotism before everything!” - -“Are you sure that it was _all_ patriotism, Hilary?” - -“Quite sure,” laughed Hilary. - -In Lakeview Suite there was, indeed, a busy group that evening. It -happened to be near examination time. Notes were being brought up to -date. Exercise books in the languages were to be put into final shape. -Eloise came in to consult Lilian about some exercises in Harmony, which -both were taking, Lilian because she wanted to know how to write her -little songs, and to catch up with Philip in his knowledge of the -subject. The girls were all tired when the first bell rang, and Hilary -sat, writing on, without paying any attention. - -“You’ll be in the dark pretty soon, Hilary, unless you break rules,” -remarked Lilian. - -“Don’t mind me,” said Hilary. “Put the lights out when the bell rings. -I’ll just write till then; I’m almost through. Then I’ll use my flash -light when I get ready for bed.” - -Finally, darkness descended upon the suite, and Hilary, her head aching -a little, tossed and turned, till finally she wandered off into a dream -with Campbell Stuart, both on a vessel, on the way to France, and -watching a submarine whose periscope had just appeared close by. In the -middle of the night she woke, consumed by thirst, and reaching under her -pillow for her flashlight, slipped quietly out of the room after some -water. - -Just outside of her door she paused and started a little, for around the -corner came a ghostly figure, looking very much as Evelyn had pictured -the “Woman in Black.” There were two corridors running at right angles -to Lakeview Corridor, and it was from one of these, in the direction of -which Hilary was headed, that the ghost came. And, without warning, from -the other direction, which Hilary, though not the ghost, could see, came -running another figure with flying hair, light slippers and pale kimono. - -“Two ghosts,” thought Hilary. - -It all happened so quickly that Hilary could not have prevented it even -had she been able to recover from her surprise. The “Woman in Black” saw -Hilary, without doubt, for she waved her hands and moaned, a high quaver -of ghostly sound. And right at the corner, plump into the Woman in -Black, ran the other flying figure,—bump! - -It was Evelyn’s face that turned toward Hilary. The black form recovered -from the shock and sped on, but dropped a little roll of papers and, -with an exclamation, turned and came back. Evelyn hastened to pick up -the papers first—Evelyn, who was afraid of ghosts! - -“Give them to me at once!” demanded the “ghost” in a hissing whisper. - -Evelyn unrolled the papers in the dim light of the hall and showed no -intention of hurrying. Impatiently the black ghost snatched at the -little bundle, but Evelyn put it behind her back at first, then with a -bow held it out,—“Your property, I believe,—Louise Holley!” - -The “Woman in Black” angrily pulled away and disappeared down the hall. -Evelyn leaned up against the wall and looked after her, while Hilary -moved toward her, saying gently, in little more than a whisper, -“Evelyn.” - -“Is that you, Hilary?” asked Evelyn, in evident relief. “Did you see -that performance? I suppose Louise has been out to meet that precious -brother of hers. That is why she is staging the ghost act. How do you -happen to be on hand?” - -“I woke up and perishing with thirst, or was. I declare I was so taken -by surprise that I forgot what I was up for.” - -“It’s that ham, that grand baked ham we had for suppeh. I was so thihsty -too, that I just had to have a drink and we forget to get any watch for -the room, as we usually do.” - -“So did we.” - -“I happened to think about the ghost stories after I was in the hall, -and put on speed just in time to run into the actual ghost! Honestly, -I’m shaking all oveh!” - -“You did not act afraid.” - -“I wasn’t. No ghost is as solid as what I ran into.” Evelyn chuckled. -“It was the shock, and being afraid that I would meet a ghost, a real -one.” - -“Do you still believe in that kind?” - -“I must say that my faith is shaken. Didn’t Louise look like the real -thing though as she disappeared?” - -“She looked like a bad spirit all right. Some of the lights in the hall -have been turned out. Did you notice that?” - -“I think they always do it.” - -“Yes, but they always leave enough to make a little light, and you can’t -see any toward Louise’s room.” - -“She must have done it on purpose. My, how mad she was when I would not -hand her her papers.” - -“They were little diagrams, Hilary. What do you suppose that means.” - -“I think that Miss Randolph ’d better send her away again. That is what -I think. Shall we tell her?” - -“Let’s sleep on it. Take me back to my room, will you, Hilary?” - -“Don’t lose your courage now, when you were so brave.” - -“I always do when I have somebody to lean on. I ought to have a lot of -responsibility put on me, I reckon.” - -“You nice little thing!” exclaimed Hilary, patting Evelyn’s shoulder. -“Let’s get a good drink first.” - -“All right. I could drink all the wateh there is! Let it run and run to -get fresh and ice-cold!” - -All this conversation was carried on in subdued tones. Evelyn decided -that she would show her bravely by going back to her room alone, but -Hilary paused at the parting of the ways and watched her scampering -through the corridor to her room, which she entered, after giving one -hasty backward glance to make sure that no ghost or human was entering -behind her. - - - - -CHAPTER V: SENIOR BASKET-BALL - - -Upon returning to her room, Hilary was too wide-awake to sleep and -dropped upon the window-seat in the dark study room, drawing around her -Cathalina’s steamer rug which happened to be there. The wind was sighing -through the trees. She could hear the sound of the waves upon the beach -not far away, and another louder sound came from the lake as well, that -of some motor. “A boat or a plane,” thought Hilary, looking out through -tree-tops, “I believe it is a plane. Perhaps they are trying out the -hydroplanes though it is rather late for that.” Just then there came a -flash from where the shore line was located. “A search-light,” was -Hilary’s thought, but no steady sweeping light continued, only two or -three flashes. Hilary leaned out of the window, looked in all directions -and was rewarded by seeing dim flashes far down the lake. Two or three -times the signals were repeated, then no more. - -For five or ten minutes, Hilary still sat by the window thinking over -the occurrences of the night, then went to the table where her own clock -was still ticking out the hours, so carefully watched that evening when -they were hurrying their lessons through. Flashing her light on its -familiar face, she read that it was one o’clock, yawning a little, she -stole gently back into her bedroom without waking Lilian, tucked a -comfortable pillow under her head, threw back her heavy brown braids to -a position where they would not annoy her, and was soon in a dreamless -sleep. - -But Hilary had come to a decision while she sat looking out of the -window. Whatever it was in which Captain Holley was concerned, it was -evident that Louise was meeting him and was taking advantage of the old -tradition to play the ghost and make the girls afraid to go through the -halls at night. It was no single prank to be winked at. Miss Randolph -should know the whole story from beginning to end. - -In the morning, therefore, the performances of the night were related to -an interested audience of three, as the girls of Lakeview Suite dressed -for breakfast, and Hilary said that she had determined to tell Miss -Randolph. “What do you think, girls?” she asked. - -“You are right, Hilary,” said Lilian, without hesitation. - -“Are you going to tell her about me, too?” asked Betty, “and the cave, -and everything?” - -“Yes, unless you have some objection.” - -“Not a bit.” - -“I wish you would go with me, Cathalina, and I want to get Evelyn to -support my evidence about last night. I think it is our business as -seniors to stop this affair of coming and going at night.” - -“Louise will be furious.” - -“Louise isn’t any too safe herself.” - -“I shall be glad to go, Hilary. I have felt like speaking to Miss -Randolph about several things before this.” - -But it was easier to make a decision than to carry it out, where other -persons were concerned. Scarcely had Cathalina finished speaking, when -there came a quick rap at the door, and, upon invitation, Louise herself -came in. Looking from one to another, she saw knowledge written on the -faces of all and hastened to make her appeal. “Say, Hilary,” she began, -“you are not going to tell Miss Randolph, are you, about my playing the -ghost? Please don’t!” - -“I made up my mind to do that very thing,” said Hilary, her face -flushing with the effort of doing a disagreeable thing. “I didn’t think -that you should be allowed to go on with this sort of thing.” - -Louise burst into sudden tears. “I can’t see anything so dreadful about -fooling the girls!” she said, as soon as she could control herself. - -“No, Louise, but I can’t feel that that is all there is to it. Now -haven’t you been out to meet your brother again? I’d like to know what -he is doing, too. It certainly looks queer to us girls that you find it -necessary to meet your own brother in this way, when he can come to see -you at any proper time. Have you a key to one of the doors?” - -“It isn’t your business what I am doing!” - -“No, but I fancy that it is Miss Randolph’s, if you are disobeying such -important rules. It is a matter of your own safety as well as ours. I -don’t intend to do anything but inform Miss Randolph. She can use her -own judgment.” - -Louise wore an ill and sullen look, then realized what it would mean if -Hilary informed Miss Randolph, and began to cry once more. “I didn’t -think that you were such a mean girl,—to tell!” - -“If I don’t, will you stop going out at night?” - -“What good would it do for her to promise us?” inquired Lilian with -surprising bluntness. “We can’t sit up nights to see that she keeps her -promise.” - -“Will you give me your key?” said Hilary. - -Louise hesitated. “Y-yes,” she said, “if you will not tell.” - -“Well, Louise, I’ve no desire to have you sent away, and I suppose that -is what would happen. If you will give me your key and promise not to -leave the hall at night, I will at least postpone telling Miss Randolph, -and see what happens. There’ll be no more ‘Woman in Black’ nonsense, of -course.” - -“All right. I suppose I’ll have to do it. Here is the key.” Louise -handed Hilary a key, while the other girls looked at each other as if to -say, “Funny that she had it all ready like that.” - -After the departure of Louise, Hilary sank into a rocking chair and -dropped her hands in a gesture of helplessness upon her lap. “Did you -ever!” - -“Crocodile tears!” exclaimed Betty. - -“Oh, her tears were genuine enough,” said Lilian, “and she got what she -came for.” - -“I suspect I was a goose,” said Hilary, “but perhaps she will be good, -and I hate to tell things that will send a girl away from Greycliff.” - -“Perhaps Evelyn will tell,” suggested Betty. - -“Louise is probably there now,” said Lilian. - -Sure enough, Evelyn came in a few minutes before the breakfast bell to -ask if Louise had been there. “She wept and carried on till I didn’t -know what to do with her, and begged me not to tell any of the teachers. -I was so provoked with her that I wouldn’t promise, but finally said -that I would do whatever Hilary thought best. You ought to have seen the -funny little smile she had when I said that. She just said, ‘Very well,’ -and pretended to go out in a bad humor, but I could tell that she -thought it would be all right.” - -“We’ll just let it go a while, Evelyn, and see. I didn’t promise _never_ -to tell.” - -On the bulletin board, as the girls went to breakfast, there had already -been put up notices of a senior class meeting, a “short meeting” of the -Whittier Society, and regular basket-ball practice. - -“You will have to have some one else take the minutes, Cathalina,” said -Hilary, “for I can’t miss the practice.” - -“Of course not. My, I’m glad that you are playing this year, Hilary. Now -we shall be sure to win the tournament. It was terrible that we lost -that time when you did not play. Of course we can beat the academy -classes and I’m not afraid of the juniors now. Do you remember how -nearly we came to winning that first year?” - -“Indeed I do. How we worked! This will be my last year to play, though. -Oh, of course, little games, perhaps, but I mean in competitive games of -any consequence. We are getting in pretty good trim. You ought to see -Juliet and Pauline make baskets. They almost never miss, if they have -any kind of a chance.” - -“It is only a few days until the big affair comes off.” - -“Yes,—that was one reason why I didn’t want to have any trouble about -Louise. I want to keep fit. I don’t feel any too lively today after last -night’s late hours.” - -“Cut your last class this morning and take a little nap before lunch. -I’ll wake you up.” - -“Oh, no! I’ll get through all right. I’ll get to bed early.” - -For the next few days basket-ball was the chief topic of conversation at -Greycliff. All the teams were “getting into shape,” as they said, and -all the other girls were watching practice or inquiring about it and -trying to prove that their class had the best team in school. “Time will -tell,” said Hilary. “I’m glad we have a referee that is so strict about -the rules. If we win, it will be a real victory.” Hilary was captain -again. - -“I declare, I don’t know which class I want to win,” said Isabel. “Of -course, I want my own class to beat, but here are all your Psyche Club -and Whittier chums in the senior class. Class spirit, however, is the -thing in the tournaments,—hurrah for the junior collegiates!” - -“I remember your leading the yells, Isabel, for the junior academy class -at our first tournament. It was too funny. Avalon led the singing. Who -would have thought that such a little mouse as she seemed at first would -be so lively? I suppose that the academy girls will make as much noise -as we did.” - -“Are you going over for the Academy Tournament tonight?” asked Isabel. -There had been a meeting of the Psyche Club at the “Olympic Portal” and -the girls were chatting on after adjournment. - -“Yes, indeed,” replied Hilary. “We want to see what our opponents can -do, also get into the spirit of the game. All of us that are on the -teams are going, and I guess that the other girls in our suite are -going, aren’t you?” Hilary turned toward Cathalina and Betty, who stood -near. “I know that Lilian is.” - -“Aren’t we what?” asked Betty. - -“Going to the Academy Tournament tonight. Old Hilary says that she wants -to see _her_ opponents, as if she were sure that it will be the _senior_ -collegiate that will play the winning academy class.” Thus Isabel. - -“Too bad, Isabel, that you are a junior and can’t conscientiously root -for us.” - -“She talks as if I wanted to,” and Isabel turned to Virgie in pretended -indignation. - -There was great fun in the gymnasium that night. “Susan’s Band” had been -revived and marched in between games with much playing upon combs, -triangles and other difficult instruments. Four different classes had -their class songs, class yells and unrepressed enthusiasms. Miss -Randolph, who was present from a sense of duty, fairly put her hands -over her ears as applause mingled with the closing strains and clashes -from “Susan’s Band.” This was a longer performance than the contest -between the junior and senior collegiates would be. That was to take -place in a few days, provided no accident to the chief performers -occurred tonight, to postpone the event of the contest between the -winning academy team and that of the collegiates. But it was best to -have the collegiates meet in battle early, for they too, might need time -for recovery. - -It was always determined by lot how the classes were to play. This time -the freshmen, academy, met the sophomores and defeated them in a close -game. The seniors and juniors played against each other, the juniors -defeated. Both games were exciting, the scores nearly even. But the last -game, between the excited little freshmen and the seniors was easily won -by the senior class, with a score rather humiliating to the freshmen, -but on the whole they were pleased to have been in the final game at -all. - -“It will be the seniors against seniors,” whispered Pauline to Juliet, -who smiled at her and said, “Mayhap it will.” - -Several days later, the gymnasium was again the scene of a real contest -between the two collegiate classes. The seats were full of interested -spectators from all the classes, academy and collegiate. Many of the -teachers were there and some of the faculty wives who lived at Greycliff -Heights. There was no uproar, the two classes contenting themselves with -a few yells given at especially appropriate times, and the more -dignified class songs of the upper classes, if any of the class songs -can be called such at all. Very little nervousness, if any, was shown by -either team at first, and the game began with much skill in evidence. -Hilary’s forces began with success in getting the ball, and keeping it -against much interference; the seniors made one basket after another, -and the score was all in their favor. Then luck turned. Calamity of -calamities, it was Juliet who fumbled and lost the ball to a junior, who -tossed it some distance to a girl under their basket,—into which it went -in a jiffy. After the ball was tossed, the juniors were again in -possession. How the senior girls worked to get a chance once more, and -when one of the juniors missed a basket it was a senior girl who -captured the ball. Fast and furious waxed the efforts. For some time -nobody could make a basket for the successful interference of opposing -forces. But at last it was the senior class which was victorious, and as -Pauline had said, it would be the seniors against the seniors in the -final tournament. - -The greatest interest, perhaps, centered in the first tournaments, for -the academy classes were more interested in beating each other than in -trying to win over the collegiates, while the senior and junior -collegiates felt more eagerness to win from each other. However, at the -last tournament the collegiate class always felt that they would be -disgraced if beaten by the academy, a thing which rarely happened. The -academy class which won in the academy tournament felt, moreover, that -they must at least have a respectable score, and make it as hard as -possible for their opponents to win. Then there was always the -_possibility_ of victory. - -The senior academy of this year was especially good. Their team was made -up of experienced players; their captain was a girl of good judgment and -ability. - -“Now, girls,” said Captain Hilary, “don’t imagine that we have already -won this game. It may be close however. Remember how well these girls -play. I feel sure that we can win if we are not over-confident and think -that we need not play our best. Remember to keep your wits about you and -feel that the game depends on how well each of you plays. I don’t think -that this other team will try anything but straight, clean basket-ball, -and let us be as careful. Look out that your interference is within -rules.” - -The senior collegiates had a little advantage over the other team in -poise, but the academy girls were fast and eager. The game began under -the close attention of a very much interested audience composed of the -whole school, teachers, and as many visitors as the collegiate contest -had boasted. The shrill whistle of the referee sounded “ever and anon,” -as Isabel said to Cathalina, next to whom she sat, with a firm grip on -Cathalina’s hand, which she clutched in her excitement. Cathalina said -afterward that she could have shut her eyes and known how the game was -going from Isabel’s grip and exclamations. This time, as a collegiate, -Isabel had her heart with Hilary’s team. Isabel had grown out of the -noisy period, but in tones loud enough to be heard by Cathalina, and by -Virgie, on the other side of her, Isabel’s conversation ran on with the -game. “O, _get_ the ball, Hilary! That’s fine. Oh, mercy, she is going -to try the basket herself instead of giving it to Pauline—she never can -make it at that distance!” Quick withdrawal of Isabel’s hand from -Cathalina’s, as with the rest of the audience she applauded Hilary’s -placing the ball in the basket from an awkward position. “That was -_great_! A few more plays like that—sakes, we’ve lost the ball now. How -in the world did that happen! That guard ought not to have been there! -Good work, Juliet. Another basket! For pity’s sake, keep the ball. -Pshaw, what a fumble! Jump for it girlie. There,—our ball. Good play. -But they are pretty good at keeping our girls from making a basket. -‘Toot-toot,’ time’s up.” - -Cathalina turned laughing to Isabel. “You need a rest as much as the -team, Isabel. Virgie, did you ever see anybody as tense? I begin to get -that way, too, but I don’t dare; it makes me almost sick.” - -Virginia assented. “I have to hold myself in hand, too, but it doesn’t -make Isabel sick. She thrives on excitement. She will go right to sleep -tonight, while I will be seeing the game for half an hour at least. How -much are we ahead?” - -“Not enough to feel easy about for the rest of the game,” said Isabel. -“I’ve got to work just as hard the rest of the time,” she added, with a -whimsical smile. - -“How did it ever happen that you did not play basket-ball on one of the -teams?” asked Virginia. - -“Promised my father and Jim that I wouldn’t.” - -“Aren’t they interested in athletics?” - -“The boys play everything, but Father and Jim said I shouldn’t except in -just ordinary games, like the regular practice we used to have at camp. -I have to display my prowess in the water sports.” - -“You shine there, Isabel,” said Virginia. - -“But at that I had to be rescued by Cathalina last year.” - -“That was because you were hit by that log or whatever it was.” - -“Just the same, I would have drowned, like anybody that couldn’t swim, -if it hadn’t been for her. Here they come. Now for the tug of war!” - -But in this last half of the game the senior collegiates had no trouble, -apparently, in walking off with the honors. Anticipating a close -struggle, they made a great effort to hold the ball, and did brilliant -playing when it came to baskets, receiving enthusiastic applause. This -rather discouraged the younger seniors, who were tired and beginning to -feel the excitement. For them, everything seemed to go wrong, as it -sometimes does. When they had the ball, somebody would fumble, or the -interference kept them from accomplishing anything. The game closed with -a good score in favor of the senior collegiates. But they joined with -the audience in giving the senior academy yell, and heartily returned -the generous congratulations, which the losing team offered them, with -many a warm statement about how good a game they had played. - -Lilian, Eloise and several others of the guitar and mandolin club had -brought their instruments to help lead the singing of Greycliff songs at -the beginning of the tournament or contest, and now escorted the winning -team home with much strumming and singing. Just before entering the -solemn doors of Greycliff Hall, the players lined up and gave the senior -yell with great spirit: - -“Seniors ’rah! Seniors ’rah! ’Rah-rah, Seniors Col-le-gi-ate!” - - - - -CHAPTER VI: THE RUSTLING OF WINGS - - -“No Ice Carnival, girls,” mourned Betty. “Of course we’ll not have any -with just those infants at Grant Academy this year.” - -“All the more time for other things, then,” said Eloise. “It will be -warm before we know it. I have so many things to do, that if I stopped -to count them up I would have to leave school in self defense! There is -doing our ‘bit’ with the knitting and everything right along, of course, -and I want to have time for canoeing and the other athletics this -spring. Hilary, I am going to have as long a bird list as you, or perish -in the attempt! Isabel, our canoe is going to beat in the senior-junior -race.” - -“Is it?” inquired Isabel in a tone which implied doubt. “Try it.” - -Isabel was taking a butterfly pin out of a tiny box. She was the -secretary and treasurer of the Psyche Club, and had ordered this pin for -Betty, who had lost hers several months before. Not a whole year, her -senior year, could she do without her butterfly pin, which stood for so -much of Greycliff happiness and delightful friendship. - -“How did Betty happen to lose her pin?” asked Eloise. “I wonder where it -could be.” - -“That is what Betty wonders. She doesn’t even know when it was lost, -because, you know we keep our pins pinned on something for days at -times. She thought that she took it off a wool frock to pin on a silk -one, but she has hunted her dresses over, besides bureau drawers and -every crack about the suite.” - -It seemed that Greycliff days had wings. The girls complained that -teachers in every course demanded more and more. “Patty thinks that we -are taking nothing but her Latin and English,” remarked Cathalina, “and -Dr. Carver is going to have us cover more ground this year in what is -college Sophomore Latin than any class ever did. She _said_ so! But she -actually complimented the class on doing it, can you imagine it, -Isabel?” - -“I can not. I should pass into unconsciousness if I heard anything of -the sort from her. But I am sorry for her. She had an awful time at -first because she studied in Germany and couldn’t believe that they -started things, and then she was more than half in love with Prof. -Schaefer they say, and mad because the girls didn’t sign up for German, -but after a talk with Miss Randolph she came around and there has been a -distinct coolness between her and Prof. Schaefer of late.” - -“Really, Isabel?” asked Hilary. “Cathalina and I once thought that it -would be a match.” - -“Once Miss Randolph told me a little about her life, girls,” said -Cathalina, “and she has had a pretty hard experience, Miss Randolph -said. It did not make me think any more of her methods, but has helped -me to stand it. And she certainly does know what she is talking about. -There are lots of different people in this world, aren’t there? I don’t -suppose I would have known it if I hadn’t come to Greycliff, but it will -make me interested in people outside the family circle now.” - -“To go back to our work,” said Hilary, “our music director says that -there never has been such a concert as he expects to have the girls give -this Commencement, when all the parents and everybody can be here. The -practice is taking a good deal of time, but it is such fun! There is the -Glee Club and the double quartette and the orchestra—all practicing the -most beautiful things! Lil is to sing as her second number one of her -own songs, and Phil is writing the accompaniment for her now, in between -times at camp. Aunt Hilary is coming this time to see her little -namesake perform!” - -“O, I heard a red-winged blackbird today, girls,” said Juliet, “down by -the river near that place where the cattails grow. They will be nesting -there.” - -“That is fine,” said Hilary. “I must go down there; I haven’t one on my -list yet. I was just thinking of how wonderful it all is this morning -when I first woke up. I heard a bluebird and a robin singing, and I -began to think about all the wings starting North on the spring -migration. The Bible says something about the land of the ‘rustling of -wings’ and that is what is happening now. Can’t you imagine how it is, -some warm night when the wood warblers are flying, tiny little things -with their _weeny_ wings, and then the big birds, like the water birds. -Then—presto—the sun comes up and lights up all the bright colors, the -scarlet tanager and the rose-breasted grosbeak, the indigo bunting and -the bluebird, the orange and black of the Blackburnian warbler, the -cardinal,—come on, I’m going to get my glass and go down to the beach!” - -“All right, Hilary, but remember that your flight of imagination looked -forward into May. Don’t expect to find a rose-breasted grosbeak this -afternoon.” - -“No. Isabel, my imagination is subject to a little common sense. Where’s -my note book, Lilian?” - -“I put it with mine, right on the book-shelf by our geology notes. If -you will wait a few minutes till I get this letter to Phil finished, I -will come too.” - -“If it is not too long,” replied Hilary, “but I know what happens when -you strike a new vein of thought and remember some more things to tell -him. Isabel, you might tell Virgie that we are going out to see what we -can see. Perhaps she will want to go, too.” - -The work of the field classes began a little later than usual that -spring. Hilary, because her work and interest in this line had been a -little more persistent than that of any others, was put in charge of one -bird section. The classes went out in small groups, from the very nature -of the study, for few birds would be seen by any large company, except -at a distance. Cathalina’s generosity had long since supplied the “bird -library” with the finest reference books and some strong field glasses -and binoculars. A number of the girls had their own glasses, ranging in -power from that of an opera glass to the strong lenses of various sorts. -Outside of Lakeview Suite, probably the most enthusiastic bird “hunters” -were Eloise and Isabel, and in friendly fashion, whenever any one saw a -new bird for the season, word was passed around. Isabel dubbed her -particular section “The Stealthy Prowlers.” - -By the time the girls were ready to go to the beach, the party numbered -six, Hilary and Eloise in the lead, Betty and Cathalina strolling along -together, Isabel conducting an investigation by herself, and Lilian -running down the hill last. - -“It is almost too windy to see anything today,” said Isabel, looking at -the scudding grey clouds above tossing waters. - -“Let’s start up along the river. The little birds will hide away from -the wind and the banks there along under the woods ought to have a -number of good ‘finds.’ We ought to see some sandpipers there if nothing -else. How chilly those gulls look. Some day we’ll row out to the -breakwater and take down the different varieties we always see there -every spring.” - -“The Island is better, if you are willing to wait until the first -picnic.” - -Betty was looking off to see if by any chance the same government boat -which had brought Donald before might appear upon the horizon. So -suddenly had he come before, that she was prepared for anything. But no -smoke from passing steamer could be seen in any direction. - -“Poor old Betty,” said Eloise, with a little smile. “‘He cometh not, she -said, I’m a-weary, a-weary,’—_Tennyson!_” - -“My bonny is over the ocean,” began Lilian, then with a sober look -added, “They’ll all be over soon enough!” - -Betty did not mind the teasing, but blew a kiss in fun out to the waves, -and turned with the rest where the little river joined the lake. They -picked their way along over wet sand and mud in places, as at times they -were forced to ascend the bank. - -“Here’s where the doughty Cathalina and Hilary rescued the sinking -Isabel,” said Eloise, as they passed the famous spot. “More than once -have I had it pointed out to me. In after years, when Isabel is famous -for,—what are you going to be famous for, Isabel?” - -“Debating in Congress,” replied Isabel without hesitation. - -“All right,—in after years when the famous Senator Isabel Hunt startles -the country with her eloquence, Greycliff will put a tablet here,——” - -“And on it will be written,” continued Betty in grandiloquent style, -“‘Saved for Greycliff and her country’!” - -“Sh-sh!” whispered Isabel. “I saw something fly up stream, and I heard a -spotted sandpiper call.” - -The girls stopped to listen. The lyre-like notes of a red-winged -blackbird came first to their ears, then a meadow lark sang from the -fields behind Greycliff. A few grackles flew down to the river’s edge -and walked in dignified fashion near the shallows. - -“O, look!” exclaimed Cathalina, pointing to a little hollow ahead of -them. “We shall find some anemones and bloodroot there I’m sure. Don’t -you remember last year they were there, and just beyond is that lovely -violet patch, if they are out yet.” - -“Wait a minute, Cathalina,” said Hilary in a low tone, “what is that -scratching away in those leaves? Could it be the ground robins?” - -The glasses were all focused upon the little hollow before them, -Hilary’s face growing brighter as she watched. She and Eloise turned to -each other and in one breath whispered “Fox sparrows!” - -“I’m so glad,” whispered Lilian. “I missed seeing them last year, for -some reason. Look, there is a flock of them.” Several more of the pretty -brown sparrows flew from across the river and joined those which the -girls were watching. - -“Can’t he scratch for a living, though?” remarked Isabel pointing to one -that was making the leaves fly. “See him fly around with that reddish -tail. What’s that little chap over there?—Oh, a junco. You are very -pretty, sir, but I’ve got you on my list already and I am seeking other -prey! However, I like your pink bill and your black hood and mantle.” - -Just at that point, Betty lost her footing and stepped sidewise into a -pool of water, exclaiming a little over her wet feet. With a little -whir, the fox sparrows, and a small flock of juncos which had been -hidden from sight, rose from the old leaves and fresh green of the new -plants to fly away. But from across the stream there came a clear little -carol which was some fox sparrow’s “goodbye,” so Cathalina said. - -“I had no idea that there were so many juncos there,” said Lilian. “I -was watching the fox sparrows when all at once those whisking white tail -feathers came into view.” - -“It’s the vesper sparrow that has those white feathers on the sides of -the tail, too,—isn’t it, Hilary?” asked Betty. - -“Yes, and other birds, too, but it is easy at a quick glance to identify -these little birds that way, as they fly.” - -“You’d better get back to the Hall, Betty,” said Cathalina. “We don’t -want any cases of tonsillitis in Lakeview Suite. Come on, want a hand -up?” - -“No, thanks, Cathie, I’m still able to climb up a hillside.” - -The girls scrambled up the hillside that led to the wood, while as they -did so, Lilian called their attention to the sound of an airplane -humming above them. “Another kind of a bird,” said she, “a humming -bird.” - -“More like a night hawk,” said Isabel, “circling around up there. -Somebody is practicing. Perhaps it is the hydroplane.” - -“Oh, no. That is a regular plane,—see?” - -Out over the lake, back over the fields behind Greycliff, out of sight -up river, behind the woods, appearing again and coming toward them, then -turning away in the direction of “White Wings,” the plane finally -disappeared entirely from view. - -“I suppose it is from one of the aviation fields,” said Lilian. “I -haven’t gotten used to them yet. I’m so glad that Phil isn’t in the -aviation. It’s just as dangerous practicing as it is in battle.” - -“Oh, no, not quite,” said Isabel. “There are a few more chances to fall -under fire. There’s where I’d be if I were a soldier, sailing over the -clouds,” and Isabel’s hand made all sorts of gyrations in illustration. - -The girls became rather more sober in the thoughts of their brothers and -friends that came to them with the suggestions of aviation and the -camps. They hurried toward and into the Hall, Betty to change her shoes, -and the other girls to hunt up the evening papers with the latest news -from the front. Mail, also, was delivered, and Lilian received a long -package from the camp where Philip was located. - -“It’s the music manuscript, Hilary; let’s go into the society hall and -try it over before dinner. I am crazy to see what sort of an -accompaniment Phil has written. O, dear! If I could only hear him play -it!—his beautiful hands and voice,—sometimes, Hilary, I think I can’t -stand having him go to France and maybe——” - -“Don’t say it, Lilian,” said Hilary, with a tender and understanding -look. “We have to meet it. Someway I think our boys will come back.” - -Lilian looked at Hilary’s sweet, strong face and felt comforted by her -friend’s faith. - - - - -CHAPTER VII: THE NIGHT HAWK - - -Real night hawks fly by day as well as by night. It is not unusual to -hear and see one as it circles over the city at near noon and calls its -loud “Kee-ou.” And at night many a tempting insect, fit for a night -hawk’s menu, flutters about the city lights. The name, then, which -Isabel had given to the aeroplane was not so inappropriate. “There’s the -Night Hawk,” she would say when the droning sound was heard. Whether -there was only one plane, which chose this neighborhood for its -manoeuvers, or several they did not know. - -Greycliff girls were more busily occupied than ever, it seemed. The -seniors were practicing and learning parts for the senior play, planning -a Collegiate Field Meet with the juniors, preparing for final -examinations, paddling, rowing, having beach parties, and rushing out at -odd times to see the wood warblers, which were going through or stopping -to nest there. - -One afternoon about four o’clock, Betty, Isabel and Pauline were over in -the meadows which stretched away from the foot of “high hill,” having -been lured there by an ever-disappearing warbler, which would sing its -little song and then fly to some farther perch. Now the song came from a -little clump of bushes and small trees in the center of an expanse of -meadow land. - -“Oh, I wish it would be a chat,” sighed Isabel. - -“It can’t be,” said Betty. “Its song is more like that of a myrtle -warbler.” - -“If it is a myrtle warbler, after all this chase, I shall be all out of -patience,” declared Isabel. “Every other warbler I’ve seen is a myrtle -warbler or a chestnut-sided! Hilary has seen ten different kinds -already!” - -“Listen, girls,” said Pauline, “there’s the plane right over us.” - -Betty and Isabel looked up. “The Night Hawk,” said Isabel. “Why, there’s -something the matter; it’s coming down!” - -“Perhaps it’s just landing,” suggested Betty. “This is a good place.” - -Realizing that they might be in the way, they scurried for safety’s sake -to the little clump which they had been watching, and stood there to see -the aeroplane land. - -“There are two men!” said Pauline in surprise, as the aviators climbed -out and one of them began to adjust something about the plane. “I’d like -to turn the field glasses that way. I wonder if I couldn’t be looking at -a meadow lark or something and accidentally swing the glasses around -toward them!” - -“I fear that it would not be very polite,” said Betty, laughing, “and I -imagine that the better part of valor would be for us to start for the -Hall.” - -But no sooner had Betty spoken than they observed the idle aviator in -the act of turning a field glass in their direction. A look seemed to -satisfy him, for he touched his helmet in salute, and came hurrying over -the grass toward them. - -“What shall we do?” asked Betty. - -“Wait and see who he is. He might be Donald.” - -“No, it isn’t Donald at all,—it looks like,—it is—Oh, dear, help me to -be polite, girls!” - -“How fortunate I am,” said Captain Holley, as he came up to the girls. -“My friend was taking me for my first ride in an aeroplane and something -about it was not just right. I was quite glad to reach _terra firma_ in -safety. I suppose this is part of a bird class?” The captain was -assuming all the dignity and patronage which as a teacher in a -neighboring school he could take. - -“Yes, Captain Holley,” replied Isabel, with remarkable meekness. “We -were looking for a warbler and found a night hawk instead,—I have called -this plane that we hear occasionally the ‘night hawk’,” she added on -noticing that Captain Holley looked a little taken aback and startled. -“Is it an army plane?” she continued, not thinking that as an ‘enemy -alien’ he would not be permitted to ride in one. - -“No, not exactly,” replied Captain Holley. “A friend of mine is -experimenting. By the way, Miss Betty, do you know whether our young -friend Donald Hilton has gone across yet?” - -“No, I think not, but I think that he is to sail soon with one of the -convoys.” - -“Do you know the vessel on which he will sail?” continued Captain Holley -pleasantly and with an air of slight preoccupation, as he looked back at -the plane and the busy aviator. Isabel nudged Betty at this juncture, -and replied for her: - -“Oh, none of the boys know what vessel they are to go on or when, you -know.” - -Captain Holley, with perfect poise, paid no attention to Isabel’s reply, -but looked inquiringly at the young lady whom he had addressed. Betty -hesitated. “I have not heard for some time, but he wrote that he was -hoping to go over before long. I know nothing definite.” - -“Perhaps Donald will be back to see his friends before he goes,” -suggested Captain Holley. - -“I do not know as to that,” said Betty. “When men are in the army their -time is not their own. Do not the people at Grant hear from their boys?” - -“Sometimes,” assented Captain Holley. - -The girls began to move off and Captain Holley managed to fall in by -Betty and to detain her a little, while the other girls had no choice -but to go in advance, though slowly. - -“May I call some evening, Miss Betty?” asked Captain Holley. - -“Certainly,” said Betty, who did not know how to get out of it, and felt -that for some unknown reason she must keep this young instructor in a -good humor. - -“By the way,” said the young man, after he had thanked Betty and said -that he would be over some time soon, “I found something which -interested me very much the other day.” Unbuttoning his outer coat a -little way, he touched, upon the lapel of the coat beneath, a little -butterfly pin. - -“O!” exclaimed Betty, “my butterfly pin!” - -“But you have one,” smiled Captain Holley, buttoning his outer coat -again. - -“I had to send for another. Oh, you _wouldn’t_ keep my pin, Captain -Holley! Why, it has my name on it, and everything. _Please!_” - -But the captain merely smiled, made her a bow, and went back with rapid -steps to the aeroplane whose aviator was beckoning. - -“What do you think, girls!” exclaimed Betty. “He has my butterfly pin -and wouldn’t give it to me!” - -“Why, the _idea_!” exclaimed Pauline. - -“That is certainly the limit!” said Isabel. - -“And worst of all he was wearing it right on the lapel of his coat for -everybody to see, and some of the boys over there know all about our -Psyche Club.” - -“I saw him fixing something before he started over toward us,” said -Pauline. “I imagine he was putting it there. I don’t think that for his -own sake he would wear it around there at Grant. He just wanted to tease -you. He likes you, Betty.” - -“He takes a funny way to show it, then.” - -“I nudged you, Betty,” said Isabel, “because I thought if you did know -anything about Donald’s sailing it would be better not to tell him. He -might possibly tell some spy,——” - -“Or be one himself,” added Pauline. - -“Oh, no,” said Betty kindly. “I guess he isn’t that bad, though he has -done some funny things.” - -“What are you going to do about the pin?” - -“When he comes over to call, I’ll try to persuade him to give it to me, -and if he doesn’t, I’ll ask Miss Randolph what to do, though I would -hate to have her know anything about it. Oh, I guess I can persuade him. -But he has gotten so flirtatious lately whenever I have seen him. At -that faculty party they had last week, when we girls served for them, -Captain Holley came over to me, and talked and talked.” - -“What did he talk about, Betty?” - -“Oh, he wanted to know if Louise was pleasant to the girls, and if they -like her,—that was a poser, but I got around it some way, and spoke of -that compliment Patty gave her on her Latin lessons. Then he talked -about me, always a pleasing subject, of course,” Betty’s dimples were in -evidence then. “And he talked about himself, also, hinted that his -family fortunes were going to change for the better, and asked me if I -liked to travel.” - -“Betty, you mischief! You are making that up!” - -“Indeed, Pauline, I’m not. He would look at me once in a while, to see -if I were taking it in. Of course, I was only seeing him out of the -corner of my eye, and would raise a bland countenance to him and ask him -some question about Grant, or something,—anything!” - -“He is very handsome,” said Pauline, “has so much style, but it is hard -to be fair now to an enemy alien no matter how innocent he may be.” - -“Style?” said Isabel, “I call it pomposity. Look out for him, Betty.” - -“I will,” laughed Betty, “but I’ll have to be nice till I get my pin -back.” - -“He found out whether you wrote to Donald or not, didn’t he?” - -“Yes, Isabel, or rather that Donald wrote to me.” - -“Well, the night hawk drove away the warblers from this spot and we’d -better go back. I think that the aviator of the night hawk is a skilled -gentleman. Look at the way it is performing up there.” - -“Do you suppose that it really was Captain Holley’s first trip?” - -“I doubt it, Pauline,” replied Isabel. “To change the subject, girls, do -you mind if Virgie and I come over tonight to talk with you girls about -the Inter-Society Debate? We want to have every point that can be -thought up for and against. Sometimes it helps to talk it over with -somebody who has not been thinking about the subject and has a different -viewpoint.” - -“We’ll be delighted to have you come,” said Betty, “but we are not a bit -worried about the result of the contest, with you and Virgie on our -team. It is the first time that there have been two juniors with such -responsibility.” - -“That is what worries us, for fear we won’t come up to expectations.” - -“Have you gotten your main speeches ready?” - -“Yes, and notes on all the points that we think they can bring up, ready -for rebuttal. We’ve even spouted against each other, taking the -different sides, either finding a weak point or defending a point. It is -lots of fun, but takes so much time from our lessons!” - -“All for the glory of the Whittiers, though, and it will soon be over -with victory for us,—depend upon it.” - -“I hope so, but Jane Mills will be fine, has so much self-confidence and -a splendid memory for what her opponents have said.” - -“Your memory is just as good, and your enthusiasm, united with having -real arguments, will certainly carry the day for us. Hurrah for the -Whittiers!” - -“There go Eloise and Hilary, comparing bird lists, I suspect,” said -Pauline. “Mercy, Cathalina, how you startled me!” - -The girls were passing a tall hedge of bushes not far from the “pest -house” just as Cathalina and the slim Juliet slipped between bushes, -without seeing the girls, and crept along a step or two, on the bird -trail also. - -“Cathalina, you looked just like an ovenbird then,” said Isabel,—“like -this,” and Isabel gave an exaggerated imitation of a stealthy walk. -“Anyone would know that you and the ovenbird belong to The Stealthy -Prowlers. Pauline scared your bird away, didn’t she?” - -“That’s right, blame it on Pauline,” said that young lady. - -“You were the one that called out, weren’t you?” - -“I was, but then we were all hurrying along and talking. Cathalina, what -do you suppose is the latest adventure of your giddy room-mate?” - -“I’m sure I couldn’t guess,” said Cathalina, tucking back a sunny lock -and brushing a dry leaf or two from her blue sweater. “What have you -been doing now, Betsey?” - -“Nothing at all but trying to find a warbler.” - -“She found a night hawk instead,” said Isabel. “A gay young Lochinvar -came out of the skies, and doubtless would have carried her off had it -not been for Pauline and me.” - -“Listen to Isabel’s raving!” exclaimed Betty. “I’ll tell you how it was, -girls. It was an interesting adventure, but I was a passive observer.” - -Betty’s account of the descending plane was a spirited one and the -climax thereof was the sight of the butterfly pin on the lapel of the -Captain’s coat. - -“Oh, Betty!” exclaimed Lilian. “I don’t think that was a gentlemanly -thing to do at all. I wonder what will happen to you next!” - - - - -CHAPTER VIII: THE BRIDLE PATH - - -The next Sunday came, bright and sunny. Girls who were busy bringing up -their work mourned because they had to “waste so much time in study.” -Early after lunch, a number of girls started off for their ride, one -groom in charge. Most of these were seniors, whose experience in -horseback riding guaranteed a good time. Greycliff boasted handsome -horses, for some of which the girls felt a real affection. Juliet and -Pauline were already mounted and holding in their impatient steeds, when -Cathalina and Betty came down to the pavilion. Grooms were bringing out -the horses, helping the girls to mount, which most of them did most -easily. - -Cathalina patted the black head of her pretty horse and whispered to -him, “Nice old Prince, I think I like you best of all our horses. But -we’ll have to change your name, I guess, because, as Kipling says, ‘the -captains and the kings depart’ in these days. Come, Boy, quiet now.” - -Betty called the groom to her and asked him to fix her saddle a little. -“It feels loose, some way. Thank you.” - -Cathalina pulled her horse beside Betty’s, as they waited for the entire -company to assemble, and asked her what she was going to do after she -came back. “I’d like to take a row, wouldn’t you?” - -“Yes, I’d love to, but I can’t. I’m going off by myself and bone, as -Donald says, for that Lit. quiz on Monday. There are some things I -haven’t read at all! I’ll try not to think of you girls out rowing. I’m -just going for this ride and that is all the outing I’ll dare take. I -love the bridle path through the woods, don’t you? There are so many -lovely places along the shore, too. Do you remember that wonderful -picnic we had before the boys went away?” - -“Oh, don’t I!” - -“There they go. Pauline is a fine rider, isn’t she?” - -“Yes, but Juliet is even better, and I think that you are the prettiest -thing on horseback that I ever saw.” - -“Thanks, but you are partial.” - -“Not a bit of it. It is my artistic eye.” - -“Shall we bring up the rear? Come on, Calico. This horse has Arabian -blood in him. See his spots?” - -“Is that why they call him that ridiculous name?” - -“I suppose so, but they often call horses that. Let’s catch up with -Pauline if we can. There come Lilian and Hilary, I guess they are going. -They are dressed for it, at least. See, they are explaining why they are -late.” - -In the woods, vines trailed down over their heads, branches met above -them and the sunlight flickered down through lacy leaves once more. The -riders slowed their horses to a walk or jogging trot, while the path -wound between tall trees or spindling saplings. Further on, they had a -gallop on the country road until they struck the bridle path along the -shore, where a beautiful view of the lake was one of the attractive -features. Miss Perin, the teacher who had “substituted for Patty,” as -the girls said, on the picnic at White Wings, was with the girls and let -them stop occasionally to examine a wild flower or pursue some new bird -a little distance. - -“There’s a wonderful old farm-house over there, Miss Perin,” called -Juliet. “Can’t we ride up their drive and see if we can get some milk?” - -“You are not hungry now, are you?” - -“I am starved, aren’t you, Pauline?” The girls laughed, but looked at -Miss Perin with beseeching glances. “Girls are almost always hungry on a -ride, you know, Miss Perin.” - -“Or anywhere else,” said Miss Perin, “All right; lead the way, Juliet.” - -It was a modern place up whose concrete drive they trotted, Juliet -bringing up her horse in style at a side entrance, where a very small -girl sat on a stool just inside a latticed path. She ran out upon the -upper step to see who was coming, then quickly ran back and hid behind -the lattice, peeping out at them. - -“Little girl, will you ask your mother if we can have a drink of milk?” -asked Juliet, in coaxing tones. A bareheaded, barefooted little boy next -came running around the corner of the house and stood still, blinking in -the sun and staring at the girls and horses. The girls sat on their -horses and looked in turn at the clean lawn, the flower beds, the -comfortable looking brick house with its newly painted grey blinds and -wide front porch, the big barns and tall silo, the stretching fields, -one of them with a herd of handsome Holstein cattle. - -“Here is wealth, health and contentment,” said Juliet, just as a thin, -tall woman came from the porch and descended the steps, an inquiring -look on her face. “Pardon me,” continued Juliet. “One time when some of -us were riding we got some milk here, and we think that it would taste -very good again.” - -“Are you the girls from the school?” asked the woman, smiling a little. - -Miss Perin replied this time, “Yes, these are the girls from Greycliff.” - -“Oh, yes, I see. Once in a while some of them stop, but we can’t always -let them have the milk. And we charge a good price for it,” she warned. -“We have enough today, though.” - -The girls dismounted, tying their horses, or letting the groom do it, to -the fence that ran along one side of the driveway. - -“Don’t tie yer horse to no tree,” said the little boy, waving back one -of the girls who was about to fasten her horse to a young peach tree. -“They either breaks the branches or gnaws the bark,” he added. - -The little girl had overcome her shyness by this time and was edging -outside of the porch, trying to make up her mind whether she dared -descend or not, among so many big girls. A big man, dressed roughly for -his chores, came from one of the barns and added to the audience as he -stood and watched the girls and his children from a distance. - -Presently the woman reappeared carrying a big, white pitcher, and a -young girl of about the same age as the Greycliff girls brought a tray -of glasses, shining and clean. - -“It can’t cost more than a Buster Brown or a pecan fudge sundae,” said -Pauline. “Doesn’t it look good?” The milk was being poured by this time, -creamy and cool. - -Lilian, meanwhile, had found a few pieces of candy in her pocket and was -coaxing the little girl to talk to her. The candy was left from Phil’s -last tribute, ordered from New York, since he was not there to send it -to her. Cathalina, too, fumbled in her pockets and discovered a little -red pencil, with a silk cord attached, which had been used for some -society doings and recently put in her pocket as convenient for taking -her bird notes when afield. - -“What is your name?” asked Cathalina. - -“Charlotte,” replied the child, much taken with the red pencil. - -“I have a cousin Charlotte, who is just about as old as you are, I -think. Do you go to school yet?” - -The child shook her head and broke away from the girls to show her -treasures to her mother, who was too busy, however, to pay much -attention. - -“It’s a shame we haven’t anything for the little boy!” exclaimed -Cathalina. “I haven’t another thing in my coat pocket but a -handkerchief.” - -“I believe I’ve got one of those pencils,” said Hilary, “and I put a -little memorandum book in my pocket this morning. I though we’d -certainly see something new, but I haven’t made a note in it.” - -Hilary searched her pockets to see if she, too, had brought one of the -pretty pencils, for she usually preferred a more substantial kind and -had provided one of that sort for this trip. But she found a bright blue -one, which she hastened to offer to the small boy with the memorandum -book, and received a beaming smile as a reward. - -By this time the farmer himself had joined the company and took the -empty glasses from Miss Perin and Betty, who happened to be standing -together. “Did you hear about the bomb explosion?” he asked. - -“No, where?” - -“O, a piece up the road, about ten mile, I reckon,—railroad bridge. -Something went wrong and it wasn’t hurt much, but a troop train was -about due. They’ll have to guard all them bridges. Some queer doin’s -around here.” - -Betty’s mind immediately flew to the cave and the queer men. Miss -Perin’s brow contracted. “You wouldn’t think there was anybody who could -do anything like that.” - -“Easier to kill ’em off here before they get over, I suppose—a bombed -train or a ship sunk by a submarine, not much difference.” - -The girls settled for their milk and the contents of a jar of cookies, -not a trace of which remained, and the cavalcade moved on, this time -toward Greycliff. Cathalina and Betty fell back to the rear, though all -the horses traveled at a pretty good pace, as horses do when their faces -are turned homeward. - -“Really I don’t want to hurry,” said Betty, “even if I ought to. Perhaps -I can study better.” - -“I wonder what time it is,” said Cathalina, “I did not put on my watch.” - -“Neither did I,” said Betty, “but the wood thrushes have been singing -steadily for some time and I’ve noticed that they begin to tune up about -three o’clock sun time. We lost lots of time at the farm-house. It will -be pretty late by the time we get home, I mean, late to begin studying. -Don’t worry if I’m not at dinner. I’ll get excused afterwards. Would you -mind making me a sandwich and putting it somewhere in the suite where -nobody will eat it up?” - -“Oh, Betty, you ought to take time to eat!” - -“Dinner takes too long. I’d rather have the time here.” - -“I feel more like hurrying, if we get a row before dinner.” - -“Let’s catch up, then.” - -The girls had been lagging behind the rest for a few minutes, as they -were in the bridle path in the woods, the last lap before the final -gallop to Greycliff Hall, and the groom who kept behind them, according -to orders, had shown some slight restlessness, though he did not -interrupt their conversation. The column of riders closed up, and some -one from in front called to the groom to come and fix something. He -passed a dozen of the girls till he reached the one who needed -assistance, and as they were in sight of the school, he did not return -to his position as rear guard, but kept along with the rest. - -“Don’t wait for me, Cathalina,” said Betty, “I see something I -positively must have for my book of Greycliff flowers. Gallop along, -I’ll be there in a minute.” So saying, she waved her hand to Cathalina, -who gave reins to Prince. He needed no urging to hurry through the rest -of the way in the wood and to gallop, with clattering feet, on the road -which led so shortly to Greycliff. - -At the point where Betty stopped, the wood was open for a little way in -the direction in which Betty had seen the bright flower. Instead of -dismounting, then, Betty turned her horse aside and advanced toward the -spot, thinking that she would hold “Calico” while she picked the flower. -But Calico was nervous. He wanted to get on with the rest, and when a -rabbit started up from almost under his feet, he suddenly bolted, and -before Betty could tighten her loose reins he darted ahead where the -woods was still open, paying no attention to Betty’s “Whoa, whoa, Boy! -Whoa, Calico! Steady now!” - -Betty shook her feet lose and prepared for the worst. “If he goes under -those trees, I’ll try to catch hold of a limb,” she thought. But being -unexpectedly whirled among the trees does not give one much of a chance -for any gymnastic exploit. Calico stopped suddenly in front of an -apparently impenetrable wall of bushes, and as Betty shot over his head, -wheeled and started in another direction. - -Meanwhile, Cathalina, galloping with the gay company of seniors and -others, had never a thought that anything could happen to Betty. At the -pavilion she slipped quickly from her fiery Black Prince, as she called -him, ran to catch up with Hilary and Pauline who were ahead of her, -hurried to Lakeview Suite, donned more suitable attire for the lake, and -joined Hilary, Lilian and some of the other girls who were bound for the -same place. Arrived at the lake, they found the waters smooth, and to -their delight, the _Greycliff_ ready to take any of the girls for a -ride. It had recently come in from a trip to White Wings and was only -waiting to be filled up again. - -“This is better for lazy folks like me than rowing,” said Cathalina. - -“We are all pretty tired after our long ride anyway,” said Hilary. “Poor -Betty! I don’t believe she could have resisted this, if she had known -that the _Greycliff_ was going out. Had she come when you left -Cathalina?” - -“No; I was only a few minutes behind you girls. I was almost ready when -I told you to start on. She was going to gather a flower or two she saw -for her book. I imagine she stayed to talk to some of the girls at the -pavilion.” - -“Eloise couldn’t come, either, had a music lesson. She had forgotten it -and went back, after she saw the _Greycliff_ and everything. ‘O!’ she -said, ‘There’s that music lesson!’ The next minute she was running up to -the hall on the double-quick.” - -“How lovely the sky and lake, and the shore, with its trees and cliffs, -look when everything is safe and happy!” said Lilian, who was sitting in -the bow, watching the water and the clouds, and thinking of Philip. - -“Were you thinking of the ‘Wreck of the Hesperus’?” asked Isabel, who -sat next. - -“No, I was thinking of the boys and of how quickly sometimes things can -change.” - -Isabel patted Lilian’s hand. Quietly the girls sat as the boat cut -through the water and rocked a little when Mickey turned it about to -take them back. Nobody felt like singing, but if they had, Betty, lying -in the woods, could not have heard them. - -Dinner-time came. “Where is Betty?” asked Hilary, who sat at the head of -a table now. When there were not enough teachers to go around, senior -girls were chosen to grace the head of tables. Betty and the rest of the -suite-mates sat at the same table. - -“Betty asked me to make a sandwich for her and put it where it would not -be eaten. I think she meant to stay in the library. Dorothy, you were -reading in the library, weren’t you? Did you see Betty?” - -“No, but she may have been in the stacks. I was over by the reference -books.” - -“She ought not to do this,” said Hilary, “but I won’t see you if you -make a sandwich, Cathalina. She will be starved.” - -“We had that milk in the afternoon,” said Dorothy. - -“I think we have a few crackers in the suite, too,” added Cathalina. - -After dinner the girls had their usual time of recreation, some of them -outdoors, some at the pianos, some visiting in different parts of the -hall; then the three girls of Lakeview Suite met in their rooms and -prepared to study. Hilary declared that she could scarcely keep her eyes -open and was going to bed as soon as she finished reviewing her French. - -“I think I will go early, too,” said Lilian. “Not having ‘society’ last -night put me ahead with my work.” - -An hour or so went by, then Hilary and Lilian began to take down their -locks and braid them, while they finished the last of their student -tasks. - -“Thanks, Lil, I was hoping you would bring me my comb when you got -yours, but couldn’t quite bring myself to ask you.” - -Cathalina yawned. “I wonder how late Betty will stay up.” - -“What time is it?” asked Hilary, whose back was toward the clock. - -“Eight-thirty, almost. I believe I’ll go over to the library and hunt up -Betty,—O, I forgot. I certainly can’t do it in this rig.” Cathalina -looked down upon her silk kimono and smiled. “Oh, hum. I guess it’s -moonlight, isn’t it?” she said as she crossed the room to the window. -Kneeling on the window-seat, she looked out to see a fitful moonlight -and a moon crossed by floating clouds. Then she startled the girls by an -explanation,—“Why, girls! Here are all Betty’s books!” - -“Well?” said Lilian inquiringly, “Wasn’t she going to read at the -library?” - -“Not altogether, and besides, here are her notes, and everything that -she told me she had all ready to use when she came back. Why, _girls_! -I’ll have to go to the library now.” - -Nobody was sleepy then. Cathalina dressed as quickly as possible and -started over to the library. Hilary and Lilian started on the rounds of -the rooms and suites in which Betty might possibly be visiting. No -Betty, and the first bell rang for the close of study hours. - -Cathalina came back looking frightened. “She isn’t anywhere over there, -or in the practice rooms, or the chapel, and I even went over to the -pest house, thinking that she might have slipped in there to see -somebody. But after all, girls, those books on the window-seat tell the -story, because I know that she was going to use them.” - -Hilary and Lilian had been the rounds, too, but agreed with Cathalina -that the presence of the books indicated something wrong, or at least a -different plan. - -“I’m going right down to Miss Randolph and she will tell us what to do,” -decided Cathalina. - -“We’ll dress and come down, too,” the girls assured her. - -Miss Randolph listened gravely to Cathalina’s story, sandwich and all. -“The first thing to do,” said she, “is to find out if the horse Betty -was on came in. I can’t see, though, if the groom was riding according -to orders, how Betty could have been left behind. It was a new groom, -however.” - -“Oh, yes, Miss Randolph, I remember that he was called up front to fix -one of the girls straps or saddle or something, and Betty said she was -just going to gather that one flower and for me to hurry on. I supposed -she was coming and I don’t remember a thing but hurrying to get to the -Hall. There was such a crowd of us at the pavilion.” - -“I’ll call up the stables. It is possible that with the horses turned -into the pasture, the absence of one would not be noticed. What horse -did you say Betty had?” - -“Calico,” replied Cathalina with a smile. “Betty was talking about his -being part Arabian.” - -There was some delay. Miss Randolph called again and several men went -out into the pasture to see if the spotted horse were there. It would -not have been hard to see in the moonlight, but Calico was not in the -pasture. Cathalina was waiting for the report. When it came, Miss -Randolph’s voice shook a little, as she told Cathalina to go up and put -on a wrap. “You will have to go with us to show us the place where you -saw Betty last,” she said. “Don’t alarm the girls, or tell anybody but -those who already know. Tell them to go to bed. The bell for lights out -has rung, so only your suite-mates will have to know about it. Perhaps -Betty is all right. I hope so.” Miss Randolph turned again to the -telephone and Cathalina flew upstairs as fast as her feet could carry -her. - -Miss Randolph had too much faith in her girls’ keeping the rules, or -pretended to have, though pretence and Miss Randolph were scarcely -acquainted. When Cathalina got upstairs, out of breath and excited, the -room was full. Hilary and Lilian were fully dressed. Pauline, Helen, -Eloise and Juliet were still in their usual study-hour habiliments. -Isabel’s slippered feet peeped out from her white night-robe, and her -kimono was only gathered around her shoulders. - -“We went down, Cathalina, as we said we would, but Miss Randolph was -telephoning and we did not dare knock. What is it? Any news? Hilary and -Lilian were both speaking at once, while the other girls, in hushed -silence, waited for Cathalina to get her breath and reply. - -“Calico isn’t in. I’m to go at once and show them where I saw Betty -last. Miss Randolph said for me to get a wrap and come down, and for -everybody to go to bed. I guess she meant for me to think that Betty is -just lost in the woods. Oh, girls, if I just hadn’t gone on! Here we -have been having a good time and maybe Betty——” - -“Hush, Cathie,—it wasn’t your fault,” said Hilary. “Come, now, let’s not -imagine the worst. I’ll go downstairs with you, Cathalina, even if we do -get scolded. Here is your coat. You’d better have a scarf or something -on your head, too. Miss Randolph is right; everybody ought to go to bed. -Come over in the morning, girls, and you will probably find Betty here.” - -Such was Hilary’s influence that the girls, Isabel and Virgie shivering -with nervousness, departed at once to their rooms to crawl into bed, and -after declaring that they should not sleep a wink, to fall sound asleep -not to waken until the rising bell should wake them. - -By the time Cathalina had gone downstairs, Miss Randolph was ready. She -smiled at Hilary and Lilian, told them to go to bed, took Cathalina’s -arm and started. Capable Mickey was on hand, as Cathalina was glad to -see, and helped them into the small car which had been brought around in -front of Greycliff Hall. There was several men on horseback, armed with -large flashlights. - -It seemed only a minute before they came to the bridle path which -started off the main road. Then Cathalina and Miss Randolph were put on -horses and led along the path until they came to the spot where -Cathalina said Betty had stopped. With flashlights they examined the -place and saw the hoof marks where Calico had stampeded. Cathalina -wondered why she and Miss Randolph had not been put on horseback at -first, then shudderingly realized that they might need the car for -Betty. As soon as Cathalina had identified the spot, she and Miss -Randolph were led back to the car to wait while the search went on; but -just as they started, a loud whinny was heard from the depths of the -woods further on, and the men started in that direction. “That is our -horse!” exclaimed Miss Randolph. “It must be!” - -“Why don’t they call to Betty?” asked Cathalina. - -“They will pretty soon,” replied Miss Randolph, and sure enough, there -were a few loud hails that came to their ears as they sat in the car. - -Presently, one of the men came to report that the horse had been found, -the saddle partly off, and the bridle so caught in a strong branch that -the animal could not get away. “Miss Betty was not anywhere near the -horse, nor near the place where the horse must have bolted. We think -that it would be better for you and Miss Cathalina to go back to the -Hall. We are intending to stay out all night, if necessary, to find the -girl.” - -Cathalina looked around at the shadows, the dark trees and bushes, -wondering if Betty were somewhere among them and thought of what Lilian -had said in the afternoon about its all being so beautiful “when every -thing was safe and happy.” - - - - -CHAPTER IX: WATER WINGS - - -It looked very much as if this were Betty’s final adventure. She lay -upon the ground, on one side, where she had rolled from the elevation -about the trunk of a huge tree. Both arms were over her head, for she -had tried to catch the branches as she was thrown. Tossed over the -bushes, she had just escaped being hurled against the tree, but had -struck her head on one of its large roots as she fell. Her face was -pale, her hands and arms limp, her brown hair a tumbling mass about the -dark collar and shoulders of her riding coat. For a long time she lay -so, then gradually began to come to a very sick consciousness of her -condition and surroundings. Her arms were stiff as she drew them down to -hold an aching, dizzy head. She tried to raise herself on her elbow, but -fell back again and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they -rested on a little ground squirrel that sat at attention on a projection -of the root which had made the large lump on Betty’s head, as she later -discovered by the stain there. - -“Hello, little chap,” she said, whereat the chipmunk whisked out of -sight behind the tree. Betty tried to think what had happened, and -turned over on her back, her arm under the bruised head, looking now -into the leafy branches of the big elm. A fat wood thrush flew upon one -of the lower limbs and sang “Come to me,” most consolingly. Every dark -spot upon his breast was in view, and he spread his wings, preened his -feathers, turned this way and that, changed the key of his song, went -from major to minor, and tinkled his little musical bell from time to -time. - -“Aren’t you a darling?” asked Betty, smiling a little crooked smile. -“Oh, yes; I got thrown. It was Calico. I’m supposed to be ‘boning’ on -Lit., and it’s little Betty who will have to get herself out of this -mess. I can’t be so awfully far in this woods. But I imagine that Calico -has found his way home. Maybe they will come after me. No broken bones -anyway, unless my head,” and Betty smiled again her drawn smile. “Now -I’m _going_ to sit up!” And sit up she did. She gathered up her loose -hair, wet and stained, and finding still a hairpin or two, fastened it -on top of her head, away from the aching lump. “My, it’s getting dark. -I’ll have to hurry.” - -But there was no hurrying for Betty. She crawled to the tree and drew -herself up against it. “If I could only see where the sun is, I could -tell the direction,” she thought. Then she wondered if she were near -enough to the lake to hear it and listened attentively. She could not be -very far from the bridle path, and yet the horse had run into the woods -for quite a distance. Oh, well, she didn’t know what would happen, but -she might as well try to get out of the woods some way. Deciding on the -direction, she staggered from tree to tree at first, but came to no -clearing, and it kept growing darker. It was hard to keep in any one -direction when there were so many thick bushes to go around, and the -time seemed very long. Every little while Betty would have to sit down, -all sick and dizzy, to rest. The night air was chilly and little noises -startled her. - -Finally, she seemed to come into a narrow path, and presently she heard -the sound of waves. She had at last come through that almost -impenetrable woods to the lake shore. “Now I can find the way home,” she -thought, though what part of the shore she would reach she had no idea. - -Feeling her way along slowly, Betty would lose the path at times, then -find herself back upon it again, and while she watched, for fear she -might walk over the edge of some bluff, she saw a glimmer through the -trees, then found herself before an open door from which shone the -feeble light of a lantern. She staggered in, and dropped into a straight -chair which was propping open the door. At once she heard voices -outside, and began seriously to doubt the wisdom of her walking into the -place. She looked around. There was a long table roughly made and upon -it stood bottles of chemicals and different tools. This was no real -house,—what had she stumbled upon? Could this be the house over the -cave? But it was too late to get away, for they were almost at the door. -Betty could hear the conversation now. It was partly in English, partly -in simple German, and Betty thought to herself that, after all, having -studied German was not such a waste of time as she had felt. There were -words here and there which she did not recognize, but to her horror she -realized that these were the men who were responsible for the attempt on -the bridge. They were explaining to some one evidently in authority over -them, and excusing themselves for their failure. The other man spoke -harshly, telling them that there would be a search and they must conceal -the evidences of their work at this place. - -“Tomorrow the government boat will be down here. Fishing pretence will -not deceive them. They will search everywhere. The secret service men -are already on the trail. Signal for the hydroplane. You can work for -White Wings till this blows over. Throw all that stuff into the lake. -Did you remove all the bombs from the cave?” - -Betty’s heart sank as she recognized the voice. It was that of Captain -Holley. She rose, having some wild idea of trying to escape, but did the -best thing that she could have done under the circumstances. Fright, -chill, and the injured head were too much for her, and she sank to the -floor by the chair in a faint. - -Round the corner of the little house walked the three men and stopped -astonished at the sight of the fallen figure in the doorway. Betty would -have been still more frightened if she could have seen the revolvers -drawn, and heard Captain Holley’s angry exclamation as he discovered who -she was. “It is one of the young ladies from the school,” said he, -stooping over her. Betty was regaining her senses, but did not dare -move. Stepping over her, still with revolver in hand, he went inside and -looked around to see if she had any companion. - -“She has seen too much. Throw her in the lake,” growled one of the men. - -“There is no one else here,” said Captain Holley, returning. Lifting -Betty he laid her on a bench which stood against the wall inside. “She -has been thrown, I judge, and has come through the woods.” - -“They will be hunting for her, too,” said the same man who had spoken. - -“If they catch us, it will be better if we have treated her well,” spoke -the second man. - -“If they get us, they can prove nothing unless she tells them something. -Throw her in the lake, I say.” - -A sharp reproof from Captain Holley stopped further remarks, and the two -men began to bundle up various articles, with the bottles and other -things on the table. “Row out a little distance before you drop them,” -was the order. - -As the men left the room, Betty moaned a little, to give warning that -she was conscious, and Captain Holley came over to look at her. Taking a -flask from his pocket, he poured a small dose of something into a dingy -glass which stood by a pitcher on the table, diluting it with water from -the pitcher. Betty opened her eyes and stared at him without a word as -he lifted her head and gave her the stimulant. She drank, not knowing -but it might poison her, for she had little confidence in the gentleman -who was giving it to her. But she felt much better after swallowing the -hot dose and said, “Thank you, Captain Holley,—can you take me home, -please?” - -“I do not know,” he replied non-commitally,—“what can I do. I have a -serious errand. I dare not leave you here alone, and I can not take you -home now.” - -“Oh, I am afraid of those men,—_do_ not _leave_ me!” cried Betty. - -“Did you have a fall?” - -“Yes; I waited to pick a flower and told the girls, or Cathalina to go -on.” - -“What became of the horse?” - -“I don’t know. If he had gone home, I should think they would have come -for me right away. I must have been unconscious a long time.” - -“Miss Betty, I have been interested in you for some time. Could you -think of going away with me tonight. Could you forget your prejudice -against my nation? I shall have large sums of money and could make you -happy.” The young man’s eyes sparkled as with perfect poise he stood -looking down on the forlorn Betty. - -Betty’s eyes closed in sick surprise. Surely no girl ever listened to a -proposal under such difficult circumstances. While not an actual -assassin, the man had been planning death for her countrymen and -justified it under the name of patriotism for another country. He had -been playing a part at Grant Academy. - -“Oh, Captain Holley!” she cried—“I’m too sick to think of anything! No, -of course I would not go away with anybody without my parents’ -knowledge! But I do trust you to be good to me,” she added, her lips -trembling. - -“You are a very beautiful girl,” said Captain Holley, his cold face -expressing no feeling now. “You will think of me and change your mind. -Come.” - -Betty had heard the humming of a motor, but remembered that she must not -show any knowledge of what had been said about the hydroplane. - -Putting his arm around the shaken girl, the young officer led her down -some rude steps at the rear of the building to the foot of the bluff. -She thought as she went how cleverly these must be concealed. But as she -reached the bottom, she felt so sick again, that she reeled against her -companion, who picked her up, carried her over the rocks and put her -into something at the water’s edge, something with wings, a dark shadow -in the night, for the moon was hid by clouds. - -Betty was fastened in and off they glided, presently rising from the -water and cutting through the cold night air. Betty had ceased to care -what became of her, though she drowsily longed to get to some -comfortable place and go to sleep. These were water wings indeed, more -interesting than the “night hawk,” but how cold it was! Next, they were -descending, upon the water once more, and approaching some landing. - -Dazed and stiff, she was lifted out. Captain Holley gave a sharp whistle -and a man came running to the landing. “Take it right back, for they -have need to hurry. They were destroying the contents of the hut, but it -is too late. I saw the vessel lying off to the east as I came. Look out -for the marines. Our men were to row off from land and wait for you, -signaling when they heard the motor. I shall be waiting for you in the -plane, at the accustomed place.” - -This was in English, and the reply was in the same language. The young -captain was evidently under strong excitement. He half carried Betty -some little distance to a house, where a stern looking woman opened the -door. To her the officer used a strange language which Betty thought -might be Russian, and they talked rapidly while a fire was being made -and a kettle of water put on the stove. Another man appeared and all -three left the room. There was the noise of furniture being moved, of -people going up and down stairs and talking. - -After a little, the woman came in again, made Betty a cup of strong hot -tea and brought it to her on a plate which also contained a piece of -bread and butter and a small, round cake. The little meal was very -refreshing. Betty ate it and watched the woman making hurried -preparations for another lunch, setting several plates on the kitchen -table, for it was into the kitchen that Betty had been brought and -placed in an old-fashioned rocking chair near the stove. - -She had just finished the last drop of tea when Captain Holley came -running lightly down the stairs, as she could hear, and entered the -room, drawing up a chair. Catching the eye of the woman, he pointed to -the door and she obediently went out. - -“I have had a cot put in the attic with everything that you will need. -It will be safer. Whatever you may hear, do not come downstairs until -morning. Will you remember?” - -“Yes.” - -“Come in, Sofia. Help this lady upstairs and _give her the key_.” - -As Betty left the kitchen, she turned and saw her strange admirer -standing erect and still, in his aviator’s costume, looking after her -with an expression almost stern. She stopped a moment. “Thank you, -Captain Holley, more than I can tell, for your protection.” He did not -reply, but raised his hand in salute. - -It was a tiresome climb to the attic for one in Betty’s lame condition, -but at last the woman opened a door at the head of the stairs and -ushered her into a dusty, close place, pointing toward a clean cot in a -space which had been hastily cleared from rubbish. An old wash-stand had -been moved up near the cot and contained water-pitcher and towels, which -Betty was very glad to see. Handing Betty the key, the woman went -downstairs, and Betty turned the key in the lock with great -satisfaction, feeling almost safe, if she was in a strange garret, as -she said afterward. She had known the time when she was afraid of attics -at night, but this was so safe by comparison that she did not think of -being frightened. When she had bathed her face and carefully combed as -much of her hair as was not matted over the wound, she felt more like -the old Betty. Cold compresses felt good to the sore spot and loosened -the hair over it. “I am whole up to date,” she thought, “and perhaps I -can persuade his highness to let me go in the morning. Why, this is an -electric light! I don’t know any place in the country around here that -has it but White Wings. Of course it is White Wings. Where else could a -hydroplane come from? If I hadn’t been so stupid, I would have -recognized it.” A cord dangled from the ceiling with a dingy little bulb -swinging at its end, and Betty carefully located it relative to the bed -before she turned off the light and crawled into a slightly lumpy but -very welcome cot. The coarse gown provided was clean, and the little -pillow soft. Air came from somewhere, though she had seen no windows. -The atmosphere of the place would soon be improved, she concluded. - -The tea had made her less sleepy. For some time after she had thanked -Providence for her safety, she lay awake, wondering what Greycliff folks -were doing, what would come of this adventure, and how she was going to -get back. “I need a doughty knight to come and rescue the princess in -the tower!” Betty giggled at the thought and grew drowsy, her head -aching less, until finally she dropped into a slumber perhaps less -disturbed than that of her suite-mates, who were still dressed and -curled up on the outside of their beds. Miss Randolph was sleeping -scarcely at all, and there were men searching the woods and shore for -her all night. Although she knew that Captain Holley was concerned in -this dreadful work as a spy, she felt that he had a fancy for her and -that she was comparatively safe in any refuge of his choosing. The last -sounds that Betty heard were of people hurrying about, an occasional -door closing noisily. The ever-shifting moonlight crept into a little -round window behind some heavy furniture and threw long shadows from the -dusky objects in the attic over the lonely little figure in the old cot. - - - - -CHAPTER X: BETTY FINDS HER CAMERA - - -In the morning, Betty wakened with the feeling that she was too stiff to -move. She had taken cold from the exposure and ached all over. Her head -seemed “two sizes too large,” as she thought, and she lifted it -cautiously from the pillow to look around. Not having her watch, she did -not have any idea what time it might be. Everything was still about the -house, but from the outside she heard bird songs, the chickens, and the -farm animals. “It’s White Wings all right,” said Betty, as she decided -to dress. She turned on the light again, though there was sunlight, if -dim, and she could see at one end of the room a window covered with a -dark curtain. She did not care to traverse the dusty floor till she was -dressed, but when that was at last accomplished, she peered around in -such parts of the place as she could go without fear of bumping a head -already too sore, and found the open, round window behind an old highboy -and a tall bookcase. As she peeped out of the window, she could see the -little ice house and the shed which had been built for the hydroplane. -“Probably they kept the ‘night hawk’ there too,” she thought. - -Retracing her steps, she noticed a familiar object, among a pile of -things on a large box near her cot. Could it be? Yes, there was the Red -Cross seal which one of the girls had stuck in one corner. She reached -over, threw aside a pile of old clothing and drew out her camera. It was -covered with dust, but seemed to be unharmed. She looked at once to see -if the film were there, the film with the pictures of the birds, the -scenes and the people of White Wings,—but it had been taken out. - -“H’m,” said Betty to herself, “that was why my camera disappeared. That -man was into this work and did not want any pictures of himself thrown -around.” Betty shivered, looked around the attic, and was seized with a -desire to get out of it as soon as possible. Gathering up the few -articles which she had not yet put on, she hurried to the door, key in -hand. The light was dim, and as she fumbled with the key in the lock, -she saw something on the floor, an edge of something white. When she -opened the door, this proved to be folded paper, which she picked up. -She listened a moment. Not a sound inside the house as yet. Betty ran -down the stairs, opened another door, and found herself on the second -floor, in a hall from which bedroom doors opened, bedrooms all upset -from hurried packing. She stopped and listened again, then ran down to -the first floor and unlocked and opened the front door. Ah, freedom felt -so good! But she went into the house again and went through the first -floor, determined to find out if she really were alone. There was no one -in the house. Dishes unwashed and food left standing were on the kitchen -table. - -Betty thought of the telephone, then, and took down the receiver before -it occurred to her that the wires would be cut. They would not risk her -waking and trying to communicate with Greycliff. There was, of course, -no response. “Very well,” thought Betty, “if no one comes, I could walk -it and swim the river, or walk around to the bridge. Or, of course, -there are other farm-houses between here and Greycliff. I believe I’d -better get something to eat.” But the chances were that some one would -come, for if these people had been obliged to leave so hurriedly, they -must have been quite sure that they were or would be under suspicion. -Something had happened. - -On the pantry shelf stood a bread box containing the best of home-made -bread. There was a refrigerator, also, in which she found butter, milk -and cream, with other things which she did not want. Jam, jelly, pickles -and canned fruit on the shelves might have looked good to her under -other circumstances. But she cut herself one slice of bread, and found a -clean glass into which she poured some milk. Spreading the bread thinly -with butter, she ate it slowly, sipping the milk, preparing herself to -get back to Greycliff if she had to walk! Then she thought of the horses -which she might saddle and ride. And what about the stock, anyhow? Had -they used the horses to carry them away? Very likely. Who had fed the -other stock? She had heard the cows lowing. All that was to be -discovered. She had forgotten about the note. What had she done with it. -Oh, yes, she had put it in her pocket. - -Having finished her breakfast, Betty pulled the note from her pocket and -read: - - Little Bettina: - - A word of goodbye. Our cause is discovered. I - wish that I could take you with me, but my strange - duties forbid. Do not marry that stupid American - boy,—but no danger. Our armies will see to that. - After the war we shall see. I can make you a - countess. - - In haste— - - Rudolph Von Holle. - -Betty dropped the note into her lap in perfect surprise. “He came up and -left that note, and has gone, run away from Grant and everything! -‘Stupid American boy,’ indeed! I wonder if he really did care about me. -It’s funny way of caring, and still he has kept anything from hurting -me. Oh, dear! I wish somebody’d come! If it were Juliet or Pauline, the -stock would get fed and the milking would be done, but I don’t feel like -poking about the barns. There might be somebody left around.” Betty -stood a moment, thinking what she ought to do, then decided that her -father and mother would want her to be cautious. Slowly she walked again -to the front door and looked out. She saw nothing, but heard a motor and -quickly withdrew, locking the door. The other outside doors were locked -she knew, for she had carefully tried them before settling down to her -little breakfast. What she feared was the return of the “night hawk” or -the hydroplane, in spite of the note in her hand. Perhaps not all were -suspected and after helping the others off were coming back. There was -the White Wings motor boat, too. These things flashed through her mind -while she stood looking out of the front window in one of the rooms. - -It was not the “night hawk.” The sound was different. It was a boat. She -could not see through the trees what sort of a boat it was that was -landing, and waited, all ready to whisk upstairs to the attic and lock -herself in, or to slip out the back way and hide in the woods, if she -could reach them without being seen. The sheltering vines of the little -vineyard on the hillside were not so far away. Like a little Indian maid -she might perhaps slip from covert to covert. - -But all this planning was unnecessary. To Betty’s great relief, she saw -marines running rapidly across the way from the picnic grounds and up -the ascent toward the house. But their guns were ready for action, and -Betty drew back from the window, undecided just how to let them know she -was there. In a moment the house was surrounded and a loud voice called, -“Open the door and surrender!” Another voice which she recognized -immediately called, “Betty! Betty! Are you there?” - -“Oh, Donald,” she answered. “Yes, I’m here all alone. Tell them not to -shoot!” - -Betty hastened to unbolt and unlock the front door and greeted with -smiles of joy the tall captain, who stood there, and Donald, close -behind. - -“This is Captain Stone, Betty,” said Donald as the captain stood aside -waving Donald toward the pale little lady who leaned against the -doorway, for Betty was not altogether steady on her feet as yet. - -“I surrender, Captain Stone,” said she, with a smile. - -“I thought that there might be some of the miscreants left,” said the -captain, returning her smile. “But I prefer to find you this time.” - -“No, there does not seem to be a soul here, though I was a little afraid -to go down to the barn. The poor stock is in need of being fed, I -think.” - -“I’ll set some of my lads to work,” replied Captain Stone, and turning, -he gave a few orders and disappeared around the corner of the house. - -“Are you all right, Betty?” asked Donald anxiously. “You must not stand -here,—come in and sit down and tell me what happened to you.” - -“Yes, I will. You look pretty tired yourself, and I imagine that you -have some things to tell, too. My, but I’m glad you came. I was just -wondering what I should do!” - -“I suppose the horse threw you.” - -“Yes. Did it get home all right?” - -“Not until it was found. The bridle got caught in some branches, a sort -of Absalom affair, you know. We did not know what had happened to you, -of course, though the men thought that they could tell by the hoof marks -that the horse got frightened and bolted. You see we were after the men -in this affair and ran into the men that were hunting you.” - -“I see. What made you think that I was here?” - -“I found one of your gloves in the bushes by those steps that lead down -from the hut.” - -“O, Donald! To think that you should find it! I tossed it there on -purpose, but knew that the men would take it away if they found it. I -was terribly stupid and dazed by my fall, but I had sense enough to -think of that. I dropped a handkerchief, too, in another place, but it -did not occur to me while I was in the woods. I was just thinking about -finding my way out.” - -“We didn’t find the handkerchief. They must have seen it and picked it -up. We got them just as they were rowing off.” - -“The hydroplane did not get there in time, then Captain Holley gave -orders for it to go after them. They were removing bombs and things, -chemicals and everything.” - -“Holley! Was he the fellow that brought you here?” - -“Yes. But if he hadn’t been there they would have killed me, I guess. -One of the men said, ‘She has seen too much. Throw her in the lake!’” - -Donald clenched his fist. “The scoundrel! He is in jail by this time.” - -“Did they get Captain Holley?” - -“No. He and that ‘scientific farmer’ of Greycliff’s got away. We really -had no proof that any one at White Wings was concerned in this till one -of the two fellows we arrested said something by mistake. I suppose they -thought that the whole affair was discovered and did not take any -chances. Some of the neighbors on the farms around here have been -suspicious of these people, not in any definite way, though. You ought -to have heard all the talk last night and this morning. Several of us -were detailed to help look for you. We were to arrest Holley, or Von -Holle.” - -Betty rapidly outlined what had happened the night before, while Donald -possessed himself of one of her hands and held it firmly, living through -the events of the night before with Betty. This was a little -distracting, but Betty was so thankful for Donald’s protection that it -only seemed natural, nor did she have any doubts as to Donald’s state of -mind toward her. She even told him word for word of the strange -proposal, but was not quite prepared for the way in which Donald took -it. Placing her hand back upon her lap, Donald sprang to his feet and -walked across the floor and back. - -“Betty! Tell me that you could not think of such a man!” - -“Donald Hilton! Sit right down here by me and apologize for thinking -that I could!” Betty dimpled, but was in earnest, as Donald could see. -He dropped down upon the sofa again and duly apologized. - -“It makes me go crazy to think of what danger you were in. Betty, -_could_ you wait for me? If I get through this war, may I come back to -you? You know well enough how dearly I love you,—don’t you? If I could -only think you cared enough for me!” - -“Don’t be too humble, Donald. Who was it that looked into the mirror of -my fate?” - -“Betty!” - -“Besides I need somebody to take care of me,—no more adventures for me!” - -Foolish, perhaps, but happy conversation followed, about when they first -met, the mirror on Hallowe’en, the skating at the Ice Carnivals, and -other occasions at school. “I knew that you were my girl when we first -skated together,” said Donald. “See here,” and Donald took from his -pocket a little leather case. “Here is the picture of the girl of all -the world for me, and the little pansy that caught on my button that -Hallowe’en night. They never leave me.” - -Betty noticed how white and worn Donald seemed and thought to ask him if -he had had any breakfast. - -“Why no, Betty, none of us have. We thought that there would be -something here, though if you had not been here, we would have kept on -hunting.” - -“There is plenty here. Let me show you the things in the pantry. I’ll -fix you something nice.” - -“Indeed not. You are going to lie down and rest here, while I shut the -doors and keep the boys out. Everybody will want some hot coffee. Chuck -Williams will do the cooking. It was not by chance that he was put on -this detail. Wait till you taste his coffee. I don’t think it will hurt -you for once.” - -“Oh, I take a cup occasionally. You are so good, Donald,” she added, as -Donald covered her with a light cover which was folded on the end of the -sofa. The marines were now coming to the house, and she and Donald could -hear their conversation. - -The stock had been fed and watered. Pails of warm milk were being -carried into the kitchen, and Betty could hear the voice of some one in -charge whom she supposed to be “Chuck Williams.” Donald warned the -sailor lads not to disturb the weary lady in the front room and listened -to some good-natured joking at his expense. A fire was made in the stove -and it was not long before the aroma of fresh coffee stole into the -front room where Betty lay resting. How different this was. She was -perfectly safe, in the hands of her own people, and, best of all, with -Donald to manage everything. He came in soon with a cup of coffee and a -little sandwich made of bread and butter and blackberry jam. - -“Have you had anything yet?” asked Betty. - -“No, but I shall in a minute. I was just thinking that I had not -finished telling you how we knew you were here. After I found the glove -I went right back to Greycliff. That was early this morning,——” - -“Then you were up all night!” - -“Surely; that is what soldiers and sailors are for.” - -“I have made everybody so much trouble,—but go on, Donald.” - -“Well, there was great excitement at Greycliff, of course, over your -disappearance, and more when I told of the arrest of the two men. I -showed the glove to Miss Randolph and I never saw such a look as she -gave me. I know that she thought the men had put an end to you, but I -did not think so, someway. I saw some footprints on the wet sand, small -ones with the big ones,—you see it could not have been long after you -had gone that we caught the men. I thought that they would hardly injure -you because of the hue and cry there would be, and the approach of the -hydroplane and its swift retreat made me think of White Wings as the -most likely place. I can’t say that there was so much sense in my -reasoning, but it proved to be true. - -“Now for the part that I will have to give Holley credit for, though you -can imagine how I feel toward _him_! While I was trying to cheer up Miss -Randolph and telling her that I was going to try to hurry off our party -to White Wings, one of the girls came running in with a note in her -hands. She had gone into Louise Holley’s room for something and had seen -this note on the bureau,—it was more of a notice, that read, ‘Tell Miss -Randolph to look at White Wings for Betty.’ Louise had had a telephone -message last night about nine o’clock, Miss Randolph said, but nobody -thought anything of it, for her brother often telephoned. It must have -come from White Wings instead of from the academy.” - -“Then Louise was gone?” - -“Yes, and Prof. Schaefer, too. One of the stable men who had gone with -me to Greycliff, and was waiting outside to see if there had been any -news, said that he came rather late from the village, and saw the -professor taking Louise to the station. They seemed to be in a hurry, -and were carrying suitcases and bags, but as the girls are sometimes -called home he thought nothing of it, and the excitement over you put it -out of his mind. They were getting ready to come after you with the -_Greycliff_ when we put off, and I am surprised that they have not -gotten here before this.” - -“Perhaps the motor is out of fix. I thought that perhaps you had come in -the _Greycliff_.” - -“No. We had our own launch.” - -“Now do go and get a good breakfast, Donald, please.” - -Protesting at being sent away, Donald yielded and carrying Betty’s empty -cup, for she drank the coffee to please him, went into the kitchen to do -full justice to such food as remained. - -It was not long before Betty heard a boat, then girls’ voices, and knew -that the _Greycliff_ had arrived. Donald heard them, too, and joining -Betty, went out in front to meet them. There were Cathalina, Hilary, -Lilian and Helen, with “Patty” and Miss Perin. - -“Oh, Betty, Betty, Betty!” was the chorus. “All the girls wanted to -come,” said Lilian, after the first greetings were over, “but Miss -Randolph wouldn’t let them. How are you Betty?” - -“All right,—a little shaky. Oh, how glad I shall be to go back to the -good old every-dayness!” - -“You won’t wait to pick a flower or two?” - -“Indeed not!” - -Mickey was conferring with the captain of the marines, and the Greycliff -janitor and his wife, with bags and bundles, hastily packed, were going -into the house, where they would stay a few days, or until some one -could be found to run the farm. “We’ll send ye a couple o’ hired men -tomorry,” said Mickey to the janitor, as he left their dooryard to go -back to the boat. - -Donald went with the party to the boat, helped Betty into a comfortable -seat and said his farewells with rather a sober face. - -“Keep out of danger, Betty,” said he. - -“I will. I wish I could ask the same of you, but I wouldn’t be very -patriotic, would I?” - -Several interested marines joined Donald and watched the _Greycliff_ and -the girls disappear over the white caps. - -Betty, too, watched Donald as long as she could see him, then turned her -attention to her friends, who were looking at her with affection. - -“I look like a battered war casualty, don’t I?” - -“Not very much battered, but pretty pale. You have been through enough -to kill you. Weren’t you frightened terribly?” asked Cathalina. - -“My fall dulled my intellect, I guess,” laughed Betty. “I was frightened -several times and then I got used to it. Was any word sent to father?” - -“Fortunately not,” said Cathalina. “Miss Randolph was considering a -telegram when they found the word from Louise. She may have sent one; -no,—I think that she would wait till we actually had you at Greycliff, -then telegraph, so they would not worry if anything were in the papers. -When Donald came to the Hall, he said that the woods had been thoroughly -covered by the men hunting for you, and by the marines hunting for those -men, and that they were going down to White Wings. After they had -arrested the men, a hydroplane came nearly to the shore and went away -again, seeing their lights, I suppose. Since the only hydroplane -anywhere around was at that place they thought some one there must be -interested.” - -“They must have found out some more, for Donald seemed to know about our -farmer and Captain Holley.” - -“My, Betty, what a heroine you are,—kidnapped and imprisoned in a tower -till the prince arrived.” - -“Something like that. I thought of it myself this morning, but it began -to get on my nerves.” - -“How would you like to own a flying machine?” - -“Not at all. You girls may have all my rides in hydroplanes.” - -The experience put Betty to bed for several days, more because of the -exposure and excitement than because of any trouble from the blow upon -her head. She was disgusted at being put in the “pest house,” but quite -enjoyed the rest and the attentions of the girls, who brought her her -books, kept track of the lesson assignments for her, and were forbidden -by the nurse to mention the late adventure. By Wednesday she was in her -class again and preparing for a special examination in “Lit.” A bright -letter from Donald expressed concern for her hard experience, but much -happiness over their understanding. “I will write you how many -submarines we sink, for I sail with the next convoy. The ‘stupid young -American’ is on his way and isn’t worried now in regard to whom you will -wait for! That note was characteristic, but he would regard you as a -beautiful possession. I wish that I could tell you on what boat and when -we go, but that is something I do not know myself.” - - - - -CHAPTER XI: THE COLLEGIATE FIELD MEET - - -Isabel Hunt was gracefully flying over wooden horses in the gymnasium -and landed, after the last jump, in front of Lilian and Cathalina, who -had just arrived after a swim in the pool. Fresh and pink after their -shower, they were considering whether to take any further exercises or -to let well enough alone. - -“Think of swimming in the pool when there is a perfectly good lake -outside!” exclaimed Lilian. “Don’t you hope this miserable cold spell -will soon be over? If it doesn’t warm up before Commencement I shall be -perfectly disgusted!” - -“Oh, it always does. Besides, if the lake weren’t so rough, we would go -in,—the lake water is always cold anyhow. We have to have a few storms -once in a while. But it is fine and sunshiny today. Let’s take a run out -to the athletic field.” - -“All right. There are Pauline and Hilary, Isabel. I wonder if they would -not like to come, too. We can practice for our fifty-yard dash.” - -Lilian beckoned to Pauline and Hilary, who joined the girls presently, -and the group walked to the athletic field. This was back of the -gymnasium and separated by a fence from the pastures where grazed the -riding horses. There were very few interscholastic events and games, but -the trustees had provided enough seats under a canopy to accommodate -about five hundred spectators. The tennis courts stretched beyond. - -“Do you suppose that we shall be able to remain friends after the -contests?” asked Isabel. “There is the collegiate field meet, in which -seniors and juniors will be pitted against each other in a desperate -battle. Then there are the canoe races in which the non-beatable juniors -meet the unsurpassable seniors. What will happen then, who can -foretell?” - -The girls laughed, and Lilian said, “I was needing some new words for a -poem on our athletics for the Star. ‘Non-beatable’ and ‘unsurpassable’ -are good, though I am not sure how they will fit into the meter.” - -“There is one thing, Isabel,” said Hilary, “which may soothe the -disappointment of either side; the future success of the Whittiers, when -you and Virgie win honors for us all in the inter-society debate. All -our crowd are Whittiers, you know.” - -“It is a great responsibility,” said Isabel, gravely shaking her head. -“Absolute split in the Psyche Club unless the Whittier Society wins in -debate!” - -“Come on, girls,” said Hilary. “I’ll beat the bunch in a dash to the -fence where the horses are looking over at us. The first one who touches -it wins.” - -“I accept the challenge,” said Isabel. “Line up, girls. On your mark. -Get set. Go!” - -The five girls scampered like mad. Five gym suits, five pairs of gym -shoes on flying figures crossed the field. Cathalina gave it up when she -was two-thirds of the way across and sat down in the grass to laugh. -Prince, Poky and Lady Gay, were looking over the fence and had hoped for -lumps of sugar, threw up their heads, snorted, and with cavortings and -kicking of heels, fled, galloping over the pasture. - -Isabel and Hilary touched the fence at the same time; Lilian, -breathless, bumped into Pauline and both sat down suddenly. Both were -convulsed with laughter, and Pauline leaned back against the fence -remarking that it was by intention that she sat there. “If Lilian and I -had not run into each other I would have beat you, Hilary,” she -continued. - -“You were laughing too much,” returned Hilary. “Isabel and I paid strict -attention to business and won. Shake hands, Izzy.” - -“You shake hands with the _defeated_, Hilary,” said Lilian, holding out -her hand to Hilary, who pulled her to her feet, and hastened to hold out -her other hand to Pauline. She scrambled to her feet without assistance, -however. - -Cathalina was still sitting on the ground embracing her knees, as the -rest of the girls came toward her. “Anything the matter, Cathalina?” -inquired Hilary. - -“Oh, no; I was just laughing so hard I had to stop. And you ought to -have seen yourselves and the way the horses looked at you. They ought to -be used to such performances by this time.” - -“They probably enjoyed it.” - -“I shall enter the result of this contest upon the sporting page of the -_Greycliff Star_,” said Lilian. “Will you write it up, Cathalina? You -saw it all.” - -“I will. Prince won in the pasture, and I suppose you want him -mentioned.” - -“Yes, indeed.” - -On the day of the Collegiate Field Meet, almost the entire school was -out to see the events. The ranks of the Faculty were invaded for judges. -Patty West Norris and Miss Perin were among the popular ones. Music -teachers and instructors, indeed, almost all the women teachers were -present, including Miss Randolph and even Dr. Carver, who was daily -becoming more human. She even had a favorite pupil among the seniors, -one who had Ph.D. aspirations, in whom she was very much interested, and -who returned great admiration for Dr. Carver’s attainments. - -The girls were all in good spirits, the day was bright, cool but too -cool, and the athletic grounds were in fine condition. There were little -jokes and some fun, but this was more or less of a serious occasion, for -success in the events might mean a good deal in the final athletic -honors. The All-Around G’s, the class trophies, and the senior silver -trophy to go to one girl for her entire school record,—all were worth -striving for. - -Most of the spectators were assembled, either in the seats or scattered -about the field when the junior and senior teams came over from the -gymnasium. - -“Start up the new song, Lilian and Eloise,” said Juliet. “Here, get in -front.” - -There was some shifting, and Eloise and Lilian, as the “World-renowned -senior songsters,” according to Isabel, took their places in front. They -had collaborated on this newest of senior songs, and the singing seniors -made an effective entrance on the athletic battlefield, eliciting great -applause from the bleachers, where academy girls and such juniors and -seniors as were not taking part in the contest, with the faculty not -engaged as judges, were gathered. The tune was lively, and the girls -made great effort to have the words clearly sung: - - Who would not go to Greycliff? - Tra-la, la, la, la! Tra-la la, la, la! - Who would not go to Greycliff, - To win an All-Around G? - G.G.G.G.! - To win an All-Around G! - - In classroom contests seniors win, - They’ve put it over, thick and thin, - In basket-ball and swimming, too, - Their women shine, indeed they do,— - Oh, now look out, we’re coming in, - To get that All-Around G! - G.G.G.G, - To get that All-Around G. - -The senior girls wore their colors, silver and blue, around their arms -in a band, and after parading in front of the spectators they settled -down on the benches, to wait until the contests began. The juniors, -likewise wearing their colors, green and gold, modestly let the seniors -have their little parade, applauded the song, and scattered around in -groups. As usual, there were more juniors taking part than seniors. - -“Deeds, not words,” announced Isabel. - -Cathalina and Betty were going to take part in the broad jump, the relay -broad jump, and in the basket-ball and base-ball throwing, but would not -run. Juliet was the star runner among the seniors and they expected her -to score high in the high jump. Eloise, too, was quick and good at -either high or low hurdles. After much practice, in the gymnasium and -outside, for these several school years, the girls knew pretty well the -ability of the different girls entered for the events. The great -question, however, was who would win. There is something exciting about -any contest, for often the most surprising things occur, and no one is -sure of the result until the end. - -First a fifty-yard dash was called. Four ran at a time and four teachers -were taking the time for each heat. Two seniors and two juniors ran -first, Juliet and Jane Mills, Isabel, and a chubby little junior, who -did not look as if she could run, but did. It was quite evident that -Juliet made the best time. Sometimes it was hard to tell, when the -contestants were more evenly matched. Hilary and Lilian were called next -and ran with Virginia Hope and another junior. - -“Hilary and Lilian are pretty nearly even,” said Cathalina to Betty. “I -shouldn’t be surprised if they do pretty well.” - -“Look at Virgie!” exclaimed Betty. “She is just skimming over the -ground! I didn’t know she could run like that! Good for you, Virgie,” -she called, as Virginia came off the track and toward them. - -“Thanks, dear enemy.” - -There were many entered for the first dash and some time was spent, but -at last it was finished; the judges and timekeepers consulted, and -presently announced the winners as Juliet Howe for first place, Hilary -Lancaster, second, and Virginia Hope, third. - -“Two seniors!” exclaimed Eloise. “First place counts five, and second -place three, and the juniors only one point. That is a fine start for -us.” - -The standing broad jump came on next. In this, again, there were many -entries. Cathalina, to her horror, was called on first to jump. She had -not outgrown all her timidity and the eyes of all this audience were -almost too much for her. Her first effort was graceful but short. “Try -it again, Cathalina,” called Hilary encouragingly when her turn came -again. “Never mind how you look, but jump for your class!” Spurred on by -this, Cathalina gave a prodigious leap and did very well indeed. She -took her third chance, but did not surpass her second attempt. Patricia -Norris and Miss Perin were very busy measuring and recording. To her own -surprise, Lilian had made the best record in this event, Virginia won -second place, and Dorothy Appleton, third. - -“Six points for the seniors,” was Betty’s comment, “and three for the -juniors in this event.” - -“We are still ahead,” said Eloise, “and a good deal ahead.” - -“Yes, on this, but is anybody watching the ball throwing? I guess we -can’t keep track of it all.” - -“Evelyn is watching that. Diane and Pauline are doing some fine -basket-ball throwing. They’re calling you, Betty, now.” - -The bleachers were deserted, everybody wanting a closer view of the -jumping and ball throwing, which were going on at the same time. The -spectators stood around in groups, according to their interest in the -several events. - -“Let’s have the relay broad jump, Miss Perin, while everybody is in the -jumping mood, can’t we?” asked Cathalina. - -“It is on next,” replied Miss Perin, “then the hurdles, and last the -relay race.” - -The relay broad jump started badly for the seniors. Jane Mills fully -expected to break the record, she said afterward, but slipped, digging -her heel firmly into the ground, yet, alas, sitting down back of them. -The distance measured from where she sat to the starting place was not -one to boast about. Hilary really did break the record, but Isabel, -roused to a supreme effort, landed six inches beyond Hilary’s mark, and -although she fell, it was forward and did not spoil her feat. The -juniors loudly applauded her, both then and later when they had won the -event. - -In the ball throwing, meanwhile, Pauline, Diane and Juliet were making -fine records, but Hilary went over from the relay jumping to win first -place in throwing the basket-ball, and was second to Diane’s first in -throwing the base-ball. Juniors scored among all those entered for the -hurl ball event. - -“There are so many of them,” sighed Evelyn, “that they have more chances -to win.” - -“I don’t know that it makes so much difference,” replied Dorothy, “if we -have an expert or two on.” - -“But we haven’t enough experts to be in everything when we are limited -in entering events.” - -“They don’t want us to overdo our little selves,” answered Dorothy with -a smile. - -Lilian in the “sixty yard low hurdle,” and Eloise in the high hurdle -were light and graceful, carrying off the honors. Juliet, to the -surprise of every one, was only second in the high hurdle. Juniors won -second and third place in the low hurdle event. - -“Oh, why didn’t you do the low hurdle, too?” Lilian regretfully asked -Eloise. - -“They wouldn’t let me enter any more, and I really forgot it when I -entered to my limit in the other events.” - -A seventy-five-yard dash followed the hurdle events, and last came the -interesting relay race. One senior and one junior ran, handing the stick -to the next senior and junior, and so one. This was the most exciting of -all the events. The spectators stood as close to the track as they were -permitted to come, the academy girls rooting for their favorites. - -In this event, the juniors started under a handicap, for one of their -best runners turned her ankle, and could scarcely get over the remaining -distance. It was to Virginia that she handed her stick, but although -Virgie ran like the wind, the seniors were already much in the lead. -Some of the ground lost was recovered by the juniors, but at the end the -junior stumbled and fell. - -“Goodbye, juniors!” exclaimed Isabel as the senior covered the distance -to the final goal before the junior had risen to her feet. “I most -certainly didn’t think it would be as bad as that!” - -The events were over. All that remained was the announcement by the -judges of the winning class, and the awarding of the trophy. The girls -who had not kept account of the results in the separate events were -uncertain, some hoping, each for her own class. - -“I am sure that we have it,” said Evelyn, running over her record and -comparing it with that of another senior girl. - -At last Miss Randolph rose from a seat in the bleachers where she had -been conferring with the judges, and announced that the silver cup was -awarded to the senior class. The events have been of unusual interest -said she. “Both classes deserve great credit for their good work and -spirit of good sportsmanship. I congratulate the seniors, and remind the -juniors that they have another year.” - - - - -CHAPTER XII: ON THE RIVER - - -“Girls, we’ve simply got to beat the seniors this time,” announced -Isabel to her crew, as they made ready to take out the junior canoe one -afternoon. - -“I’d like to know how,” said one of the junior girls. “They have so many -good paddlers and girls with a good deal of endurance, too. Then they -are having regular practice, too.” - -“Not any too regular,” said Isabel. “If I didn’t have to work so on that -debate, I could do more, but after all, I think we can manage to get -enough practice in if we are only determined enough. It’s determination -and management that we need, girls. Now listen. The senior girls are -interested in a lot of other things. There is the senior play, you know, -and practices for that, besides the glee club and other things.” - -“We are in those, too.” - -“Some of them,” Isabel admitted. “But if we practice regularly and often -say nothing to the seniors about our extra practice, and make up our -minds to learn to paddle _as no juniors ever did before_, we shall win -that race, depend upon it.” - -“Some of those girls are your very best friends, Isabel. Can you and -Virgie stoop to such base deception?” - -“‘Base deception’ is good,” laughed Isabel. “How about it, Virgie? -Didn’t I tell the girls that we were going to beat them in the canoe -race?” - -“You did.” - -“Did they hesitate to beat us in the field meet? The answer is ‘no’! -Will they be just as good friends of mine if we beat ’em? Yes. If they -notice how we are practicing, will they care? No.” - -“I think that the main thing is to learn to do it together,” said -Virgie. “Most of this crew are pretty good paddlers, but we need to -learn to make the stroke exactly together and practice speed. Nobody can -lose her head at that critical time.” - -“I should think not!” exclaimed Beatrice Lee, the junior who had rallied -Isabel on deceiving her friends. “The seniors have ever so much on their -minds, too. Commencement doings soon, and friends coming and -everything,—clothes and all. It may be mean to gloat over hindrances to -your enemies, but one can’t help thinking of those things when -considering the chances.” - -“We are not gloating, but we need encouragement when we think of -entering any contest against that crew. There are Hilary and Pauline, -strong as can be, and fine in any of the water sports. Then Eloise and -Diane are wiry and quick, and the rest are right at home in a canoe. I -felt a little discouraged when I thought about them, but then I began to -think of our own crew, and I tell you girls, I feel sure that we can do -it if we will!” - -“Both shall and will, then,” declared Beatrice. - -Later, on the same afternoon, the senior canoe came out. “Do you know, -girls,” said Pauline, who was captain of the crew, “we shall have to do -some good practicing. We have not rowed or paddled together since last -year. The way we paddled the last time was a disgrace, everybody for -herself!” - -“Remember that it was the first time we had been out in the big canoe.” - -“Yes, Diane, I know, but we must be accustomed to paddling together.” - -“We did pretty well by the time we stopped.” - -“‘Pretty well’ won’t do in a race. That is a good crew of juniors.” - -“You are right, Pauline,” said Hilary. “If we want to beat we shall have -to work.” - -“Isabel declared that they were going to beat,” remarked Cathalina, who -had come down to watch the proceedings. “They were out a long time this -afternoon.” - -“Is that so? Well, stand by me, girls, when I call a practice, and I -believe that we can beat our ‘jolly juniors.’ Nobody is to worry, just -work.” - -Some of Isabel’s crew complained at times that she would not let them do -anything else. “We can’t even get any swimming in, nothing but paddle, -paddle, paddle,” said Beatrice, half in fun, half in earnest. - -“Wait till this race is over and then you can swim all you want to. I -have great hopes, for the seniors had not begun to paddle in their canoe -until after the field meet, whereas we had some practice right away, as -soon as the river was fit for it. Some of their crew are down in the -lake swimming this minute, and if I’m any judge, Pauline will not be -able to get them out till late.” - -“Don’t you think this is fun, though, Beatrice?” asked Virgie, who -thoroughly enjoyed the canoeing. - -“Oh, yes, I do, but it is work, too. The senior academy crew is out -today, let’s get them to race us. We ought to practice on paddling -against them.” - -“That is a good idea, Beatrice. It will be more fun. Hoo-hoo! Senior -academy!” - -The senior academy captain answered Isabel’s hail and agreed that it -would be great fun to race. “Pretend that we are the senior -collegiates,” said she. - -“We will,” answered Isabel. “Let’s go back to the starting place and -race as long as you feel like it.” - -“Maybe we can beat you,” bravely spoke the academy captain. - -“All right, mayhap you can. Try it. If you do, I’ll bring you a pan of -fudge tonight.” - -“I’d like that fudge, as scarce as candy is now.” - -Laughing and joking the two crews paddled back to the place up the river -from which the race always started, leaving a little group of judges at -the tree which marked the goal. “Look out for them a little,” said -Isabel to her crew. “They are pretty good, but if they get nervous, no -telling what will happen. They are taking it seriously. Give them lots -of room.” - -“They are good,” said Virginia. “I watched them the other day when I was -waiting for you all. But I think we can beat them.” - -“Mercy, Virgie, if there is any doubt of that, let me ‘bend to my -oars’!” - -“They are only one class behind ourselves, remember, Beatrice.” - -“Did you hear that, Martha, and the rest of you?” - -Not having any one up river to give a signal, Isabel herself, after -asking if the other crew were ready, gave it after her usual -fashion,—“On your mark, get set, go!” Onward glided the two canoes, the -girls all striving for absolutely correct paddling, and increasing speed -as they thought necessary. The juniors had in mind the coming race and -shot ahead very soon. The seniors, academy, redoubled their efforts in -order to gain lost ground, and as they were not equal to the juniors -either in strength or in practice, found it a difficult task. The -juniors slowed down a little, because they had entered this race chiefly -to see how it would seem to have company, most of the way, at least. The -other crew thought this their opportunity, and with all their might sent -their canoe ahead of the other. But, alas, one paddle “caught a crab,” -as the girls said; her paddle flew out of her hands; she leaned after -it, causing great disturbance among the crew, and the canoe, whirling -across the stream, struck the junior canoe. In a moment the girls were -in the river, both crews. - -Isabel came up, blowing the water from her lips, and found Virgie -opposite to her as both reached the overturned canoe and clung to it. -Other heads were bobbing up around them. - -“Virgie,” said Isabel, “You see if our girls are all here while I swim -after the kids. I think they can all swim, but you never can tell what -they may hit.” - -Isabel did not stop to think that the girls were never permitted to go -canoeing unless they could swim, but had very clearly in mind her own -accident. The presence of one of the best swimmers in the school was of -great encouragement to the younger girls, some of whom were frightened -by the sudden overturning. All had come to the surface, however, and -were swimming for dear life, or floating to rest. Isabel helped catch -the canoe, but took one white-faced girl to shore immediately. It was -not far, and there was no such current as there had been when Cathalina -and Hilary had gone after Isabel. - -“All’s well that ends well,” called Isabel as the other girls brought in -the canoe. “You S. A’s won the race, if you did upset us to do it. I’ll -be over with that fudge. At what time do you want it? I’ll make it right -after dinner.” - -“Just before study hours, Isabel. Will it be patriotic to eat it?” - -“If it is patriotic to make it. But this is some sugar that Virgie had -left over last year and we discovered it in a box she left at Greycliff. -It was only hard, and isn’t hurt for candy.” - -“Isn’t Isabel Hunt wonderful!” inquired the senior academy captain as -Isabel left the group. - -“Indeed she is. She can do _anything_.” - -“It was good of the girls not to be mad at our accident, upsetting them -and everything.” - -“Oh, Isabel is like that. She wouldn’t be cross unless you meant to do -something. And I think she felt responsible because they got us to race -with them.” - -The senior collegiates, meanwhile, heard that the senior academy had -beaten the junior collegiates in a race, and Isabel did not enlighten -them, nor would she say which of further conflicting reports were true. -She only looked mysterious and remarked, “It was a sad blow. O, what a -fall was there, my countrymen!” - -“She quoteth Shakespeare, girls. It’s no use. Anyhow Mickey said that -the two canoes upset.” - -“Then I, and you, and all of us fell down,” continued Isabel, with a -dramatic gesture. “By the way, I have to see Mickey. Please excuse me, -fair hostesses.” - -Virgie had offered to make the candy, and the girls of Lakeview Suite -had beguiled Isabel into their headquarters in the hope of getting the -truth about the latest excitement. Isabel had seen Mickey cross the -front lawn and bethought herself of an errand. - -“Mickey,” said she as soon as she had reached that busy man without whom -it seemed Greycliff could scarcely exist. “Mickey, I wish that you would -investigate that place in the river. I really believe that there is -something sticking up that caught that girl’s paddle. And we are going -to have some real races pretty soon.” - -“Oi think the only ‘crab’ was hersilf, miss. She did not know how to -handle a paddle,” returned Mickey. - -“That may be. I know the girls were excited, but I thought when I was -swimming after the girls that my feet hit something there.” - -“All right, thin. Oi’ll row out tomorry.” - -“Thank you, Mickey, a thousand times! If you have time now, I’ll show -you where I think it is. Here are Bee and Martha now. Come on, girls, -let’s show Mickey where we think there might really be a ‘crab’.” - -The girls accompanied Mickey, showed him the exact spot at which the -canoes upset, and on the following day, Mickey and one of the other men -rowed out with a pole to investigate. There, indeed, he found part of an -old tree that had doubtless drifted down with the early spring floods -and had become lodged in the mud, and perhaps other driftwood at the -bottom of the stream. The branch that was sticking up nearly to the -surface was not very large, but sufficient to catch a paddle or oar. -Some of the girls were watching, as Mickey dislodged the obstruction and -it came to the surface, floating down and guided shoreward by the pole. - -“There! I knew something caught my paddle the other day,” said one of -the girls who had had a similar upset in a single canoe. “You all -laughed so when I said that it had, that I did not dare speak of it -again, but I was sure something caught my paddle. It was just those -sprangling twigs.” - -Everything was quite safe for democracy, then, on the day of the great -event, the race between the juniors and seniors. The winning crew were -to give a consolation party to the defeated, and the girls had amicably -decided on the menu and ordered the feast together, through a committee -from each class, including the captains of the crews. Pauline said that -it might just as well be charged to the seniors, but Isabel, who was at -the telephone, ordering something from Greycliff Village, soberly said, -“Charge it, please, to the junior class, Isabel Hunt ordering. A check -will be sent as soon as possible, the next day, in fact.” - -Pauline laughed and said, “Well, if you do win, you will have to pay the -price.” - -“That’s the point of this fine old jamboree, to make the defeated feel -good. I’m prepared to be jolly whoever wins, but of course we are going -to win!” - -“It is usual for the defeated to treat the other side.” - -“Yes, adding insult to injury. _We_ shall _welcome_ the opportunity to -entertain you!” - -“How generous. Don’t you hope it will be fine weather?” - -“We’ll have to put it off if it isn’t.” - -But the day of the race was ideal. Never crews wore prettier bathing -suits, ready for any experience like that of the junior and senior -academy crews. Each canoe floated a little streamer of class colors and -the crews were in the best of spirits. The Greycliff side of the river -bank was lined with girls, spectators of this contest, so long prepared -for, so soon over. Cathalina, Helen, Betty and Juliet selected a high -point from which they declared they could see nearly the whole course, -at least the finish. - -“Which do you think has the better chance, Juliet?” asked Helen. - -“Oh, ours, of course,” replied Juliet. “Our girls are so much more -experienced. They have not had as much practice as I had hoped they -might. Several times, when Pauline thought she had them all together, -one or the other would have arranged to practice something or have some -appointment with a teacher. But they do row beautifully together. It -seemed almost perfect the last time I watched them.” - -“O, of course, we’ll win,” said Betty. - -Cathalina remained silent, considering the affair, as Cathalina was apt -to do. - -“You haven’t said a word, Cathalina,” said Betty. “Don’t you think we -are going to win?” - -“Ordinarily I would, and Isabel’s being so sure might be an argument -against them if they were bluffing, as Phil says. But you don’t know how -they have been working. I haven’t said anything because I knew our girls -were giving all the time they really could to it, and they are more -experienced in general than most of Isabel’s crew. So, girls, I don’t -know how it will turn out, but I think I can tell you in about fifteen -or twenty minutes!” - -“So can we all.” - -“Really, I should not mind if Isabel did beat. We beat them in the field -meet and it’s their turn.” - -“Why, Cathalina, where is your class spirit?” asked Helen. - -“We shall have to deal with you,” said Juliet. - -“Oh, Cathalina’s hopeless. She always sees the side of the other party -as well as her own,” declared Betty. “Whatever happens, Cathalina -adjusts herself in two minutes. You can’t disturb the even tenor of her -way for long.” - -“Why, Betty, did you get that remark from Father?” - -“No, that is my own wise observation. It’s a real comfortable way, -Cathalina, if not popular among what my brother calls boosters.” - -“You’re a nice old Betty,” said Cathalina to express her appreciation of -Betty’s refusal to criticise her, “but I shall ‘root’ for the seniors, -for all that.” - -“There they come!” - -Sweeping around a little curve came the two canoes, the juniors a short -distance in the lead. Their faces were sober and they paid no attention -to the cheering crowd on the bank. With a spurt of speed, the senior -crew overtook the juniors and passed them, but the juniors steadily -regained the ground and crept up on the seniors, who were already doing -their best. Nearer and nearer the goal they came, almost together. -Juniors and seniors on the bank were almost holding their breath. Now -the juniors were on a line with the seniors. Now they had passed them. -Could the seniors regain the advantage? - -“Oh, dear,” said Helen, “not much time now; hurry up, seniors! Just a -little more speed, Pauline!” - -The seniors redoubled their effort, but it was too late. The junior -canoe shot past the goal more than its length ahead of the seniors. Such -rejoicing of juniors followed! Cheering and clapping of feminine hands -greeted the crew as it disembarked. Isabel was hugged, pounded and -shaken till she cried for relief. “Why, girls didn’t you _expect_ us to -beat? I _told_ you so!” - -“We were afraid that it was just your optimism,” said one. - -“It was just my determination! I was so scared at first for fear we -would not that I resorted to suggestion for the crew and auto-suggestion -for myself.” - -“Gracious! Isabel is studying psychology this year, girls.” - -“Oh, don’t think it was all psychology. Not a bit of it. We have -practiced early and late. I’m sure I’ll be paddling is my sleep for a -month.” - -“Well, Isabel,” said Pauline, coming up and holding out her hand, “we’ll -have to fold our tents like the Arabs and quietly steal away, won’t we?” - -“Not a bit of it. Think of that party tonight! Say, Pauline, I owe you -an apology for my ordering over the telephone in that way, but I was -only trying to make myself believe that we would win. I can scarcely -realize it yet, though we practiced day and night to do it against such -foes.” - -“That is very nice of you to say so, Isabel. We did our level best, and -you earned your victory. Now, for the party! But we really ought to give -it.” - -“Not at all. The juniors entertain the seniors tonight. Senior yell, -girls,—Seniors, rah! seniors, rah; Rah, rah! Seniors!” - -The “Consolation Party” that night presented quite a different scene -from the afternoon. The new summer gowns, in white or bright colors, -were brought out from closets or wardrobes to grace their owners. One of -the society halls was decked for the occasion with flowers and junior -colors and the winning crew composed the reception committee. The -refreshments were served from a pretty table at one end of the long -room, and two junior girls pinned on the guests little canoes of folded -crepe paper, prepared beforehand by the joint committee. They now bore -the label “Junior,” added since the race. - -“Do you mind much, Cathalina?” asked Isabel, in almost repentant tones. - -“No, Isabel! To tell the truth,—but I must remember that I’m a senior. -Only it seems nice for you to have put it through so wonderfully. The -glory is all yours, so have no regrets.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIII: MUSIC AND MASKS - - -“Oh, the music for our play is too lovely!” exclaimed Lilian, entering -Lakeview Suite and starting to put away her violin. - -Isabel who was visiting the girls, looked up inquiringly. - -“It’s the Mendelssohn music, you know, written for the Midsummer Night’s -Dream. I wish I were playing in the orchestra. I’ve been helping -practice.” - -“Couldn’t you play part of the time with them?” - -“Not very well in costume. I might do it for a while, though. I don’t -come on until the third act, and the second scene at that,—Enter -Titania, with her train.” - - “Come, now a rounded and a fairy song; - Then for the third part of a minute, hence; - Some to kill cankers in the musk-rose buds, - Some war with rere-mice for their leathern wings - To make my small elves coats, and some keep back - The clamorous owl that nightly hoots and wonders. - At our quaint spirits. Sing me now asleep; - Then to your offices and let me rest.” - -“Fine, Lilian,” said Isabel, applauding. “Are you glad you decided on -Midsummer Night’s Dream?” - -“Yes, indeed; it is going to be too pretty outdoors, the fairies and -everything, and the costumes are perfectly lovely. Miss Randolph bought -new ones, because they have never given this before, and she is -gradually getting a good collection of costumes. Patty and the other -English teachers are just crazy about it.” - -“I should think that they would be really crazy by the time all the -practicing and drilling are over. Don’t you think that Patty looks thin, -Cathalina?” - -“Yes, Isabel, and it is no wonder. I heard that she is going to France -this summer, but I have not said a word to her about it. She will tell -us if she is.” - -“Why, Lilian,” said Hilary, who was reading the play, “you are all wrong -about not coming in until the third act, second scene. It is the second -act, scene one.” - -Lilian looked over Hilary’s shoulder at the text. “Sure enough. I forgot -my converse with Oberon. That is what Mrs. Norris is scolding us for, -just learning our parts, without having the whole play in mind, but we -have so many other things to do. It is a good thing that the senior -examinations are all over so early. I don’t know what I would do without -senior week. I wish Mother and Father could come for Commencement week. -They would love seeing the play and all, at least Mother would.” - -“Can’t they come?” - -“No, not without risking not being in New York when the boys leave. Dick -is expected to be sent over at any time now.” - -“Aunt Hilary is coming,” said Hilary, “but Father and Mother will not -this time. Aunt Hilary was the one who wanted me to come to Greycliff.” - -“Yes,” said Cathalina, “Hilary and I both owe our Greycliff days to the -suggestions of our aunts.” - -“What part have you, Hilary?” asked Isabel. - -“I’m Theseus, duke of Athens, aha! And my fair Hippolyta is Pauline, -because, as she says, they thought she was cast for an Amazon. Hippolyta -is queen of the Amazons, you know.” - -“I read the play once,” said Isabel, with a laugh, “but I’ll have to -read it up before the play is given or I won’t enjoy it so much. Let me -see,—who’s Hermia?” - -“Evelyn, because she is little and dark, and Lysander is Helen. Won’t it -be great?—Lysander and Hermia making love in that soft southern accent?” - -“Yes, and Evelyn using her eyes as Hermia. Evelyn couldn’t help it if -she tried.” - -“There is another pair of lovers—?” - -“Yes, Helena, you know, who is terribly in love with Demetrius, and he -wants Hermia, till the fairies fix that all up.” - -“Modern interpretation of Shakespeare by Hilary Lancaster,” murmured -Cathalina. - -“Wait till you hear me say with dramatic effect as Theseus,—‘but -earthlier happy is the rose distill’d, than that which withering on the -virgin thorn, grows, lives and dies in single blessedness.’” - -“Is _that_ where we get ‘single blessedness’?” - -“It is. You have heard of the person, haven’t you, that didn’t like -Hamlet very well when she heard it played, ‘because it was so full of -quotations’?” - -“Nor original enough, I suppose,” laughed Isabel. - -“Oh, I must tell you girls something funny,” said Cathalina. “Yesterday -I was in here alone, and practicing my lines. I am the first Fairy, and -was saying the lines instead of singing them. I had just broken out with -‘You spotted snakes with double tongue,’—when I saw that new academy -freshman, who has only been here this spring, standing in the door and -looking at me with eyes as big as saucers. Whether she had knocked or -not I don’t know. I stopped, laughing, but I haven’t the least idea that -she understood at all. She gave me a message from Miss Randolph as -quickly as she could, and hurried off without letting me explain.” - -“She probably thought that you were in the habit of addressing your -room-mates in that happy way,” said Isabel. - -“I have wondered several times what she did think, and laughed right out -in the middle of the night last night and wakened Betty. You thought I -had lost my mind, didn’t you Betty?” - -“Yes; but I was glad that you wakened me, for I was having a horrible -dream about Captain Holley’s coming back for me, and it was nice to be -wakened by somebody’s laughing.” Betty’s nerves were not what they might -be since her last experience, but the girls purposely made light of it -all. - -At this moment, Diane Percy and Eloise arrived to join the company, and -Virginia peeped in to see if Isabel were there. “Come on in just a -minute, Virgie,” called Isabel. “The girls are telling about the play. -Have you a part, Diane?” - -“Yes, I’m Demetrius, and Edith Lane is Helena, because she is the -tallest fair girl we have and we have to have a contrast between her and -Evelyn.” - -“What are you, Eloise?” - -“Oberon. Neither Lilian or I are really small enough for fairies, but in -the costumes we look smaller. I hope the play will go all right. The -girls are all really working now that the time is so near. They are -rehearsing some of the scenes now out on the campus.” - -“Wouldn’t it be awful if it rained and we had to give it indoors?” - -“If it rains one day, they will whisk around the program and put the -Glee Club concert on or something.” - -“Just think, girls, only two more weeks now for us at Greycliff, and -then we go away forever!” This was Cathalina. “I came with tears, and I -shall probably leave in tears or something like it!” - -“I certainly shall shed tears if we don’t win that debate,” said Isabel. - -“You will,” said Cathalina. “That comes off next week, doesn’t it?” - -“Yes, on our regular night, next Friday night. Come on, Virgie. Even -thinking of it is enough to start me thinking of the arguments.” - -Isabel and Virgie departed, while Diane took exception to Cathalina’s -statement that they had two weeks still as seniors. “This is Saturday, -Cathalina, and you know that the exercises of Commencement week are cut -short this year. I don’t imagine that we shall have half the company we -usually do, either. The Inter-Society Debate will be on Friday night; -the play a week from today; Sunday, the baccalaureate sermon in the -Chapel; Monday, our honors presented, and class day exercises in the -afternoon, Glee Club concert in the evening; Tuesday, diplomas.” - -“When are we going to have our society reception and our senior society -diplomas?” asked Betty. - -“When _are_ we? I had forgotten that. Hilary, you are president, what -about it?” - -“I was counting on the usual time, but why didn’t I think of it? Well, -it can be posted. Why wouldn’t it do to go right from the class day -exercises to the society hall. It will be appropriate then. We have -asked Patty to make a little speech and present the diplomas; then we’ll -serve lemonade and cake and ice cream. The juniors will see to it while -we are having our other exercises. They are rather short this year.” - -“I think that will be a good idea, Hilary,” said Eloise. “The class day -exercises will probably take only an hour and a half. We could have the -society reception from four to six.” - -“So we could. We’d better arrange it that way. I’ll call a meeting of -the executive committee Monday.” - -On Monday, as it happened, another and more important matter came up. As -Cathalina sat calmly eating her cereal breakfast, a note was passed to -her. “Mercy me!” she exclaimed as she read. “Listen to this, girls.” - -Betty, Hilary and Lilian, who sat nearest, looked up with interest. - -“‘Dear Cathalina: Edith Lane has measles! You will have to be Helena. -Please let me see you right after breakfast.—P. Norris.’ Now isn’t that -like Patty? Takes it for granted that I will do it because it is to be -done. Lilian, you are as tall as I am, you do it.” - -“No, I’m not quite as tall, but I don’t think it makes so much -difference for that reason as that I already have a part and have -learned my lines.” - -“So have I.” Cathalina’s lips were curling in amusement, however, as she -reflected on her prominent part as first fairy. “How can she expect me -to learn a part in a week?” - -“We haven’t any lessons,—that is one thing,” suggested Hilary. “You can -do it, Cathalina. You have heard the play several times.” - -“Yes, I am familiar with the play,” said Cathalina, “but Helena has a -good deal to say, if I remember. I know four lines of hers: - - “‘Things base and vile, holding no quantity, - Love can transpose to form and dignity. - Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind, - And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.’” - -“Think what a start you have,” said Betty, her dimples beginning to -play. - -“I’ll think about it,” said Cathalina, “but it shan’t spoil my -breakfast. Please pass me the cream, Betty. Mine has all disappeared -somewhere, and I like to see a little on my oatmeal.” - -After breakfast Cathalina, who had hoped to escape a prominent part, -since she was not in the Dramatic Club, hunted up Mrs. Norris and -finally consented to do her best with the part of Helena. - -“There are some other girls, Cathalina, who are anxious to have such a -part, but I do not feel that any one of them will do as well as you -will. You have seen the play several times in New York and know how the -different characters are represented and I don’t want this part -overdone. Edith looked the part very well, but she says the lines in an -absolutely uninteresting way, and I don’t know but it is just as well -that she has the measles, poor child. By the way, all of you must keep -away from the hospital. We can’t have an epidemic of measles starting -here just before time to start home.” - -“That would be a calamity,” assented the smiling Cathalina. “All right, -Mrs. Norris, I’ll try it. Shall I come to the practices and read the -lines I do not know?” - -“Yes. Would you like to go over the lines, as you learn them, with me?” - -“I imagine that I’d better. I will get the other girls to hear me, too.” - -“It is work for Cathalina this week,” said that young lady, as she -entered the suite after the conference with Patricia Norris. - -“Good girl,” said Hilary, with approbation. “Cathalina has the right -kind of class spirit. She is right there when there is anything to be -done.” - -“I do hate to do this, though, Hilary.” - -“All the more credit to you, then, for doing it. Here are your first -lines,” and Hilary, who had begun to study over again her own part, -turned the pages to Helena’s first speech. “Here you are, addressing -Evelyn as Hermia: - - “Call you me fair? That fair again unsay. - Demetrius loves your fair, O, happy fair!” - -“I _do_ like her _lines_, the words are so musical,—‘your tongue’s sweet -air more tuneable than lark to shepherd’s ear’.” - -“Oh, you will like it when you get at it. You ought to have heard -Dorothy Appleton rave about being Bottom, but she thinks it great fun -now. Did you see her at the last practice? She said she was not sure -which string she was pulling in the donkey’s head. She might make his -ears wiggle when his eyes ought to blink, but we told her that we didn’t -think it mattered.” - -Greycliff days were taking wing. The week fairly flew till its important -close. On Friday night, the Whittiers and Emersons gathered in the -chapel for the Inter-Society Debate. Isabel, with pink cheeks and cold -hands, had bid her friends goodbye with the remark that she was marching -to her doom, but Virginia was “as calm as an oyster,” to quote Isabel. - -“Do you think that Isabel was nervous enough to hurt?” asked Cathalina, -who was a little worried. “You know how sure she was over the canoe -race.” - -“That was different,” replied Juliet, who sat next to Cathalina. “She -has to remember a speech this time, and while Isabel is such a fine -debater, I think she dreads this occasion. It is more important to the -girls.” - -But if Isabel was nervous beforehand, when she appeared on the stage -platform she was perfectly at ease and never had debated with more -brilliance. Virginia, too, never appeared to better advantage, and -Lilian thought as she looked at the fine-looking girl on the platform, -so earnest, so well prepared, of what Greycliff had meant to Virgie -since that day when she had gone in to comfort the discouraged girl from -the Dakota ranch. It was scarcely possible to believe that Virginia was -the same girl, nor was she quite. A bigger outlook, a more unselfish -ambition and a sweeter poise was hers. - -The judges were not out long, and the decision was unanimous for the -Whittier team. The annual banner, which for another year would grace the -Whittier hall, was presented by one of the trustees, and accepted by -Isabel, representing the team. - -What sort of a day would Saturday be? This was the most important -consideration to which the seniors wakened that morning. Everything was -ready for the presentation of the play outdoors, and the girls had gone -to sleep on Friday night saying over their lines. There had been a -thunderstorm on Friday afternoon, but it had cleared for the evening, -and the stars came out. The evening paper had promised a good day, but -as Isabel said, you never can tell. The last practice had not gone off -very well. That was on Friday morning, in costume. But girls forgot -their speeches, girls who had never done that before, several came on at -the wrong moment, forgetting their cues, and Patty was nearly -distracted. - -“Don’t worry, Mrs. Norris, remember that Miss Perin was not here to help -you manage behind the scenes. Nobody will go on at the wrong time -tonight.” Lilian was trying to comfort her teacher as they happened to -meet on the way to the scene of action. - -“Oh, thank you, Lilian. I am not worried now. We have everything fixed -better now, all the stage property at hand and some one in charge. Miss -Perin will attend to sending the folks on, if they forget, and I have -the text, as prompter.” - -“Behind the scenes,” in the lovely spot chosen, consisted of a thick -clump of evergreens behind which a green curtain had been stretched to -screen the players. Through arching branches was the stage entrance. The -background was the woods behind Greycliff Hall and its adjacent -buildings. An even stretch of ground on the level of Greycliff Hall made -a woodland spot easy of access, yet with the wildest of surroundings. -Part of the elevation, finally resulting in what was called “high hill,” -ascended gradually from level ground, and there it was that the girls -brought cushions and newspapers and sat, on the slope, to view the play. -There were a few chairs for the faculty, ladies, alumnae and guests. The -orchestra sat at one side of the “stage,” not to obstruct the view of -the players, and were next to the evergreens before mentioned. Aunt -Hilary had arrived and occupied a place of honor next to Miss Randolph. -Girls in costume were coming up the path from Greycliff Hall, the -orchestra were tuning instruments, and the whole place was taking on a -festival appearance. Prettiest of all were the fairies, and most -ridiculous were the costumes of those taking the parts of Bottom and the -rest of the Pyramus and Thisbe players. - -“I’ll not forget, Mrs. Norris,” declared Cathalina, “but I shall draw a -long breath when my part is over. However, I have had lots of fun this -week. I hate to think that all this is so nearly over.” - -“‘Lots’?” - -“A great deal,” corrected Cathalina. “But sometimes I rather like our -more blunt way of speaking.” - -“If my girls will remember their parts tonight and not rant, I shall be -happy.” - -But often the simple acting of amateurs is more attractive than that of -any but the best professionals. The cast of Greycliff’s Midsummer -Night’s Dream could have no fault to find with the appreciation of their -audience. That delightful atmosphere established itself which means -players who are enjoying their work and an audience entirely held and -entertained. Long would they remember the pretty scene. - -“How did you like it, Aunt Hilary?” asked an excited Hilary, as she took -her aunt’s arm and led her back to the Hall. The rest of the suite-mates -followed, all interested in the one relative which their company -boasted. - -“I thoroughly enjoyed every moment, Hilary, and I think that all the -girls did so well. Of course I was more interested in you, and in the -girls that I know and have heard so much about during these years.” - -“You must come to our suite now. We are going to make some lemonade to -refresh you. The play did not take as long as I feared.” - -“They cut some of the speeches, you know,” said Cathalina. “I was surely -glad to have mine cut, and Patty was kind.” - -“Cathalina had to learn her part in one week, Aunt Hilary. One of the -girls who was to have the part came down with measles. Imagine it,—in -your senior year and just at Commencement! So Cathalina was asked to do -it.” - -“I thought that I should hate it, but I rather enjoyed it, after all.” - -“What was that perfectly heartless remark of Patty’s, Cathalina?” - -“Oh, she did not mean it, but Edith had not been doing very well with -her part. No wonder, if she was coming down with measles. I remember -when I had them.” - -“Have another lady-finger, Aunt Hilary. The Glee Club concert is our -last performance at Greycliff. One by one our duties lessen. Did you -like the music tonight?” - -“It was beautiful. I had no idea that you would have so excellent an -orchestra.” - -“It was short two good players in Lilian and Eloise tonight, but it is -really very well trained.” - -“I am very fond of that music anyway, and out under the trees and stars -it sounded particularly sweet. Goodnight, girls, I am glad that I am to -have some more of Greycliff’s entertainment.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIV: GREYCLIFF GIRLS TAKE FLIGHT - - -The next day was a blessed one of rest, for it was not hard to go to the -chapel and listen to the sermon for them and for the seniors of the -academy. Aunt Hilary and the other guests watched with great interest -the procession of girls in their white dresses, as they took their -places in the front rows. The choir of girls sang their favorite anthems -and led in the good old hymns which were so often called for at -Greycliff. - -“Four years at Greycliff,” thought Cathalina, and wondered what the next -one would bring, for she was facing possible changes. Her thoughts ran -to her brother and cousins and one fine soldier in France, from whom she -had not heard for a long time. - -“Four years at Greycliff,” thought Hilary. “How kind of Aunt Hilary to -make it possible. Now two years of college, somewhere, perhaps at one of -our church schools, perhaps at home, if Mother does not want me to go -away. If—” Hilary’s thoughts, too, ran on, to a certain soldier boy who -might want her some day to make a home with him, if he came back,—and -perhaps it would be as well to stay with Mother and Father. - -Many, many thoughts came to these girls, so fair and so young, looking -forward to the fulfillment of dreams even in that sad year. - -When they came down to earth after the service, Greycliff outdid herself -in serving a chicken dinner beyond the memory of the oldest inhabitant. -Aunt Hilary sat with the dignitaries at Miss Randolph’s table and at -Hilary’s table, joy was unconfined, for Isabel had given up her seat to -a visitor and occupied a chair next to Lilian. Lilian, too, had thrown -off care for the day, sparkling as Lilian could when her mood was gay. -Her shining hair was piled high, one little bit of short down curling in -her neck. On her arms was the bracelet Philip had given her, and on her -neck his latest gift, a delicate chain with a jeweled lavaliere, of a -pattern then most popular. The engagement ring was on her finger, and -all together, according to Isabel, Lil presented a picture of a “fine -lady with jewels.” - -“Do you think I have too much on, Isabel?” asked Lilian, rather taken -back by Isabel’s careless remark. “I love to wear them,—you know why.” - -“And we love to see them,” returned Isabel. “I beg your pardon; I wasn’t -criticising.” - -“Let’s arrange about the round robin,” said Betty. “I can’t stand it not -to know about all you girls, and never can write regularly to so many. -It will be much easier to pass on the letters. Then if we want to write -any oftener to any one we can. Meanwhile the history of the chief events -can be going the rounds.” - -“I’m afraid we’ll give it up,” said Juliet. - -“I know some girls who have kept one going for nearly ten years.” - -“How many of them are there?” - -“Ten.” - -“Somebody will be sure to be careless and keep it too long or -something.” - -“We might make it a rule not to keep it more than a month, and if one -had time for only a few lines that would be acceptable. It could get -around at least once a year.” - -“I think it will be fine,” said Eloise. “Count me in. Betty, you write -to me and I’ll send it out with a letter of my own to Pauline, next up -to Virgie, then east to New York, no, to Isabel first. The New York -folks could gather up their epistles, or write one all together. Suppose -all of us who want to have a round robin, or to take part in one, leave -our names with Betty and let her start it. Who has more adventures than -Betty?” - -“If it depends upon my telling adventures, there will not be any round -robin, for I’m not going to have any more. But I will receive names for -the round robin after dinner in Lakeview Suite.” - -“I can’t believe that we’re not coming back next year,” said Hilary. “It -does not seem possible. Here we are, all around the table, and in a few -days it will be like a dream.” - -“I _think_ I’m coming back,” said Isabel, “but sometimes I don’t care -much if I don’t come. It is going to make so much difference to have you -all gone. And yet I’d like to finish up here. Virgie thinks that she -will teach next year, though it isn’t quite decided, you know, depends -on what school she can get, and she has not heard.” - -“We shall need that round robin to find out where we all are,” said -Betty. “Leave an address by which we can reach you when you give me your -names.” - -“Strawberries, with ice cream and cake,” announced Isabel, watching the -waitress as she brought in the dessert to the next table. “I wonder if -they are home grown.” - -“Oh, no; they couldn’t be,” said Hilary. “These are from further south. -Don’t you remember that the Canada berries were ripe and beautiful about -the first of July that year we went to camp. I’ll never forget my sister -June’s delight. Dear me, how we go from the sublime to the ridiculous.” - -“We couldn’t live on the heights all the time,” said Isabel, “and there -are things we don’t dare think about at all now. Think of Betty’s last -adventure. Why, the wildest imagination could not have fancied anything -like that or thousands of other things that are happening here and in -Europe. All the old stories of Robin Hood, and ladies held up in -carriages on lonely roads, that we have read and thought so romantic, -can’t hold a candle to what happens now. We hear a humming and look -up,—there goes a knight of romance in an aeroplane.” - -“The great trouble is that these things are not really very pleasant to -live through,” said Betty. “I’d rather read about them.” - -“Yes. When you know a knight, it isn’t so pleasant to have him ‘go off -to the wars’, is it?” - -“No, Cathalina,” replied Betty. - -The next morning had one exciting hour, that during which the prizes and -honors were awarded, after the morning chapel service. At Greycliff the -honors for scholarship were considered the most important and were given -first, to relieve the tension. Aunt Hilary sat on the platform with the -faculty, in a row reserved for visitors, and received the reward of her -interest in her niece when she heard Miss Randolph say, “I have the -pleasure of awarding the prize, one hundred dollars, for the highest -scholarship in the Collegiate classes, to Hilary Lancaster.” - -Hilary had held her place in general scholarship throughout the years of -her stay at Greycliff. It had meant steady effort, not neglecting her -lessons under any circumstances, and a careful planning of her work in -order to take her part in other activities. No one but a girl of bright, -quick mind and comparative health could have made the record that -Hilary’s report showed, but added to that there was necessary that -determined progress of which she was capable and which carried her on to -a mastery of the subjects that she had taken. It was really a very tired -girl that went forward to take the little purse which Miss Randolph held -in her hand. She acknowledged the gift and the applause with a little -bow, and gave Aunt Hilary a bright look as she caught her eye for a -moment. It was worth the effort of the four years to see the sweet -approval and satisfaction in Aunt Hilary’s smile. - -Lilian and Cathalina took the poetry prizes, Lilian, also, winning a -prize in musical composition. Eloise shone both in music and some of the -lines in scholarship, and won one of the prizes for short stories. -Isabel and Virginia again won honors in debate. Betty and Cathalina both -took prizes in the art lines and in English. All the Psyche Club won -their “All-around G’s,” and when the silver trophy cup was brought out, -to be presented to the “all-around senior girl,” it was Hilary to whom -it was awarded. This award considered both scholarship and the athletic -record. - -“What next, Hilary?” asked her aunt as she joined Hilary back of the -entrance to the platform. - -“We might stroll around the grounds a while till lunch, Auntie, or how -would you like a canoe ride?” - -“No canoe ride, please, for me. I think that I’m quite modern till I see -all the things that you girls do. I can ride and row and drive a car, -but I dare not try a canoe!” - -Aunt Hilary was a good deal like an older edition of Hilary Lancaster. -Her hair was quite grey, but her face was young, with a fresh color and -animated expression. “Suppose we just go down to the beach a while and -watch the waves and birds,” said she. - -“All right. By the way, we can point out the ‘pirates cave,’ too. We had -forgotten that. Lil, get your guitar. You need practice anyhow, for this -afternoon. The mandolin, uke and guitar club will furnish music for the -class day exercises, Auntie.” - -Hilary and her aunt strolled down to the beach, while Lilian went for -her guitar and attached Cathalina, Betty and some of the other girls -along the way. - -“Whither with sweet music, Lilian?” - -“Down to the beach to help entertain Aunt Hilary. Come along.” - -“If you are going to the beach I think I’ll not go,” said Betty, who had -not cared for the lake and its environs this spring. - -“We might see Donald,” suggested Cathalina by way of replacing unhappy -memories with happy ones. - -Betty smiled, hesitated, and finally started with the girls. “I ought to -carry away a better impression of this lake that I have really loved -most of the time. Perhaps, if we have a good time there, I can remember -it and the time when Donald so suddenly appeared.” - -“That’s a brave Betty. Hurrah for Greycliff’s grey cliffs!” - -Taller, older, more serious seemed these Greycliff girls who were to -receive diplomas so soon and leave the scenes of so many girlish -exploits. They joined Hilary and her aunt, who were sitting out on the -rocks, discoursing of many things. Dorothy Appleton, Diane Percy and -Evelyn Calvert were coming down from the wood, and Eloise, Pauline and -Helen came from the boat house to add to the company as Hilary beckoned. -“Come on and sing Greycliff songs for Aunt Hilary,” said she. - -Lilian’s guitar started them. Aunt Hilary turned back a page or two in -memory of her own schooldays, as the girls ran through their songs, -athletic songs, class songs, the whole accumulation of the best efforts. - -“This is a good one for today,” said Eloise, and hummed a strain to -Lilian. - -“Oh, yes,” said Lilian, playing a few chords in a different key. - -“All ready, one, two, sing!” This song had a lively accompaniment of -chords that came in with most surprising irregularity. Aunt Hilary asked -afterward if it were rag-time, and was told that it was. - - There are white caps on the water, - And the sky’s as blue - As blue can be; - On the sand the wavelets ripple, - As we raise our song, - Greycliff, to thee. - Alma Mater, - Alma Mater, - Just a song of love - And praise to thee. - -Not all the stanzas were as serious as this, one beginning There’s an -Island; another, There’s a Cave; still another, There’s a Boat, and all -recounted Greycliff doings in ballad form,—the rag-time ballad. At the -close, the first stanza was repeated and the guitar finished up in great -style. - -“Oh, Lilian,” mourned Isabel, who had been a member of this chorus since -some one had informed her where “all the girls” were. “_Aren’t I_ going -to hear any more the plunk of your glad guitar?” - -“I hope that you are, Isabel, many times. But if you come to New York, -as you must, I hope that Phil will be there to play much better than I -can.” - -Betty and Cathalina stood for a moment after the others had gone and -looked out over the dancing sparkles which the sunlight made upon the -water. Then Betty turned away. “I’ll carry away all the memories, -Cathalina,—picnics, boat rides, the wreck and the hydroplane. Do you not -think that I have had a varied career for one so young?” - -Cathalina laughed at Betty’s affected tone. “Yes, I should say that if -variety is the spice of life, you have been having it. Let’s hurry a -little. I thought I heard the gong for lunch. I’m glad it is cool today. -Everything looks so fresh and pretty. I think that there was a little -shower early this morning.” - -“Haven’t you the class history this afternoon, Cathalina?” - -“Yes, haven’t you seen me racking my brains over it?” - -“No; I remember your saying something about it, but I wondered what had -become of it.” - -“I wanted it to be new to the girls, so haven’t asked them many -questions, except the girls that have been here since the freshman -academy days.” - -“Jane Mills has the class prophecy, hasn’t she?” - -“I think so. There were some changes and I was not at the last class -meeting.” - -The last class exercises, for the senior collegiates of that year, were -held on the front campus, and the other classes, as well as the guests, -were invited. Girls sat or stood in groups to hear the program. The -front steps of Greycliff Hall served as platform, and the members of the -mandolin, uke’ and guitar club sat on the upper steps and the porch. The -spray from the fountain blew in a fine mist under the shadows of the -great trees and across the sunny stretches between them. - -“It is hard,” said the class prophet, “to forecast the future for our -Lilian. I seem to see her standing before a large audience, holding them -spellbound by the cadences of her beautiful voice.” At this point, Jane -turned to look at Lilian behind her, and Lilian was busy with her -guitar. “Then, upon the shelves of a public library I see a handsomely -bound volume of poems, with the name of Lilian North inscribed.—Ah, what -is this picture that comes so rapidly upon the screen? A stately home -upon the Hudson. But the film is torn here and the figures are -indistinct. - -“The screen shows Hilary Lancaster doing deeds of mercy. First, I see a -schoolroom and Hilary surrounded by a group of scholars. Now I see her -in the slums, holding a wee baby and bending over a sick mother. She -wears no deaconess bonnet and I can not tell whether she is a home -missionary, a minister’s wife, or merely a ‘friend to man,’ as here in -school.” - -Betty was seen as a bride, going away with a handsome naval officer. - -Cathalina carried a degree from Columbia and was dean of a woman’s -college. Pauline galloped about a large ranch, and was finally seen to -ride off into the distance with a picturesque cowboy. Jane’s imagination -was equal to the emergency of providing a future of thrilling interest -for everybody, and the audience enjoyed her fancies. The orchestra burst -forth into a mad medley of popular music at the close of the prophecy, -while the rest scattered, after being reminded of the reception and -ceremony of bestowing the society diplomas upon the seniors in the -society halls. - -“Things move rapidly this afternoon,” said Aunt Hilary. - -“Yes, Auntie,” replied Hilary, “but there isn’t much to do at ‘society.’ -We have about half an hour before that begins and I think that I’d -better go and see if they need me to help get ready. Will you come? The -girls will probably begin to come in pretty soon.” - -“Indeed I will. I get as much entertainment from watching the girls as -from any of the exercises.” - -When they entered the Whittier Hall, Isabel was placing a little bundle -of neat, white diplomas, tied with the society colors, on the corner of -the piano, their new baby grand. Virgie was placing a step-ladder near -one of the windows, preparatory to fixing up some of the decorations -which had fallen down. - -“Come and taste this,” Virgie called one of the juniors who was adding a -little fruit juice to what looked like a very cooling drink in a large -glass bowl. - -“I’ll put this up,” Hilary offered. “You’ll have to add more ice later, -so have it strong enough.” - -“Look out for the ladder,” Virgie cautioned, “it’s a bit rickety.” - -“All right.” - -But it was not all right, unfortunately, and as Hilary mounted the -ladder it tipped. Down came Hilary, not very far, to be sure, but -without a chance to save herself. - -“Dear child!” exclaimed Aunt Hilary. “Are you badly hurt?” - -Two or three of the girls rushed to help Hilary up, but she waved them -away, and sat up slowly with a white face. “I’ve turned my ankle and -fallen on it. Just a minute, girls.” - -“We shall have to attend to it, dear,” said Mrs. Garland, and as Hilary -protected the hurt foot, with one of the girls to help, she lifted -Hilary to a chair which one of the other girls drew up, ready. - -“Don’t mind, Aunt Hilary, if I groan a bit,—it hurts so!” Poor Hilary -put her face in her hands a moment. - -“Wait a minute,” said Cathalina. “I’ll bring a rocking chair from the -nearest room and we can draw her to the suite,—lucky that it is on this -floor.” - -In a few minutes Hilary was being drawn in a rocking chair to the suite -and could not help laughing at Isabel who dashed by carrying a large -enameled pail which the girls had often used on picnic. By the time -Hilary’s pretty Commencement slipper was off, Isabel was back with hot -water. “I’m not sure that this is the latest thing they do for sprains, -but Aunt Helen always puts the boys’ sprains in as hot water as they can -stand.” - -“Does she detach them from the boys?” inquired Hilary, wincing a little -as she tried the temperature of the water. - -“Here’s cold water, too; Virgie, hurry up with that pitcher, please. -Detach what, Hilary?” - -“The sprains. You said she always put them in water. Ah—that feels -good!” - -“What’s the matter? Mercy! Is Hilary _hurt_?” Lilian from the doorway -viewed the scene with troubled face. In her hand she carried what -everybody recognized as a telegram. - -“Oh, I just thought I would get up a little excitement, Lilian. Things -were going too smoothly—Oh, is that our telegram from New York?” - -“Yes, Oh _poor_ Hilary!” - -That was, indeed the last straw, and Hilary, in pain, knowing that the -boys were on their way from the southern camp to New York and that she -had a serious hurt, burst into tears. Hilary, the strong, the patient, -the self-controlled, in tears! The girls all looked distressed, but Aunt -Hilary now came to the fore. - -“Come, Hilary, perhaps it isn’t so bad as you think,” said she. “Isabel, -will you go down and ask Miss Randolph to send up the nurse and -telephone for a physician? Now it is time for your little program, -Hilary; which of the girls shall preside in your place?” - -“Juliet is vice-president, but one of the juniors will take the chair -while we—the other girls, are receiving their diplomas. Be sure that -Patty is there, Cathalina. She makes the speech, you know. And see that -all the seniors are there, too, before the meeting is called to order. -Tell the girls about me, please, and one of you can bring my diploma.” - -“I do hate to go, Hilary,” said Lilian, “and leave you like this.” - -“You couldn’t do a thing. The nurse will be here in a minute and Aunt -Hilary will take care of me. Oh, I’m so glad you are here, Aunt Hilary, -but it just _spoils_ your visit!” - -“I am very glad to be on hand, and I already have had a wonderful visit, -renewing my youth.” - -“Oh, Lilian,—please let me see the telegram.” - -“I’ll leave it with you, dear girl, and I’ll get back the first minute I -can.” Lilian came over close to Hilary and put her arm around her neck. -“Are you just a little easier?” - -“Yes, Lilian, ever so much,—I’m sorry I was such a baby.” - -Isabel came back, a little in advance of Miss Randolph and the one of -the nurses who was not taking care of the measles patient. - -“Thank you, Isabel,” said Hilary’s aunt. “Now you join the girls. Hilary -will feel better to know that everything is going as usual, and it will -be better for her to be alone with the nurse and the doctor, as soon as -he comes.” - -“Well, Hilary, child, what sort of a performance is this?” asked Miss -Randolph with kindness, as she came into the suite and the nurse -followed. “Mrs. Garland, this is Miss Knight, one of our nurses.” - -Miss Knight had a little dose for Hilary to take, and then proceeded to -examine the foot, very carefully. She was a good nurse, but very -matter-of-fact, and said in reply to Hilary’s question, “No I don’t -_think_ there is anything broken.” - -Hilary’s heart descended to its lowest location. “Possibly something -broken. Now there was not the least hope of getting to New York in time -to see Campbell before he sailed! Why did this have to happen just at -this time?” - -But Hilary had little opportunity to mourn at present. The janitor -brought in a wheeled chair in which Hilary was conveyed to the elevator -and thence to the hospital room. It was only a short time until the -doctor came, a genial soul who was as gentle as a thorough examination -would permit. “Nothing broken, Miss Lancaster, and I have seen worse -sprains. I am afraid I can’t promise your being able to walk up for your -diploma tomorrow, but you will feel a good deal better than you do now.” - -“Oh, could I travel to New York in a day or two?” - -“Is that necessary?” asked the doctor, hesitating. - -“I want to very much.” - -“Well, I’ll tell you, Miss Lancaster, I will give directions for good -care of that ankle and I can tell better tomorrow, when the swelling -goes down, what the prospect is.” - -“He wasn’t very encouraging, was he, Aunt Hilary?” Hilary was lying in -bed now, her bandaged foot and ankle on a soft pillow. “I suppose I am -crazy to even _think_ of getting to New York, but it does seem—as if—I -can’t give up seeing Campbell before—” Hilary was crying again. “Please -forgive me for—crying!” - -“Poor little girl!” Aunt Hilary was smoothing the hot forehead. “Cry all -you want to; perhaps it will do you good. You are all tired out, and I -can understand what the disappointment means to you.” - -“You will go to the concert tonight, won’t you?” Hilary could always -think of some one besides herself. - -“Yes if you want me to and if you are fit to be left.” - -“Oh, I will be. I guess I am pretty tired and nervous this spring. After -you have put it all through, you know——” - -“Indeed I do know. Now let me tell you what I am thinking about. The -telegram said that the boys were on their way from the south, didn’t -it?” - -“Yes.” - -“That means a day or two yet before they even arrive, and they have to -get their overseas outfit. It is rarely that they are rushed right to -sea. Suppose you let the girls go, as they intend, tomorrow night, and -then you and I will leave as soon as the doctor says it is safe.” - -“Oh, Aunt Hilary,—‘you and I’—would you go _with_ me?” - -“Do you suppose I’m going to fail the dearest niece I have at such a -time as this, if there are trains and comfortable drawing room to get -you to your sweetheart? Besides, I want a look at the boy.” - -Aunt Hilary laughed at the blissful expression that dawned upon Hilary’s -face. “Do you like the idea? How very fortunate that I came.” - -“Do I _like_ it! ‘Fortunate!’ Aunt Hilary have you ever been lifted from -the depths of despair to the heights of—” Hilary was hesitating for a -word. - -“Happiness?” suggested her aunt. “If you want to follow the -alliteration.” - -“Oh, I don’t mind this, if I can only go.” - -“Go you shall,” asserted her aunt. “Now, child, I want you to be -perfectly quiet and if you can, take a good nap. You are worn out.” - -“I believe I can take a little nap before dinner. When the gong rings -you will go, won’t you?” - -“Oh, yes, and I shall be all the more likely to do so if you go to -sleep.” - -“All right, Aunt Hilary. Isn’t it funny how quickly things can change? I -know better how Betty felt now. But she fell from a horse and did not -sprain a limb, while I only fell a little way.” - -“Sh-sh, Hilary. I used to put you to sleep when you were a little girl; -can’t I be successful now?” - -Hilary laughed and obediently closed her eyes. - -The other girls, meanwhile, had received from the hands of their -favorite teacher their society certificates and were busy talking to a -few visiting alumnae, friends, and each other, while serving and being -served with the light refreshments offered. - -“Isn’t it the most unfortunate thing that Hilary had to have an accident -right now!” Cathalina was filling a plate with macaroons to pass around -a second time, while Lilian was putting more ice in the bowl and filling -it up with the mixed fruit juices again. - -“Just dreadful!” exclaimed Lilian. “What are we to do about it?” - -“I have a plan, if there aren’t any bones broken. We’ll talk about it as -soon as this is over. I wonder if Hilary could drink some of this?” - -“We’ll take her over some. Of course, she is at the pest house now. I -believe everybody’s been served and the cakes have been around twice, -except these.” - -“It is only five o’clock, an hour before dinner.” - -Laden with good things, the two girls and Betty started over to the -hospital building. “My plan is this,” said Cathalina, “that I take a -stateroom, if we can get a reservation, and just put Hilary to bed and -take her along. We girls can take care of her, don’t you think so?” - -“Indeed we can. The nurse will show us how to bandage her foot. Or -perhaps her aunt will go along. I’ll ask her to come to our house.” - -“Oh, no, Lilian. They’d better come to our house because we have so much -extra room. I’ll tuck Hilary away in her own rose room.” - -“Do you suppose Hilary could manage on crutches?” - -“We’ll have to see about that.” - -Aunt Hilary was on guard, sitting outside the building on a rustic bench -under a tree. As the girls hurried up with their hands full, she smiled -and said, “Hilary had orders to go to sleep, but I will tiptoe in and -see.” Carefully she peeped inside the door, to discover Hilary with wide -open eyes, and surprise a long sigh from the injured senior. - -“You bad child, you did not go to sleep at all.” - -“I couldn’t, Aunt Hilary. I’m sorry.” - -“Come in, girls,” called Aunt Hilary. - -“Oh, the girls! Good!” - -“You poor dear, how are you by this time? What did the doctor say about -your foot?” - -“There isn’t a thing broken, Lilian, but of course it hurts. It’s all -bandaged up as tight as anything and he is going to see what the -prospect is in the morning.” - -“Cathalina has thought up a wonderful plan and we are going to take you -with us if your aunt will let us, and we were hoping that she would go -too.” - -“Yes,” eagerly assented Cathalina. “We girls can take care of you just -as easy as pie, put you in a stateroom,—I will arrange for one tomorrow, -and Mrs. Garland, if you can _possibly_ come, please come and add to our -happiness and Hilary’s comfort by being our guest. I know that you will -like my mother.” - -“Aren’t you the dearest girls in Greycliff or anywhere else!” exclaimed -Hilary. “Everybody is planning for poor me. I feel ashamed of my broken -heart, but honestly I thought, it was cracked in two at first. And Aunt -Hilary, too, had the plan to take me East.” - -“Have you, Mrs. Garland?—Look, Hilary, here come more girls with more -ice cream!” - -Hilary, her aunt and the nurse were soon supplied with cooling and -delicious refreshments, for Eloise, Helen, and Pauline had been seized -with the same thought, and unaware of Lilian’s mission, had also brought -the entire menu. - -“This will spoil our dinner,” said Aunt Hilary. - -“Let it,” said Hilary. “I’d rather have this.” - -“It will probably be better for you than a heavy meal,” said the nurse. -“I wasn’t planning to bring you much tonight.” - -Hilary patiently bore her disappointment in not singing with the glee -club that night. The thought that she might not have to miss the trip to -New York made her able to bear lesser ills. The girls took Aunt Hilary -to dinner and to the concert, brought her back to say goodnight to -Hilary, and took her to her room at the Hall, when Hilary and the nurse -both insisted that it would be absurd for her to stay with Hilary. The -nurse had had special directions from the doctor and bathed, rubbed and -bandaged the ankle several times during the night, that first night so -hard to bear unless something is done for relief. So the time passed -till morning. - -When the doctor came in the morning, he was surprised to find the sprain -in such good condition. “How would you like to be wheeled on the -platform, with the rest of the girls, when they get their diplomas?” - -Hilary was feeling so frisky and free from discomfort that she wanted to -ask him if the rest were to be wheeled on too,—but did not. - -“Do you mean it, doctor?” - -“Indeed I do. I don’t want you to walk on it today, but you can go to -everything if some one takes you. Come back for the treatment regularly -and don’t have any more accidents. I would not try to leave tonight, as -I believe you had planned. But by tomorrow night, I think you will feel -quite comfortable. Stay in the hospital tonight and have the same -treatment you had last night.” - -Aunt Hilary walked out with the doctor, to make sure that Hilary was -really in good condition, and came back rejoicing. “We shall really go -tomorrow night, then, but I shall be on hand all day to see that nothing -more happens to that foot.” - -So it happened that Aunt Hilary did see her niece receive her diploma. -Hilary, dressed in the pretty white graduate frock, a white shawl thrown -over the bandaged foot, was carefully wheeled from the back entrance of -the platform to a place in the line of girls who had been called forward -and had mounted the platform to receive their diplomas. Her name had -just been called, and Miss Randolph, departing from custom, stepped back -to hand the diploma to Hilary. Returning to the front of the platform -again, she said, “It would have been disappointment, indeed, if Miss -Lancaster, who is the student receiving highest honors in scholarship, -had not been able to receive her diploma in person.” - -Finding that Hilary would be able to leave Wednesday, the other girls -also decided to stay, help her pack and be on hand to “do her bidding,” -as Lilian put it, while they made the journey. They were able to change -their reservations, the railway authorities glad to get back the berths, -and able to make better arrangements for them, it happened, for -Wednesday night. Aunt Hilary, not Cathalina, engaged the stateroom, but -promised to stay at Cathalina’s instead of at a hotel. “It would be -terrible not to be all together!” Cathalina had exclaimed. - -The packing was a great undertaking. The girls were all thankful for -that extra day at Greycliff. The three at Lakeview Suite, though worn -out with much Commencement, finished their packing early Wednesday -morning while Hilary was still at the hospital, and with Aunt Hilary -packed Hilary’s things later. Most of the girls had left Tuesday night, -but there were still some trying goodbyes to be said. Fortunately, some -of the girls could still look forward to schooldays together. - -Miss Randolph paid a special visit to Lakeview Suite and earnestly -expressed her pleasure at having had such loyal, fine girls at -Greycliff. The girls tried to tell her how much they had appreciated -what she had taught them, in so many inspiring ways, but felt that they -had not been equal to the occasion. “But she knows, girls,” said Hilary -consolingly, as she watched Aunt Hilary and Miss Randolph stroll off -down the hall together. - -At last they were on the train, Hilary so comfortable that she declared -she could not have planned it better to travel in luxury, with some one -to anticipate her every need. Her companions knew, however, that if -Hilary could have her way she would exchange all that for a well foot. -But it made a happy little company, after all. There was time for much -conversation, some confidences, and many plans for the coming days. They -missed Betty after she changed cars to go in another direction, but -there were promises of full accounts in letters. And now the Hudson, the -approach, the city. - - - - -CHAPTER XV: WHEN LADS BECAME MEN - - -It was a new East to Cathalina and the other girls. There had been many -a long stop on the way, for the troop trains had precedence. Everywhere -was the uniform, and in the Hudson were strangely camouflaged ships. -Cathalina and Lilian had telegraphed about their changed date of arrival -and were met by the fathers this time. No dashing Philip, blue-eyed -Campbell or brotherly Dick at the station. But the first question asked -by Cathalina and Lilian of their respective parents was “Have the boys -come yet?” - -“We do not know,” answered Mr. Van Buskirk. “If so, they are detained at -camp. They promised to send us word at the first opportunity, but they -might not have that for a time.” - -Hilary managed to hobble around pretty well and reached the Van Buskirk -car without much difficulty. Aunt Hilary and Cathalina followed Hilary -into the machine and they started off, after saying goodbye to Lilian -and her father. - -“Not much need of goodbyes, is there, daughter?” inquired the Judge. “I -suppose you will be over there most of the time till the boys sail.” - -“I may be at home a little, a very little, Daddy, so make the most of -me!” - -“Very well, but even you will have to take second place when Dick -arrives. Your mother lives in anticipation.” - -“Poor mother! Is Dick still in camp?” - -“He was shifted to another camp, but telegraphed, a night letter, saying -that the indications were for a start in a day or two and that he would -let us know. He will come to Camp Merritt also.” - -Aunt Hilary received a warm welcome from Mrs. Van Buskirk, while Hilary -was petted and waited on until she said she would be spoiled and never -would want to wait on herself again. The big Van Buskirk house was cool -and comfortable, electric fans going, flowers about the rooms, cold -salads and ices served. It was perhaps as well that the soldier lads had -not arrived, for the girls were so tired that they did not need any -extra excitement. Mrs. Van Buskirk suggested that both Cathalina and -Hilary should spend most of the time in bed for the next day or two and -sent for some one to give special treatment to the rapidly improving -foot. None of the relatives were invited in, no reunions planned, until -Philip and Campbell should arrive. Lilian, however, called up -occasionally. She, too, had been put to bed to rest, but felt anxious to -know about Hilary’s progress. - -“I feel it in my bones,” said she, talking over the telephone to -Cathalina, “that the boys are not far away. We got the telegram Tuesday, -you know, and your people had just heard, and then the boys had started. -I don’t see how it _could_ take more than three or four days. Do you -suppose they can be at camp?” - -“They might be, but Mother is expecting Phil either tomorrow or Sunday. -She has given orders for all the good things that Philip likes to eat, -and such spreads as we’ll have for the next few days!” - -“Here, too. Well, I suppose it takes a long time to move so many troops -and we must be patient.” - -“Yes, but you come over tomorrow and stay all day and the next. If you -are here we shall have Phil in the house just that much more! Mother -told me to ask you to come.” - -“All right, Cathalina, I’ll be over in the morning.” - -“Better bring all the clothes you want, for Phil will not want you out -of his sight.” - -“Oh, he could drive me home.” - -“Yes, and then _we_ wouldn’t have him.” - -“I see. By the way, little sister, have you any overseas news since you -came home?” - -“Not a word. And Captain Van Horne’s unit is right in the thickest of -the battles.” - -Lilian joined the Van Buskirk “unit” the next day, spending much of the -time up in the rose room where Hilary sat with her foot up, doing her -best to take care now in order to be around with the rest soon. Mrs. Van -Buskirk and Aunt Hilary came and went, all the ladies knitting -vigorously. - -“I must try to match this yarn,” Hilary was saying. “Isn’t it funny that -there are different shades of khaki. I thought I had enough to finish -the sweater, but haven’t. I do hope that I can match it exactly.” - -“Listen!” said Cathalina. - -Lilian jumped to her feet. Cathalina reached for her and drew her out -into the hall. Hilary looked at Aunt Hilary and dropped her work, -wondering if Campbell could possibly come with Philip, whose voice they -now heard downstairs. Yes, who was that asking, “Is it all right to go -up now, Aunt Sylvia?” The answer must have been affirmative, for rapid -steps were coming up the stairs, and Hilary limped out of the room so -quickly that she met him at the top. - -There was no question of being engaged or not engaged. Campbell had just -heard of Hilary’s accident and gathered her up, fairly carrying her to -the end of the hall where there was a convenient window-seat. - -“Hilary, Hilary, were you badly hurt?” - -“No, Campbell,—but how tired you look!” - -It took only a few happy minutes for all explanations and expressions -that were necessary for a complete understanding. - -“I did not mean, Hilary, to tell you this until I came back,—but I -couldn’t help it.” - -“I’d rather it were this way, Campbell. If you know that I care for you, -you will write more freely and it will seem so different.” - -“What a heavenly difference!” - -Mrs. Van Buskirk ascended the stairs and stood at the top without the -lovers’ being aware of her presence, and Mrs. Garland came from the rose -room to join her. “There is another pair downstairs,” remarked Mrs. Van -Buskirk with an expression of amusement. “But our lads will go more -happily for having their sweethearts waiting for them. I thought that -Campbell and Hilary were going to be so sensible and wait.” Mrs. Van -Buskirk raised her voice purposely as she said this, though she and Aunt -Hilary had their backs turned to the window-seat. - -“What was that, Aunt Sylvia?” Campbell had risen, and now was walking -slowly toward them, helping Hilary. - -“Come and meet Mrs. Garland, Campbell. Mrs. Garland, this is my nephew -and Hilary’s friend.” Trust Mrs. Van Buskirk not to take for granted any -new relation. - -“It’s my Aunt Hilary, Campbell,” said Hilary as her aunt cordially -greeted the young man. - -“I came up to tell you all that lunch will be ready before long. You -will stay, will you not, Campbell? Have you seen your mother yet?” - -“No, I haven’t been out home. This was on the way, and I couldn’t resist -stopping to see if the girls had come.” Campbell looked down at Hilary -with content. - -“Why not telephone her that you are in the city and will be right out -after lunch. Phil will drive you out. Perhaps Hilary will feel like -going too.” - -“No, Mrs. Van Buskirk, I think not. His mother will want him all to -herself for a little while at least.” - -“It is very thoughtful of you, Hilary, to appreciate that. You might -ride out, though, and come back with Phil and Lilian.” - -“That is a great plan, Aunt Sylvia. You have a heart!” exclaimed -Campbell. - -Mrs. Van Buskirk laughed. “I haven’t wholly forgotten my own youth,” she -replied, as she started down the stairs again, Aunt Hilary accompanying -her. - -Campbell said something in a low tone to Hilary, who laughed. “Aunt -Hilary,” said she, “Campbell wants to know if he may carry me down.” - -“It will be the very simplest way of getting her down,” assented that -lady. “She has been having her meals carried to her, but will want to be -with the family now.” - -“If I want a permanent job as porter, then,” began Campbell, but Hilary -told him not to be silly, and he promptly obeyed, lifting Hilary and -carrying her down quickly, when the coast was clear of descending -ladies. - -“She has begun to boss me already,” said Campbell as he helped Hilary -into the library where were Lilian and Philip. - -“Oh, Campbell, as if I would do that!” began Hilary. - -“What, what, what?” exclaimed Philip, jumping up to come and shake hands -with Hilary. “You don’t mean to say that everything is fixed up and——” - -“It is,” said Campbell. “Congratulate me. Hilary says that she’ll have -me, though I’m terribly afraid that it is the uniform that she likes.” - -“Irrepressible,” said Hilary to Lilian. - -“Yes, but isn’t it wonderful to have them here for a little while?” - -“It makes me feel a little better, Campbell,” said Philip, seriously. -“You were so noble and self-sacrificing that I felt horribly selfish to -have asked Lilian.” - -The boys looked older and were thin after their strenuous months in a -southern camp. There was a firmness to young mouths in those days and a -lift to the chin, for boys had become men in the training and under the -new responsibility, as they met the evils wrought by the wrong ambitions -of wicked men. - -“How did it happen to take you so long to come, Philip?” asked Mrs. Van -Buskirk at lunch. - -“They brought us by such a round-about way, Mother. It was not by any -means a direct route.” - -“How long can you stay this time?” asked Cathalina. - -“We are off for over Sunday, but I don’t think that our bunch will go -over for a week or ten days. You must all come out to see the camp. Have -any of you been over?” - -“Your father and I have been there several times in connection with the -work for the boys,” replied Mrs. Van Buskirk. “We shall go when you -can’t come to us, but this is better when you can.” - -“I should say so!” assented Philip, accepting further attentions from -old Watts, who could not keep his usual impassive countenance under the -circumstances. Louis had come with Philip and had been warmly greeted by -both the family and the servants. He was in Philip’s company, but the -relation was not of master and man. - -After lunch Philip drove Lilian, Campbell and Hilary to the Stuarts, but -Hilary did not return with Lilian and Philip, for Mrs. Stuart insisted -upon her staying and promised to take Campbell off by himself for a talk -if she would stay. And the family all made much of Hilary. It had been -well known among them how long Campbell had admired her. - -“He has been so uneasy at times, Hilary,” said Mrs. Stuart, in a little -private conference, “and I had wondered how it was,—if you could not -care for my boy.” - -“It was only too easy to do that, Mrs. Stuart, but I could scarcely -offer myself to him, could I?” - -“No, I suppose not.” - -“You see you can’t be perfectly sure that a boy cares for you very very -much until he tells you so. And I think that Campbell was surprised into -it as it was! Perhaps I should have said ‘No’!” - -Hilary felt well acquainted with them all because of her previous visits -among the relatives, and Sara, who was a tall slip of a girl in her -teens now, quite openly adored her. Hilary told Sara and Emily all about -her sinking heart when she thought that she would not be able to come. - -“Oh, suppose you hadn’t!” exclaimed Sara. “Then you and Campbell -wouldn’t be engaged, and you couldn’t have seen him before he left.” - -“That was it, Sara. I really did not expect to be engaged to him, but I -thought I must see him, after having expected to all these months.” - -“But now you belong to us,” declared Sara emphatically. “Aunt Hilary -must come to see us, too.” - -“Yes,” said Emily. “I imagine that we’ll all go over there to see Phil -and call on Mrs. Garland after dinner. I told Phil that he need not come -for you, that we should want a visit with him, too, and would probably -be over. Aunt Sylvia will want a quiet day with him tomorrow, I think.” - -It turned out so. Cathalina telephoned around to the different relatives -and to Judge and Mrs. North, asking them to call after dinner. Philip, -however, had driven Lilian home, after delivering Hilary at the Stuarts, -and was warmly welcomed by the Judge and his wife. - -“Dick is at camp,” announced Philip, “and will get off in the morning.” - -“I will go home with you tonight, Mother,” said Lilian, “and help you -get dinner for Dick tomorrow morning. I want you to have a chance to -visit with him while he can be here.” - -“I shall have dinner nearly prepared tonight, Lilian, and there will be -little to do tomorrow, but you are a good child and I will let you -finish it up. Can’t you come over and help her, Philip?” - -“If I only could! But Mother would be disappointed if I were not at -home. I’ll come over for Lilian right after dinner if you don’t mind.” - -It took a great deal of planning for every one to see the soldier lads, -but the time was precious for memories. At Camp Merritt, Philip pointed -out a little hut where food was sold to the soldiers. - -“See that sign?” he asked. “‘No Pies.’ That never comes down, because -the boys know when the pies come in, and go at once to buy them out!” - -At the little station in Dumont, out from which town the camp was -located, troop trains were being unloaded. Processions of worn, dusty -men were marching away toward the camp and were carrying immense packs -that looked heavy for any one not a giant. The girls watched them and -the great loaded trucks that sped away to take all kinds of supplies to -Camp Merritt. “I grow more and more indignant,” said Hilary. “All this -hardship and risk and worse, and what for?—Just because it happens to be -our job to help defeat some murderers. But it has to be done.” - -Those were sober days, and when several days later it was evidently -their last visit to the boys in camp it was hard to say the farewells. -Not far from where Philip and Lilian stood talking, sat a young soldier -and his wife, the latter a frail little woman with a patient, sad look -upon her face. They were not saying a word, only sat with clasped hands -till such time as he would have to go back to quarters. But Philip and -Lilian said goodbye with a brave smile, each to the other, and Lilian -stood watching Philip till he had disappeared within the barracks. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI: BUTTERFLY WINGS - - -Free from school duties, Greycliff girls made plans for the coming year -and threw themselves into the relief work. There were letters from -somewhere in France, boxes sent and mementos received. The great drive -was on in Europe and haunting fear hovered over American homes thus far -untouched. Yet men, women and maids went courageously forward doing -“their bit.” - -Cathalina and Lilian had already made their arrangements to study in New -York. Lilian was giving up her music temporarily, for she said that she -did not have the heart to sing while Philip was in France. But she was -continually singing, after all, in patriotic gatherings or in the -hospitals. - -Hilary had decided to go to the denominational school which her parents -had selected. Always considering what would be to her advantage, they -concluded that school life would be less distracting for her away from -home, unless she really preferred to be at home and attend the excellent -university in the city. But Betty wrote that her father was considering -the same school for her, and that Eloise and Helen were waiting for her -decision, hoping that they all might be together again. After a little -correspondence, the matter was settled and the girls were greatly -delighted at the prospect. - -Pauline Tracy and Juliet Howe were to attend a western state university -miles and miles away from any of the girls they knew,—so they wrote. - -Virginia Hope’s application for a school near her home was successful. -Poor Isabel, perhaps, would have the most lonely time. All the older -Hunt boys were in the army now, even Jim, who had shared the fatherly -responsibility for discipline and finances. It was Isabel’s form of -service to stay at home, put as much cheer as possible into the house, -for the sake of the two younger boys, Aunt Helen and her father, and -take up again the friendships of the home town. To this end Isabel was -bending all her energies when school opened for the rest in September. - -About this time, the first round robin spread its wings, carrying -epistles somewhat brief on this first flight, and flew with surprising -speed from one to another, because the girls knew that a quick report of -where they all were was needed. Betty, who started it before she left -home for school, wrote across the top of her first page, in large -capitals, “Procrastination is the thief of time,” and under this, in -smaller but heavily underscored letters, “Do It Now.” - -The girls followed her advice and wrote without delay, before the -freshness of the news had been lost. - -When this round robin reached Betty again, it had grown much in size. -Taking out her first letter, she replaced it with another and started -the robin anew. But it was delayed this time. Things were happening. The -war was being won, the armistice came, Christmas time, soldiers coming -home—what wonder that girls found little time to write to each other in -this fashion. Betty and Cathalina wrote often, and Lilian heard -regularly from Hilary; but three weeks after Betty had handed the round -robin to Hilary she inquired for it, to find that it was in Helen’s -portfolio. - -Hilary had been writing a theme and was late in handing the letters to -Eloise. Eloise was to sing at a recital, and Helen had just forgotten -it. Such is sometimes the fate of round robins! By the time the letters -reached Pauline and Juliet, it was nearly time for the Christmas -vacation, and when they arrived in New York the March days were on, many -of the soldier boys at home, and life changing very fast for some of the -Greycliff girls. - -“Round robin coming home again,” said Hilary, as she threw the fat -envelope in Betty’s lap one spring day. “Let’s all read it together.” - -“Yes, let’s do,” said Helen, “and I will make a few extracts for Evelyn. -I had a forlorn letter from her today, asking why I did not write and -saying that she was starved for news from everybody.” - -“She ought to have joined the round robin company.” - -“So she says; I will put her name on the list, Betty, and this time I -will just tell her the main things. I’ll call it ‘feathers from the -round robin’.” - -“That is good, Helen, and be sure to give her our special love. Is Percy -back?” - -“Yes, but Evelyn is interested in one of the wounded boys now, a sort of -cousin of hers.” - -“The one she was engaged to once?” - -“Oh, yes.” - -Betty was opening the large envelope and sorting out the letters which -had been written by the “assembled company,” as she said. “Shall we -glance through each other’s letters?” she asked. - -“We know all each other’s news,” reminded Hilary. - -“Yes, but we might have said something brilliant, you know,” suggested -Eloise. “It would be a pity to miss anything.” - -“Oh, here’s something characteristic from Isabel,” said Betty a little -later. “Listen! She says, ‘I have just _devoured_ the round robin! -Query,—what can you devour and not destroy? The answer is,—a round -robin. It was so good to hear from you all again.’” Here Betty -exclaimed, with a sympathetic “Oh, poor Isabel!” - -“What is it?” asked all the girls. - -“I’ll just go and read it: ‘You will be sorry for us when I tell you -about Lou, who is still in a hospital in France, and we have been so -worried. At first we got such good news about him, we thought, but he -was gassed and wounded, too, and is not doing very well. Milt is with -him, though, and will bring him home in a few weeks, he thinks. Jim is a -casual now—I’m thankful to say not a casualty—and is wandering around at -the pleasure of various authorities. It is so aggravating when we want -him to come home so much and he is needed. But there are other men in -the army that are worse off.’” - -“Take the New York letters next, Betty, will you? We’ve finished reading -these from Pauline and Juliet,—or would you rather read them first.” - -“No, I don’t care in what order I read them. Here are those from -Cathalina and Lilian. Shall I read Cathalina’s to you?” - -“Yes,” said Helen, “and Hilary can read Phil’s.” - -The news from New York was especially interesting, though Hilary had -heard some of it through letters from Campbell Stuart. The cousins, -however, had been widely separated and knew little of each other’s -movements. - -“Think of it,” said Helen, “another school year almost gone, and the -boys coming home!” - -“It has been a long year,” said Hilary, “and some of them are sleeping -‘on Flander’s Field’.” - -But it was in April that the most astounding news came to Betty and the -other girls. It came in a letter from Cathalina, who told how Lilian’s -brother Dick came home looking more ‘fit’ than ever in his life, and how -he and Captain Van Horne, who was growing strong after his wounds, were -in the law office with every chance of success, how Philip was trying to -build up the business which had suffered during the war, with much more -about everybody. Then she asked, “Are you girls prepared to be -bridesmaids in June?” - -“Oh, now Lilian and Phil are going to be married!” exclaimed Hilary. -“Funny that she has not said so to me!” - -Betty shook her head. “Guess again,” said she. - -“Dick and Louise Van Ness,” said Helen. - -“But they would not want _us_ to be bridesmaids.” - -“I see a dawning intelligence on Hilary’s face,” laughed Betty. “It is, -Hilary, it’s Cathalina.” - -“Cathalina!” exclaimed Helen. - -“Bless her heart, it was his wound that did it,” said Eloise. - -“I can’t read you all the letter, and yet I know in my bones that she -will tell you all about it when you see her. Cathalina is shy about some -things, you know.” - -“Cathalina!” exclaimed Helen again. “Now I would have said that Lilian -would be the first and Hilary the second bride, unless Betty, -possibly,——” - -Helen was looking at Eloise as she spoke, and Eloise assented to her -statement. - -“Not I,” laughed Betty. “I’m thankful that Donald escaped the -submarines, but it will be some years yet before we can get married. -Both of us have to finish college and then Donald will have to get a -start in business. Philip and Dick and Cathalina’s lover are lucky.” - -“When did you say the wedding is to be?” asked Helen. - -“In June, but the date is not fixed yet. She wants us all for -bridesmaids and will fix the time after school is out, is writing to all -the girls to find out if they can come.” - -“Whom do you mean by all the girls? She couldn’t have the whole Psyche -Club, could she?” - -“No; she said that she was afraid Pauline, Juliet and Virgie could not -even get to the wedding from things they have written about their plans, -you know. She wants me for maid of honor,—think of it—her mother wants -to have a big wedding and Cathalina doesn’t mind. Then she wants to have -you three girls, of course, with Lilian and Isabel, and then that cousin -of hers that is about her age, Nan Van Ness. And Charlotte Van Ness is -to be flower girl. She says that is as far as she has planned. No, for -there is one thing more,—she wants us to have delicate colors, different -colors, and be the ‘butterfly girls’ of the Psyche Club.” - -“Oh, that will be lovely. Cathalina will make a beautiful bride. Did she -say how she is going to be dressed or anything more about how she wanted -the bridesmaids’ dresses to be?” - -“No, only that she hadn’t thought it out yet, and she wants us to be -planning to come as soon as school is out in June for a real house-party -again.” - -“A house-party, and while they are getting ready for a wedding?” asked -Helen in surprise. - -“Cathalina wrote—well, I’ll read it to you: ‘I have not thought out the -details yet. It is all so new and wonderful to be engaged to a man -who,’—maybe I’d better leave out that—anyway she says that it’s love’s -young dream as yet. ‘But Mother and I will sit down some day and put it -all on paper, just what we want, and then the housekeeper and the -decorator and the caterer will carry it all out. I’m going to let Mother -plan my clothes. We’ll do some shopping together right away, and perhaps -Lilian and Mrs. North will go with us some time. Aunt Katharine will -take an interest, too. So about all little Cathalina will have to do is -to try on clothes and say whether she likes them or not. At first I did -not like the thought of a big wedding, but Mother has just one girl to -be married, and believes in being married in church, and then we have so -many friends and such a family connection that there isn’t any other -way.’” - -“I see,” said Helen. “I suppose that Mrs. Van Buskirk is used to -planning for big entertainments.” - -“I think that they usually have small companies, but they can have the -others and do occasionally,” said Hilary. “Then they have plenty of help -always. In some ways it’s more fun to do things yourself, but this will -be as perfect as money and good taste can make it. And we shall have a -glorious visit.” - -“What shall we give her for our wedding present?” - -“The Psyche Club might give her a pretty little white marble Psyche.” - -“A fine idea, Hilary. Cathalina would love that, I know,—a real -beautiful one. But perhaps she has one.” - -“No; she spoke about it once and that is what made me think of it, but -I’m pretty sure that she has not bought one.” - -“Then that makes the club present provided for. I’m afraid it will be -hard to think up presents for one who has everything she wants—almost.” - -“I felt that way, too, at first,” said Hilary, “when I first visited -Cathalina, but there are ever so many real simple things that Cathalina -likes and I never knew anybody that appreciated being thought of more -than Cathalina. Not that she expects it at all, but she shows so much -real pleasure and delight that it warms your heart to do anything for -her.” - -“Cathalina admires my embroidery,” said Eloise, “and I’m going right -down street tomorrow and buy the finest linen I can find and start -something. What shall it be?—doilies? table cover?—Oh, well, I can think -it out better after I look around the shops a little.” - -“I could hemstitch and embroider some ‘hankys’,” said Helen. - -“Wouldn’t it be fun to have a shower while we are at Cathalina’s?” - -“Yes, Betty, but we would not be there long enough beforehand.” - -“Cathalina says that she wants us two weeks beforehand, if it is -possible.” - -“Let’s hope that school closes early, then.” - -“We can plan to leave right after examinations, and not stay for the -Commencement. We are not graduating, and what is a Commencement compared -with a wedding?” - -“If we had not been to so many Commencement exercises at Greycliff we -might not think so, but I fully agree with you,” said Hilary. “We can go -right on now with plans for our little gifts and have our clothes ready -for the trip. Think of it!” - -On the next mail there came a letter from Cathalina directed to Hilary -and addressed to all the girls, inviting them to be her bridesmaids and -telling of her plans. The date was the same as that of Betty’s and the -two letters had been mailed at the same time. “I’m going to write to -each one of you, separately, and later will have more to tell you about -plans. If you have any suggestions,—mail them on!” There was much more, -all in the happiest vein. Later the formal invitations were sent. - - * * * * * - -In New York, there was among the relatives a pleasant excitement over -the engagement and approaching marriage of Cathalina. Nan Van Ness, who -was the only one of the girls in the family to be a bridesmaid, was at -the Van Buskirk house a great deal of the time. Lilian ran in and out, -of course, and the girls were in the gayest of spirits. Philip suggested -to Lilian that there be a double wedding, but Lilian said that it would -not do. - -“I’m sure that your mother would want this to be Cathalina’s own -wedding, Philip. I know I would in her place. And besides, I believe I -should prefer to have a wedding of my own, too. Then I can’t leave -Mother for a little while. Hearing that Dick was ‘missing’ and not -knowing any better for a month nearly finished her and she has not -gotten over it yet.” - -“All right, best and dearest,” said Philip. “We’ll give our little -sister the finest wedding ever, and then I shall not have to wait too -long, shall I?” - -“Not very long, Philip. You have been through enough, and I’ll try to -make you forget the sad things in being happy with me. Mother will not -want to keep us apart. I’ve just been so pleased to see how she fusses -over you since you came home, almost as much as she does over Dick.” - -The older girls in the family connection did not expect to be -bridesmaids for this wedding. Cathalina had worried about it a little at -first, although Nan was the only one who was of her own age. She loved -the older girls, but did want her “butterfly girls,” as she sometimes -called the girls of the Psyche Club. And after Cathalina learned through -Aunt Katherine and Louise Van Ness that Ann Maria would be married some -time in the summer or fall to a young officer, she knew that Louise and -Emily and the other girls in Ann Maria’s circle of friends would be -bridesmaids for her. - -June came and brought the “butterfly girls” to New York. Leaving before -Commencement permitted them to arrive about the close of the first week -in June, and ten days before the wedding. The pretty bridesmaid gowns -were carefully boxed and came through in good condition. Cathalina’s and -Mrs. Van Buskirk’s maids unpacked for the girls and put their clothes in -drawers and closets. Hilary and Betty were in the rose room, Eloise and -Helen near, Isabel in a small room, to sleep by herself in the few hours -which they spent in that occupation, though Mrs. Van Buskirk came around -herself to see that they did not talk too late, reminding them that they -must keep in fine condition for the great event. - -There was so much to talk about! Nearly a year, and a strange year, had -some of them been separated Cathalina waited till all the girls had -arrived and then showed them her pretty trousseau. “Dainty and lovely, -like you, Cathalina,” said Isabel. - -“I haven’t had anything packed yet, because I wanted you all to see -everything,” said Cathalina, “but the maid is going to begin as soon as -Mother and I select what I shall want with me. We are going to Canada -for our wedding trip, not much of a trip, just to get there and stay in -a perfectly beautiful country place. We shall be there a month and then -may join the folks at the seashore. It’s all beautifully indefinite, and -Allan and I don’t care where we are just so we are together.” - -“‘Allan,’—Captain Van Horne! I was going to ask you, Cathalina, if you -called him by his first name.” - -Cathalina laughed. “He doesn’t seem so old to me now as when he was an -instructor at Grant. He’s a good deal of a boy, now that he is happy and -does not have to worry about law school and making a living and all -that. He works too hard, of course, I suppose he always will, but he has -such a fine opportunity now that he need not worry. We are not going to -begin on any large scale of living. Just think, girls, what if I had -never learned anything but just being waited on and wanting everything. -We are going to get a darling little apartment as soon as we come back -and start in that. Mother mourns a little and says, ‘Think of this big -house and nobody but your father and me pretty soon!’ But I think that -Father admires both Allan and Phil for wanting to be independent. If the -presents keep coming at the rate they are, a little apartment will not -hold them all. However, I can store them here.” - -“When did it happen, Cathalina?” asked Isabel. - -“Getting engaged, you mean?” - -Isabel nodded. “I do not mean to be inquisitive, but we thought that you -did not hear from him very often,—and so I just wondered when.” - -“No, I did not hear from him often, neither was I sure that he cared in -that way for me. I dreamed of him, but was more or less ashamed of it, -and scolded myself for having such a hero when he probably only thought -of me as a good friend—though there _were_ times——” - -“Yes,” said Betty. “If ever there was adoration in a man’s eyes, it was -in Captain Van Horne’s one time, on that picnic at Greycliff. I told -Cathalina so, but she made light of it.” - -“What else could I do?” asked Cathalina. “The reason I didn’t hear was -that he was in action so much of the time, and he was wounded twice. The -first time it didn’t amount to much and he went back, but the second -time he was in the hospital over there a long time, and was sent home -from there. He came to New York, but got sick on the way, and had to go -to a hospital here. Then he wrote me a little note and I went to see -him.” Cathalina stopped. “I can just see him now,” she went on in a -moment, lowering her voice. “He was so thin and white and he stretched -out both his hands to me and called me his darling. I felt like his -_mother_ and went right to him and slipped my arm under his head! Wasn’t -it dreadful? He says that he had just waked up and when the nurse showed -me in he thought it must be in heaven. Philip jokes me about it and -tells me that Allan was out of his mind and that I took advantage of it! -But if he were out of his mind for a minute it would not explain all he -told me when he was in his right mind a few minutes later and it all -came out; so I have no reason to wonder about whether he loves me or -not.” - -“It’s funny how suddenly these things do happen,” said Hilary, thinking -of her own experience. - -“Yes,” said Betty, “but you must remember that everything has been so -different with our boys, and such tragedies of separation have happened -that there has been good reason for romantic and sudden——” - -“Episodes,” finished Isabel. - -The girls were all sitting on Cathalina’s bed from which the pretty -dresses and other things had been cleared after the display, or on -chairs drawn close as they held this rather intimate conversation, all -so interested and sympathetic toward the prospective bride. Isabel was -on one side of Cathalina and Betty on the other, and all the girls were -so delighted to have the short reunions, so eager to hear the -confidences. - -“As soon as Allan was able he went into the office and besides that he -had a little bit of good luck in getting some property sold that had -been only an expense, something from his father’s estate, I guess,—you -know, Betty, how beautifully indefinite I am. I don’t really know, -except that he can afford to get married now. He is coming to call this -evening and see you all. Now ask Lilian how her love affair is coming -on.” Cathalina turned with a smile to her future sister-in-law. - -“Yes, Lilian,” said Eloise, “tell us when that event will be.” - -“Before so very long, Eloise, but Mother is not well and I shall just -quietly get ready and have a small wedding, though probably in the same -church, and just have the family in afterwards. Mrs. Van Buskirk wants -to give a reception for us after our trip, so that will probably happen. -Could you girls get back for it? I hate to be married without you.” - -The girls looked doubtful and regretful. “We always expected to have -this reunion at your wedding, Lilian,” said Eloise, “and did not dream -that Cathalina would be the first one to leave our ranks; but perhaps -you are really more free to visit than you will be later when you are -getting married yourself.” - -“There is something in that, Eloise,” acknowledged Lilian. “But come, if -you possibly can,” she added, and the girls all promised that they -would. - -That first evening, Allan Van Horne duly appeared. It was the first time -that the girls had seen him not in uniform, either that of the school -where he taught or that of Uncle Sam, and they came to the conclusion -that he appeared well in citizen’s ordinary attire. - -“He is handsome even without the uniform, Cathalina,” said Isabel when -she had opportunity for a private remark. - -“I don’t know that he is what you would call a handsome man,” replied -Cathalina reflectively, looking across the room at her prospective -husband, who was chatting with Philip, Lilian and Betty. “But he carries -himself so well and has such a fine face. Of course, I think that he is -just about the most adorable man there is.” - -“What color are his eyes? I thought they were blue, but they look like -brown eyes tonight.” - -“Isn’t that funny? Betty insisted that they were blue, and I thought of -them as brown, and they really are, I guess, though Allan says that he -was said to have hazel eyes. Anyway they are nice, kind eyes.” - -Hilary and Campbell were having a little visit now, their chairs drawn -near the piano, where Philip had gone to look over some music for Lilian -to sing. Mr. and Mrs. Van Buskirk had settled down to read a little or -visit the young people, as it might happen. It was like the good old -days before the war, and the sound of young voices and young laughter -cheered their hearts. - -Campbell was telling Hilary a piece of good news. “They want me at the -college, Hilary. I had a letter today from the president. I will be an -instructor at first, but with a fair salary, and a chance to get out my -master’s degree right there. And summers I can work on my line, too. -They will make me an assistant professor as soon as I get the master’s -degree and I can take care of you then. Will you marry me as soon as you -graduate?” - -Hilary clasped her hands and exclaimed. “Why, Campbell, what an -opportunity! So I’m to be the wife of a distinguished professor of -economics?” - -“I don’t know how ‘distinguished,’ but a respectable teacher, I hope,” -replied Campbell. - -“Perhaps you ought to wait until you have all your study accomplished,” -said Hilary. - -“The college—university—is big enough for me to do most of it right -there; besides, I want to get a great deal of my material from life and -a study of actual conditions. That is what the department there wants, -and the president was good enough to say that he thought I was the man -who could bring them what they want. Then they don’t know what a -wonderful wife I’m going to take there!” - -Hilary laughed. “Well, I do not see but we could marry next summer some -time, while you have your vacation. I shall be graduated about this -time, and you will be through with your first year’s work.” - -Just then from the hall came several young men in uniform, ushered by -Watts. “Bob Paget!” exclaimed Cathalina, and the whole company rose -while Mr. and Mrs. Van Buskirk, Philip and Cathalina went forward to -greet the callers. They were Robert Paget, Lawrence Haverhill and two -other young officers who had recently arrived from France and were still -in uniform. This was very thrilling to Isabel, who began to feel that -she was not altogether left out of romance when Robert, having renewed -acquaintance with his cousin, Helen, selected Isabel as the object of -his chief attentions for the rest of the evening, saying to Cathalina as -he left. “She is as sweet and pretty as a rose. How did it happen that I -never met that one?” - -“You were away, I think, when she was here,” Cathalina replied, and -saved the remembrance of his words, to repeat to Isabel. - -Cut glass, silver, linen, china,—the gifts came pouring in these last -few days. Then there was a little of the old Van Buskirk silver which -was Cathalina’s share. “I’ve found out, girls,” said she, “that Martin -Van Buskirk was not the first one at all and did not come from Holland -to fight in the Revolution. We had it all looked up when somebody wanted -to go into the Daughters of the Revolution. It was a Laurens Van Buskirk -who came from Denmark and bought a lot on Broad Street, New -Amsterdam,—’way back in 1655. And what do you think,—a John Van Buskirk -married an Esther Van Horn about 1750! So this isn’t the first time that -Van Buskirk and Van Horn have married. We are going to see if she is an -ancestor of Allan’s, if we can find out. She was Esther Van Horn Van -Buskirk, and I’ll be Cathalina Van Buskirk Van Horne. See Isabel shaking -her head! What’s the matter, Isabel?” - -“All these ‘Vans’ are too much for me, It’s a good thing you can keep -them straight, Cathalina.” - -At last there came the eventful occasion, a mid-June night. Everything -was ready at the Van Buskirk home and an extra maid or two helped the -girls with their dressing. Cathalina had disappeared from view entirely -several hours before, as her mother insisted upon a little rest for -everybody that afternoon, and trays were brought to the rooms about five -o’clock. Bags and trunks were already at the station, checked for the -trip and Allan Van Horne had his tickets safely in the suit to which he -would change from his dress suit. Phil remarked that as there were so -many details to attend to about a wedding he thought that he would “just -kidnap Lilian, stop at a minister’s to be married, and catch the first -train out of New York, or take the boat.” - -“Where to?” asked Lilian upon this occasion. - -“Heaven,” promptly replied Philip. “Anywhere with you would be that.” - -There had been plenty of fun in this time of visiting, but some -seriousness, too. And now the wedding promised to be as beautiful as -Mrs. Van Buskirk wanted it to be for Cathalina. - -The night was star-lit, warm, but not stifling, and the June roses in -the vases gave the proper atmosphere to the house. Mr. Van Buskirk told -the girls, as they gathered downstairs preparatory to the ride to the -church, that they did indeed look like “butterfly girls,” with their -vari-colored frocks of soft silk and filmy tulle. All the colors were -pale, Betty’s frock, blue; Lilian’s, peach; Hilary’s, green; Eloise’s, -yellow; Helen’s, orchid; Isabel’s, pink; and Nan’s, lavender. Smiling, -girlish faces above these pale shades and the flowers made a charming -picture for the bride to look upon as she entered to see the girls -before leaving. - -They had been talking a little, as they waited these few minutes, but -all conversation stopped as Cathalina came in. Graceful and sweet in her -white satin, the white veil floating back from where it was caught in a -coronet of lace, she was, indeed, their own Cathalina. Betty swallowed a -lump and the tears almost came to Hilary’s eyes. “Oh,” said Isabel, -“when Captain Van Horne sees you coming down the aisle, he will think it -is an angel!” - -“Not much of an angel, I’m afraid,” said Cathalina, as she went around -and kissed every one. “Come on, everybody,” she said. “I wanted to tell -you, and Mother is waiting. Have you my flowers, Father?” - -“They have been put in the car, little daughter.” - -It seemed only a minute before they were at the church getting ready the -little procession which would accompany Cathalina. Philip was best man, -and stood at the altar, with Allan Van Horne, wondering how it would -seem when he was the groom. He suffered one pang when he thought “what -if I haven’t the ring,” but a distinct recollection of putting it in his -pocket consoled him. The old minister, too, was waiting, the same -minister who had baptized Cathalina and was now to marry her. - -Then they came, first, Charlotte Van Buskirk, as flower girl. Betty, as -maid of honor; Lilian with Hilary, Eloise with Helen, and Isabel with -Nan followed, and the bride on the arm of Philip Senior. Now the hush, -the solemn words of the service, and Cathalina Van Horne, with her -bridal flowers, walked out of the church on the arm of her husband. - - THE END - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Greycliff Wings, by Harriet Pyne Grove - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GREYCLIFF WINGS *** - -***** This file should be named 62442-0.txt or 62442-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/4/4/62442/ - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - -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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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: Greycliff Wings - -Author: Harriet Pyne Grove - -Release Date: June 21, 2020 [EBook #62442] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GREYCLIFF WINGS *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<h1>Greycliff Wings</h1> - -<div class='section illus' style='width:70%'> - <img src='images/frontis.jpg' alt='' /> - <p>“Listen, girls,” said Pauline, “there’s the plane right over us.”</p> - <p>“The Nighthawk,” said Isabel. “Why, there’s something the matter; it’s coming down!”</p> -</div> - -<div class='section'> - <div style='font-size:1.6em;margin-top:4em; margin-bottom:0.5em;'>GREYCLIFF WINGS</div> - <div style='font-size:1.2em;margin-bottom:1em;'><span style='font-variant:small-caps'>By</span> HARRIET PYNE GROVE</div> - <div style='font-size:0.9em;margin-bottom:0.5em;font-variant:small-caps;'>Author of</div> - <div style='font-size:0.9em;'>“Cathalina at Greycliff,” “The Girls of Greycliff,”</div> - <div style='font-size:0.9em;margin-bottom:1em;'>“The Greycliff Girls in Camp,” “Greycliff Heroines.”</div> - <div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; width:20%'> - <img src='images/title.jpg' alt='' style='width:100%' /> - </div> - <div>A. L. BURT COMPANY</div> - <div>Publishers New York</div> -</div> - -<div class='section'> - <div>THE RADIO BOYS SERIES</div> - <div>A SERIES OF STORIES FOR BOYS OF ALL AGES</div> - <div style='margin-bottom:1em'>By GERALD BRECKENRIDGE</div> - <ul style='margin-bottom:1em'> - <li>The Radio Boys on the Mexican Border</li> - <li>The Radio Boys on Secret Service Duty</li> - <li>The Radio Boys with the Revenue Guards</li> - <li>The Radio Boys Search for the Inca’s Treasure</li> - <li>The Radio Boys Rescue the Lost Alaska Expedition</li> - <li>The Radio Boys Seek the Lost Atlantis</li> - <li>The Radio Boys In Darkest Africa</li> - </ul> - <div>Copyright, 1923</div> - <div>By A. L. BURT COMPANY</div> - <div>THE RADIO BOYS IN DARKEST AFRICA</div> - <div>Made in “U. S. A.”</div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 id='chI' title='I: A Senior Picnic and White Wings'> -<span>CHAPTER I</span><br /><span>A SENIOR PICNIC AND WHITE WINGS</span> -</h2> - -<p>Deepest of sapphire skies, freshest of air, most sparkling of lake -waters greeted the senior collegiates, dignified by their position at -the head of the school, on their first picnic of the year. By ones, -twos, threes and more, they added to the company which sought seats upon -the dancing <i>Greycliff</i>, freshly painted during the summer, the black -letters of the name showing clearly against a pearl-grey side. The -starry-eyed Eloise Winthrop, her dark locks done up in a new way, looked -prettier than ever, as she stood up and waved wildly to Cathalina Van -Buskirk and Lilian North, who were just climbing into the launch.</p> - -<p>“This way, girls!” she called. “Here’s Betty,—and Hilary and Pauline!”</p> - -<p>“Cathalina and Lilian are getting to look like sisters,” said Pauline.</p> - -<p>“It is more their manner,” said Eloise, “and Lilian dresses more like -Cathalina now that she lives in New York. Their features are not alike. -Lilian’s look like a cameo. How much older she looks with her hair up, -in that way too. Cathalina is still our little dreamer,—isn’t she -lovely!”</p> - -<p>“Being engaged had made Lilian seem older,” said Pauline. “I noticed it -last year when she came back after Christmas, even before she wore her -ring. Where <i>is</i> Cathalina’s brother now? Do you know, Hilary?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. He and his cousin, Campbell Stuart, and Robert Paget, Philip’s -other chum, have all been sent to a Southern camp to train recruits. -They are lieutenants or something. You know they were at a military -school before they went to the university for their last years.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, Hilary Lancaster,—I might have known that you would know all about -it. There’s Helen Paget now. Robert is her cousin, isn’t he?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Miss Tracy,” replied Hilary, pretending to be distant because of -Pauline’s implied reference to Hilary’s interest in Campbell Stuart.</p> - -<p>Lilian and Cathalina had stopped to chat a moment with Isabel Hunt and -Virginia Hope, two juniors, who had come down to the beach to see them -off. The sun fell on Lilian’s gold locks and Cathalina’s light brown -ones as they leaned over the side of the boat talking. Neither girl wore -a hat, but each had a silk scarf around her neck to tie over flying hair -if the wind proved too troublesome.</p> - -<p>“Why didn’t we have a senior-junior affair, Isabel,” Lilian was saying, -“So you and Virgie could come along?”</p> - -<p>“Couldn’t overload the <i>Greycliff</i>,” replied Isabel. “Now if it looks -like a storm don’t start back in a hurry,” warned she. “I don’t want to -walk the floor the way I did two years ago on the night of the wreck!”</p> - -<p>“No danger, is there, Mickey,” replied Cathalina, looking at the -ubiquitous and efficient Mickey, who was stowing away various -impedimenta in the little cabin of the <i>Greycliff</i>. Mickey was still the -chief life-saver and mainstay of Greycliff school in more lines than -one.</p> - -<p>“The weather’s goin’ to be foine,” replied Mickey, without much -enthusiasm, for he was used to the ways of girls. “And oime goin’ meself -this trip.”</p> - -<p>“Thanks, Mickey. An awful load is off my mind. Goodbye, girls, have a -good time.”</p> - -<p>“Sit here, Cathalina and Lilian, do!” invited Juliet Howe and Helen -Paget, as the girls passed them, and pointed to two seats near.</p> - -<p>“Yes, do,” seconded Diane Percy, moving along to make room.</p> - -<p>“Aren’t you nice—” said Cathalina patting Diane’s red cheeks lightly as -she edged her way on, “but the girls are saving seats for us, you see. -How does it happen that you are not with your room-mates?” she -continued, looking at Juliet and Helen.</p> - -<p>“O, we thought that Pauline and Eloise needed a rest,” said Juliet, with -a laugh. “We still speak to each other, however.”</p> - -<p>There had been some changes in the matter of room-mates, but the -personnel of “Lakeview Suite,” so long the headquarters of Hilary -Lancaster, Betty Barnes, Cathalina Van Buskirk and Lilian North, was -unchanged. The neighboring suite, occupied by Juliet and Pauline, Eloise -and Helen, had also earned a name, but the girls were as yet uncertain -what to call it, though as Pauline said it was high time they called it -something before their last year at Greycliff should be over. When they -were making out their schedules of study for the year, Eloise had -suggested that it be called the “Labor Union,” but that name was -scornfully rejected as not inspirational enough. As Helen was now -president of the Psyche Club, Cathalina had suggested that the suite be -called the Olympic Portal, or O. P., and while the girls had also -rejected this name, she and Betty sometimes referred to the suite as the -“O. P.”</p> - -<p>Cathalina and Lilian finally settled themselves, Cathalina by Betty, -still her room-mate, and Lilian by Eloise, for Lilian had brought her -guitar and hastened to get it out of its case. Eloise was already -strumming upon her ukulele, and rose to look around for anyone else who -had one. But the other girls had either forgotten their instruments or -had not wanted to bother with them.</p> - -<p>“Start ’em off, Hilary,” said Lilian to her room-mate. “I can’t lead and -play too, and neither can Eloise.”</p> - -<p>Hilary obediently started the Greycliff songs and some of the war songs -so popular then, for the girls never started anywhere upon the water -without singing. “The Long, Long Trail,” “Tipperary,” and “Keep the Home -Fires Burning,” followed in due order after the Greycliff songs, and -Eloise and Lilian sang “I May Be Gone For a Long, Long Time,” which -Lilian had brought with her from New York. It was comparatively new to -the girls, but one after the other joined, as the catchy tune was -supplemented by the chords and “plunks” of guitar and ukulele. Lilian -was in a gay humor, for she had just received a bright letter from Phil, -who complained that he supposed he would be kept training in this -country till the end of the war, but told of many funny experiences, and -the fact that he might be in America for some time to come was of much -relief to both Lilian and Cathalina.</p> - -<p>“Why, where are you <i>going</i>, Mickey?” asked one of the girls in -surprise, as she saw that they were going out in the open lake far -beyond where they usually turned toward the famous old “Island.” This -could now be seen at their left in the distance.</p> - -<p>“Oi have a surprise fur ye,” said Mickey, turning the wheel a little. -“Wait a minute an’ ye can see a little flag on the shore. The trustees -has bought a new playground for ye, where there ain’t no rocks.”</p> - -<p>Great surprise and pleasure was evident on the faces of all the girls -who could hear what Mickey said, and the word was passed around to the -others. They all watched with interest, while the boat chugged on, -several miles further on, and then turned nearer shore, toward a sandy -beach and a new dock. As they approached, several gulls which had been -perching there spread their wings and flew away. “Oh,” exclaimed Lilian, -“this ought to be called ‘White Wings.’ Look at the terns fishing out -there!”</p> - -<p>“It does seem to be a regular feeding place for the birds,” said Hilary -with great interest. “Of course, the wings are not all white, really,” -she added.</p> - -<p>“But they look so,” insisted Lilian. “Have they named the place, -Mickey?”</p> - -<p>“No, m’am, not as I know of,” replied Mickey.</p> - -<p>“I’ll write it up, then, for the <i>Greycliff Star</i>,” said Lilian who, as -chief editor this year was always looking for “copy,”—“and call it -‘White Wings,’ and perhaps the name will stick to it.”</p> - -<p>Carefully the <i>Greycliff</i> was docked and the girls helped carry the -lunch ashore, hurrying toward a pretty little summer house which Mickey -pointed out to them. It stood back among the trees and was screened, -with a floor and picnic tables.</p> - -<p>“Hurrah!” exclaimed Betty, “no mosquitoes or bugs at our meals. -Blessings on the Greycliff trustees!”</p> - -<p>“Let’s ask Miss Perin about it,” suggested Hilary. “She did not look the -least bit surprised when Mickey was telling about it, and has probably -heard all about it at faculty meeting.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” replied Betty,—“isn’t it the funniest thing not to have -Miss West for chaperone? We always used to ask for her. I had the shock -of my life not to find her here.”</p> - -<p>“Our dear ‘Patty’ is getting married about now, I suppose,” said Hilary. -“Dr. Norris, I mean Lieutenant Norris, was to have leave of absence and -they were to be married this week. But Patty is coming back here as soon -as he leaves for France.”</p> - -<p>“When will that be?”</p> - -<p>“Nobody knows.”</p> - -<p>“There is Miss Perin now. Ask her, Hilary.”</p> - -<p>The girls joined their young chaperone, who was taking Miss West’s -place, with English and Latin classes, at Greycliff.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” Miss Perin replied, in answer to Hilary’s question, “this is a -farm which was willed to Greycliff and they came into possession of it -this past summer. The beach was so fine that they decided to make a new -picnic place for the girls of the school, and they rented the farm to a -man who is supposed to keep an eye on this part of the grounds as well. -They say that they were able to secure a real scientific farmer to run -the place because he wanted to experiment with a hydroplane here. He has -one or two helpers that are very good and the trustees got him for a -very reasonable price to furnish certain things to the school. It gives -him a convenient market, too.”</p> - -<p>The girls scattered about the beautiful place to see what was there. The -“picnic grounds” proper were out upon a point or peninsula where the -little screened house had been erected, with a small boat house and -another building which proved to be an ice house. Easy enough was it to -get a supply of ice to last over the summer. Grounds stretched out to -left and right toward the lake, and on the right hand was a little bay, -an ideal place for the experiments with hydroplanes. Another small dock -was here.</p> - -<p>Leaving the picnic point behind, the girls crossed a little road to the -farm proper, where the usual farm-house and other buildings were -located. There seemed to have been an old log house as the original -home. This stood back upon a rise of ground, while some distance to the -side and front of it was a modern farm-house, a large barn and silo -still further over. Back of the bay were open fields. A vineyard of -well-trained grape-vines was on a slope and stretched for quite a -distance. A big orchard and a pretty stretch of woodland attracted the -bird lovers, who ran up the slope to investigate.</p> - -<p>Betty and Cathalina were together. Although Lilian loved Cathalina -dearly, and for Phil’s sake now as well as her own, still Hilary, her -room-mate, was her chief confidante whenever they were within reach of -each other. And Hilary had visited Lilian during the summer, enjoying a -little of the time with her own as yet undeclared lover, Campbell -Stuart, cousin to Cathalina and Philip Van Buskirk. It was plain to all -what Campbell thought of Hilary, but he thought that she should be free -until after the war. Lilian and Philip, on the other hand, were openly -engaged, and by common consent were permitted to enjoy each other’s -society in the few days they had together. The Norths had moved further -out, for the judge felt too cramped in the apartment to which they had -first moved when they went to New York.</p> - -<p>Both Lilian and Hilary were lingering near the bay to discuss matters -pertaining to their future, while Cathalina suggested to Betty that they -go through the rows of vines to reach the woods. They did so, but paused -to listen to a wren song. “That’s a Bewick wren, Cathalina,” said Betty. -“Take the glass and see if you can find him.”</p> - -<p>Betty handed the glass to Cathalina, and turning, saw a man who was -tying up one of the vines and had turned to look at her. Betty caught a -flashing look of recognition and then the man’s back was quickly turned. -Betty was instinctively on guard, and in even tones continued her low -conversation with Cathalina. “Do you get it, Cathalina?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Betty. <i>You</i> look now. It is on that low bush. See?”</p> - -<p>The girls satisfied themselves in regard to the wren and went on up the -slope toward the old log house, on whose step they sat down to look over -the whole place with their field glass, for they had decided that one -was enough to bring on a picnic.</p> - -<p>Betty glanced around to see if any one was within hearing. “I’ve -something to tell you,” she said. “Did you notice the man that was tying -up the vines as we came along?”</p> - -<p>“Why, yes, I believe I did see somebody, one of the hands, I suppose.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and he gave me the funniest look and hurried to turn his back on -us. Now where have I seen those flashing eyes before? I certainly -haven’t any acquaintances like that!”</p> - -<p>“You have had some queer experiences, Bettina, for a timid little lady -like yourself. Think of your friend Captain Holley.”</p> - -<p>“I have it, Cathalina. Your suggestion fits. This is one of the men in -that boat, way back in our second year at Greycliff, there at that place -where afterwards Isabel and I heard somebody in the cave, you know, and -then saw Captain Holley come out, and the men carried away the box. You -remember that we went there once with Patty last year, but didn’t see -anything and were afraid to investigate much.”</p> - -<p>“Oh yes. You and Isabel told Dr. Norris or somebody about it, but I -guess nobody thought much about it.”</p> - -<p>“Everybody had too much to do. Do you suppose Captain Holley is still at -the military school? He’s an ‘enemy alien’ now.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, he is there. Louise is back, you know, and I heard her say that -her brother was coming over to dinner with her Sunday. Louise is a lot -nicer to the girls than she used to be, and I heard her say that she was -very unhappy to think that her country and her adopted country were at -war.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, well, let’s not think about them!”</p> - -<p>“I suppose this man is some one who lives around here. But it is funny -that he did not want you to look at him. It looks as if there were -something out of the way going on, that time at the cave.”</p> - -<p>“It does indeed! Isn’t there a pretty view from here? There come Hilary -and Lil. Let’s go on to the woods. The birds are in the fall migration -now, perhaps we’ll find something different. Think of it, Cathalina, -only one more beautiful spring here! Do you suppose we’ll like it as -well at college?”</p> - -<p>“It will be different. I don’t believe any place could be to us what -dear old Greycliff has been. I can’t realize yet that we are seniors. -Wouldn’t it be fine if they would add the two more years of a college -course?”</p> - -<p>“They don’t want that kind of a school here. Have you any idea where you -will go?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, in New York, but whether I get right into Columbia or not I don’t -know. Perhaps I’ll just take what I want. But mother wants me there. She -pretty nearly kept me at home this time. It is hard on her, you know, -with Philip away at camp. But Aunt Katherine was strong for having me -finish up this course here, and Father said, ‘Your Aunt Knickerbocker’s -idea of sending Cathalina to Greycliff worked out pretty well’!”</p> - -<p>“He usually calls her that, doesn’t he?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. Then Aunt Katherine reminded Mother that she would be head over -heels—she didn’t say that—in war work, and Mother is on about forty -committees more or less, so it was decided.”</p> - -<p>“How about little Cathalina? Didn’t she have any voice in the matter?”</p> - -<p>“Yes indeed. But I thought if Mother really needed me I would stay -without a word. I’ve been so upset in plans myself, as all of us have -been, and I thought I’d like to be where I’d see Phil if he is sent over -very soon. But they are to telegraph, and Lilian and I will go on. And -say, Betty, the last letter I had from Captain Van Horne said that it -will not be very long until the Rainbow Division goes over.”</p> - -<p>“Is he with that?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Does he write often?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no, not so very often,—not like Lilian and Phil, or Hilary and -Campbell. By the way, what was it you told me about Donald Hilton? I’ve -been on such a rush ever since we began school that I have a lot of -confused impressions about different things.”</p> - -<p>“Donald joined the marines! I never was so surprised.”</p> - -<p>“Why, did he know anything about the navy?”</p> - -<p>“Not a thing, but it seems he always has been crazy about ships and -things. You must read some of his letters,—they are so interesting.”</p> - -<p>“I’d love to, if you don’t mind.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I always tell you anything flattering that he says in them anyway. -Do you ever hear from Bob Paget, or Lawrence Haverhill?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, both boys have written since I came here. Lawrence is in a -different camp, it seems, and is sorry not to be with the other boys.”</p> - -<p>“That was such a lovely house-party that we had last year, just a year -ago, after camp.”</p> - -<p>“The next one will probably be for Lil’s wedding, after the war.”</p> - -<p>“<i>Lil’s</i> wedding?—and you Phil’s sister!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, the wedding is chiefly the bride’s, I guess. I wish I had another -brother or cousin for you, Betty, though the future Admiral Hilton -wouldn’t thank me for that, I suppose. But to have you ’way off in -Chicago!”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you think that we are going ahead just a little too fast, -Cathalina?”</p> - -<p>“I guess we are, especially if the war lasts for years and years!”</p> - -<p>“Donald says it can’t after he and the other boys from Grant Academy get -over there! He is always joking that way.”</p> - -<p>“I wonder where the farm ends,” said Cathalina, looking through the -woods which seemed to stretch endlessly along the bluff above the shore.</p> - -<p>“We’d better not go too far. I don’t see Hilary and Lilian now. Let’s go -back. That looks like another shack or cabin ahead of us. Perhaps it -belongs to some other farm.”</p> - -<p>The girls retraced their steps, finding other girls strolling about, and -joining some of them to go where some fine stock was grazing. Betty -leaned over a fence to snap some pictures of the cattle. “Nice old -bossies,” she said. “I guess this place is where that grand cream we’re -having now comes from. Come on, let’s get the farmer to pose for us with -some of the horses, or the family, if they, want to.”</p> - -<p>“There isn’t any family there yet, but the tenants live back in that -little bit of a house. See?” Eloise was pointing as she spoke. “And it’s -no use to ask the farmer. Some of the girls did, and he acted as if he -were mad about it. I don’t believe he likes to have the girls come here. -Listen! That’s the dinner bell. Doesn’t it make you think of -Merry-meeting Camp?”</p> - -<p>“Where do we have our lunch?—O, yes, of course, in the little summer -house they made on purpose. Say, Eloise, wouldn’t it be fun to snap the -farmer when he wasn’t looking? Where is he?” Betty was looking all -around to find the new farmer of whom she had had a glimpse as they went -up to the wood. “He’s such a straight, fine-looking man that he would -make a good picture for our memory books, if we could get him with a -good background of the woods and lake, or the vineyard, or some of the -pretty surroundings here.”</p> - -<p>“He doesn’t look as if hard work had broken him down, does he?” said -Diane.</p> - -<p>“No, he doesn’t,” said Betty. “I tell you, some of you girls stop and -talk to him, and I’ll get behind some bushes or something and watch for -a good chance to snap him. There he is now, bringing out that handsome -black horse from the barn. Come on.”</p> - -<p>The black horse was restive, and Betty, hurrying on, caught an excellent -picture of both horse and man, while the farmer was too busy with the -horse to observe anything else. When he did observe her and her camera -he took pains to keep his face turned away.</p> - -<p>“Funny folks around here,” remarked Betty to Cathalina. “One man does -not want to be seen at all, and another can’t bear to have his picture -taken and doesn’t like girls much, I guess. Now I must get a picture of -the beach and some of the birds, if Lilian is going to call the place -White Wings. I wonder if they won’t let the seniors name it. I suppose -that shed or something down there is where the hydroplane is. Wouldn’t -it be wonderful if we could get that, too. Perhaps we can when it’s -finished.”</p> - -<p>“And name it White Wings, too,” suggested Eloise.</p> - -<p>“Some of the girls started to peek in a while ago, and the crossest man, -worse than the farmer, told them that they weren’t to come around there -at all.”</p> - -<p>“I imagine it upsets them to have us all over the place like this,” said -Cathalina, “but they’ll get used to it, unless they make a rule that -picnic parties have to keep to the picnic ground. But the girls were -told not to break off any of the fruit or do anything ‘destructive’ and -I don’t think any of the senior girls would. My, Diane, do you see that -wonderful basket of grapes that man is carrying across the road for us!”</p> - -<p>“Who wouldn’t be a senior girl at Greycliff Farm?” inquired Eloise of -the squirrels or birds or anybody who happened to be listening, as they -hurried to the little summer house.</p> - -<p>“Really, this is the best part of the place for us,” said Hilary. “There -isn’t a better beach anywhere along than this, and about two or three -o’clock we can have a fine swim. Have you noticed the swings and seats -in that grassy spot under those old trees?—over in that direction. I’m -going to get out my knitting as soon as lunch is over and go there to -rest my bones.”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t bring my knitting,” said Betty, “but have a good story, one -that I bought to read on the train, but didn’t read it there, nor have I -had any time since. If you like I can read aloud a while. I move that we -offer resolutions of thanks to whoever got up all these things.”</p> - -<p>“Miss Randolph thought it up, I imagine,” said Lilian. “She hasn’t liked -the Island very well, though I suppose they will go there sometimes -still.”</p> - -<p>“The Island is very romantic,” said Helen Paget, in her pretty Southern -way. “There is the cave, you know, and the rocks, and the place where -the water rushes through. I’m glad we had it.”</p> - -<p>“Speaking of caves,” said Diane, “you girls never took me to that one -you told such wonderful tales about last year. Didn’t you and Isabel, -Betty, explore one the year that I wasn’t at Greycliff?”</p> - -<p>“We didn’t exactly explore it,” replied Betty. “We must go there before -it gets cold. As senior girls, we ought to be able to get permission to -go beyond the place where the breakwater is.”</p> - -<p>“In boats?”</p> - -<p>“O, no; just around the cliffs toward Greycliff Heights, you know, where -all those big rocks are. But I want to have a lot of the girls along.”</p> - -<p>Fruit and rich cream were the chief contributions of the farm to the -lunch of the seniors. Sandwiches and other good things had been brought -from the school. After the lunch, the girls really rested for some time. -Senior days are strenuous at times, with many activities and the home -stretch of studies, and a day of freedom from lessons is welcomed.</p> - -<p>The sun was warm when the girls splashed in the cool waters, swimming -out as far as Mickey permitted, or diving from the new diving board.</p> - -<p>It was not until the girls were gathering up their different belongings, -as the <i>Greycliff</i> approached the school dock, that Betty missed her -camera. “I thought you had it, Cathalina,” she said. “Didn’t you tell me -that you would look after it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I did, but when I went to the place you said you left it, it -wasn’t there, and I thought you had taken it after all. You were on the -boat first, you know.”</p> - -<p>After all the girls were out of the <i>Greycliff</i>, the two girls searched -the boat, in the hope that some one had seen the camera and brought it, -but no camera was there.</p> - -<p>“It’s the funniest thing, Cathalina,” said Betty, as they walked up -toward the Hall. “I put it right with Lilian’s guitar and Eloise’s -ukulele when I said I’d help Miss Perin carry some of her things to the -boat, and it wasn’t five minutes after that when you went to get it.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I told you I would, when you passed Hilary and me and said if one -of us would bring your camera you wouldn’t have to come back. Then when -I went into the summer house to get it, there wasn’t a thing in the -whole place but the guitar and the uke. I even looked into the little -cupboards. So I thought that you must have found you could carry it and -had gone back after it, or told somebody else to get it. I was jabbering -to the girls and didn’t notice what you did or I might have seen you go -straight on and get on the <i>Greycliff</i>. It’s a perfect shame!”</p> - -<p>“Well, it isn’t your fault, Cathalina. I’m real sorry, because I had -some such pretty pictures of the place. I got one gull just spreading -his wings to fly, and I thought that perhaps Lilian might have a cut -made of that for the <i>Greycliff Star</i>, if she is going to write up -‘White Wings.’”</p> - -<p>“We’ll advertise for the camera, but I can’t think of a senior girl who -would take it for a joke or on purpose.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I’ll have a little notice read and tell about the pictures, and it -may turn up.”</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 id='chII' title='II: “Whittiers”'> -<span>CHAPTER II</span><br /><span>“WHITTIERS”</span> -</h2> - -<p>Isabel Hunt and Virginia Hope, juniors, were together in a single room -on Lakeview Corridor. It was the same room which Isabel had occupied -with Avalon Moore when they first came to Greycliff. While the -scholarship which Virginia had won the year before was a great help to -her financially, she still felt that she must be as economical as -possible, and single rooms cost less than suites, even when the expense -of a suite was divided among four. Isabel said that she, too, was well -suited by making careful plans, for Jim and her father were saving -against the time when all the boys would be in the army and business -might suffer. Then, Avalon Moore and Olivia Holmes, who had shared the -suite with them, were not back this year. Avalon’s father was an officer -in the regular army, and Avalon was with her mother and the other -children, while her father was in France. Olivia’s people had moved from -the South to California, where her sister lived.</p> - -<p>“Honestly, Virgie,” said Isabel one evening, “I believe it is easier to -study with just you and me here. It’s such a temptation to talk when -there are more of us.”</p> - -<p>Virginia looked up from her book with an amused glance.</p> - -<p>“I know what you are thinking,” continued Isabel with a laugh, “but I -only break out by spells. I wonder what Olivia and Avalon are doing -tonight.”</p> - -<p>“Getting lessons too, I suspect.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Olivia wrote that she likes her school out there pretty well, but -misses all of us girls. There is her letter, Virgie. I forgot to tell -you to read it. She says that the girls are crazy about her butterfly -pin and want to start a Psyche Club there. And she wants us to write and -tell her every single thing about Greycliff, who is back and who isn’t, -and where the Grant Academy boys are, if we know, and everything. I -wonder what she has done with her fur coat!”</p> - -<p>Both girls laughed as they recalled how eager Olivia had been for the -new experiences of the North, and how she had run to her closet for the -coat as soon as the fire alarm rang, not long after her arrival.</p> - -<p>“She got to be one of the best skaters here, and <i>adored</i> skiing!” -Isabel shook her head in regret for the lost opportunities of the absent -Olivia.</p> - -<p>“Oh, well,” said Virginia, “when we’re freezing our noses and toeses -this winter, she’ll be picking roses and oranges.”</p> - -<p>“That is pretty nearly a poem, Virgie. Can’t you fix it up a little? -Noses, toeses and roses are so poetic!”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Virgie, “I’m capable of rhyme, but not of meter. Lilian can -make up poetry enough for our club. By the way, I’m in favor of Olivia’s -starting a Psyche Club out there if they want to. Faith, love, effort, -and ‘on to Olympus,’ or immortality, aren’t bad ideals. It certainly -impressed me when I first came here, and you all were so perfectly -lovely to me. Do you know, it didn’t seem a bit hard to go back to the -ranch this summer. I wanted so to see Father that it took away my dread, -and when I got there I found the world such a big place to me, after the -school life, that it didn’t make so much difference about what happened -for a little while on the ranch. Then my stepmother had been sick and -worried about Father—she was <i>glad</i> to see me! So I took hold to help, -and it was easier, and I had learned to appreciate the big country -around us, and instead of its being an awful summer it was one of the -best I ever had! I kept thinking, too, that I could probably have at -least one more year of education here, and perhaps earn the rest -myself.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, isn’t it queer how you find out you can do things? Why, if anybody -had told me once that I would <i>enjoy</i> debating, I would have thought -them, him or her, crazy!”</p> - -<p>“It’s a good thing I don’t have to make candy this year to help out the -expenses. Isn’t it queer about the sugar?”</p> - -<p>“Everything is queer this year, with the boys gone and going. It is a -good thing that we have so much to do.”</p> - -<p>“I wonder why Myrtle Wiseman isn’t back this year.”</p> - -<p>“I’m sure I don’t know. Juliet said that it was so much easier to have -the class elections this year without the schemes.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps we could get Dorothy Appleton and Jane Mills in the Psyche -Club, then.”</p> - -<p>“I think it is too late, at least the girls think so, and they are in -the other society, you know. Lilian said that we had all formed -different groups. But they are lovely girls and very friendly. When they -went into the Emerson Literary Society last year, they were with a -different crowd, and now, of course, they are ‘rushing’ against our -girls, that is, I suppose we can call them our girls!”</p> - -<p>“Do you think they will ask us to join the Whittiers?”</p> - -<p>“Do I <i>think</i> so?—with Cathalina president, and Hilary secretary, and -Lilian on the program committee? Yes, Miss Hope, I think that it is -quite likely. One of the girls in the debating club asked me the other -day if it was of any use for the Emerson Society to invite us. She said, -‘With all those girls in your Psyche Club that are in the Whittier -Society, I suppose you wouldn’t think of being an “Emerson,” but you and -Virgie are such fine debaters that we’d get you in if we could.’ Now -wasn’t that nice?”</p> - -<p>“Who was it?”</p> - -<p>“Lucile Houston, and Jane Mills was with her. I just said something -about appreciating their good opinion. I was so overcome by it, you see, -that I neglected altogether to state whether or not we were interested -in an invitation from the Emersons.”</p> - -<p>“Doesn’t it seem funny not to be in society tonight?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. I felt as if I ought to rush down to the Shakespearean Society and -call the meeting to order tonight. But I am glad of the rest. And I feel -so grown up to be in the first real collegiate class that I scarcely -know myself. I mean to get ahead on work these few weeks before we get -into society work, and say, I can knit like everything while I commit my -debate speeches or the other things we have to learn for the oratory -class. As soon as I finish a scarf or two, I’m going to begin on -sweaters. It is so crazy that I never learned before, with Aunt Helen -right there to teach me. But I learned how to knit socks this summer.”</p> - -<p>The corridors were full of girls in the pretty dresses which they had -worn to dinner, hurrying toward the different society halls. Soft bells -were ringing here and there. These were important meetings, for new -members were to be elected, matters connected with the sending out of -invitations to be decided, besides the usual pressing affairs of girls’ -literary societies. There were only two societies in the two collegiate -classes, hence the rivalry. One or two others had ingloriously died soon -after their birth. Only the devoted Whittiers and Emersons had survived.</p> - -<p>Two pink spots burned on the cheeks of Cathalina Van Buskirk, for she -was to take the “oath of office” tonight, sit in the famous chair on the -little platform and wield the gavel of ebony, presented by a famous -graduate who had made a name for herself. The other new officers were -also to be initiated, and then the important matters of business were to -be conducted. “Hilary, wink at me if I do anything wrong, and then I -will find it necessary to consult the secretary,” said Cathalina gayly, -as they entered the door.</p> - -<p>“You will get along as well as I did when I was president of the -Shakespearean Society. Didn’t we read Robert’s Rules of Order together? -I shall have to learn the duties of a secretary. It seems funny, but -with all the church societies I have been in I’ve never been a -secretary, and in this society, recording and corresponding secretaries -are one. They usually wanted me to be the president, or treasurer. I -suppose they thought they could trust the preacher’s daughter!”</p> - -<p>“You will have the old books to go by. I imagine that we can remember -what the seniors did last year after we get started in.”</p> - -<p>“Hurry up, Lilian,” said Hilary, turning back, “time to begin.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you love this hall?” asked Lilian of both girls. “It was fun -working for the Shakespearean Society and getting our new furniture and -all, but I believe this seems more artistic because it is older. The -tone of the piano is not as good, though. We must have a new one, don’t -you think so, Hilary?”</p> - -<p>“This hall is a better, larger room with more windows,” said Cathalina. -“It was possible in the first place to make a prettier hall of it, and, -yes, the furniture is more handsome than we thought we could afford when -we started the academy society. The older society really ought to be the -more dignified.”</p> - -<p>“We didn’t think so when we were in the academy!”</p> - -<p>“No, indeed. How we do change!”</p> - -<p>No embarrassment could ever make Cathalina awkward. The girls were -always sure to be proud of Cathalina’s manner and language either in -public or private. Isabel was as devoted to Cathalina as ever and felt -an added gratitude since Cathalina had saved her, as she said, “from a -watery grave” the year before. Cathalina herself was pleased that the -girls had chosen her their president, and had made detailed preparations -having in her hand a neat little outline of the affairs to be put -through tonight. There was to be no regular program until the new -members were brought in at the next meeting, but if the business did not -take up the whole time, Evelyn Calvert had promised to give a “reading” -in the dialect for which she was famous in the school, and Eloise was to -sing. Among girls of so many gifts, the program committee did not have a -very difficult task. The only trouble was to make sure that the girls -prepared for their duties, for it was easy to be lazy about society -affairs when there were so many pressing school duties all the time.</p> - -<p>Pretty and dainty Cathalina looked when, after the ceremony with which -the officers were initiated, she sat in state in the big chair. “The -Secretary will now call the roll,” said she, whereupon Hilary called the -names of the members from what she now called the “Sibylline Books.” The -treasurer was called upon for a report of the money left over in the -treasury from last year, and Pauline Tracy reported a comfortable little -sum. A report was called from the chairman of the program committee, -Lilian responding.</p> - -<p>“Madam President,” said Lilian, “and members of the Whittier Society, -nothing has been done yet except the arrangements for the first program -at the initiation of the new members. You will remember that it was -decided last year to complete a program for one-third of the year, then -to pass on the programs, changed as they sometimes have to be when some -one fails to serve, to the next program committee, with the list of -those members who have not yet been on duty. I would like to remind the -society, that every member is supposed to be on duty several times -through the year and that the duties will be varied. For instance, if -the musical members should only have to furnish music, they would miss -the training in speaking before the society, or debating.”</p> - -<p>“Madam President,” said Juliet, rising.</p> - -<p>“Miss Howe,” responded the president.</p> - -<p>“I should like to ask why we have the program divided into three -parts,—like ‘all Gaul’.” A titter ran around the room.</p> - -<p>Lilian rose again and was recognized by the chair.</p> - -<p>“Madam President,—there used to be three terms, and three sets of -officers elected, of course. Now with the two semesters, the society has -several times considered changing its schedule, but has concluded that -it is better to give the opportunity to have the three elections and -more girls occupying the responsible positions during the year.”</p> - -<p>“Is there any unfinished business?” inquired the president. “If not, a -motion to present the names of the prospective members is in order.”</p> - -<p>This was the time for careful management on the part of the president. -Nothing unkind should be said that could be reported to girls under -consideration.</p> - -<p>“Madam President,” said Helen Paget, “I so move, that we proceed at once -to the election of new members.”</p> - -<p>“I second the motion,” crisply said Diane of the distinct enunciation.</p> - -<p>This motion duly passed, Eloise Winthrop rose to make a few remarks. -“Madam President,” said she, “may we have some discussion of the names -proposed last week? I remember how we all agreed that nothing unpleasant -should be said, but it seems to me that if there is any real objection -to anybody, we ought to know it, and perhaps leave their names until the -next election. There are a few girls, too, that I do not know very well, -some new ones, and I should like to hear reasons why they should be -invited.”</p> - -<p>“Chiefly because the Emersons want them,” quickly said one girl, and -without addressing the president. The girls laughed and Cathalina tapped -for order.</p> - -<p>“The names are posted at the sides of the room,” said the president, -“but the secretary will read the names proposed last week, and if there -are other names that you have thought of since, they may be proposed -then. Will the secretary also give some of the reasons why we invite -girls to the society?”</p> - -<p>As Hilary rose, to read the list and comply with Cathalina’s request, -she hesitated a little, smiled, and put down her papers on the little -carved table before her. “I suppose the first real reason, if we are -honest,” said she, “is that we want our best friends with us in our -society, just as we like to be in the same school and the same classes. -Then we want to get girls into the society that will do it honor, girls -that will try to help and girls that are gifted or have some qualities -that make them desirable. A girl may not have any great gift, but be so -utterly lovable and perhaps helpful to everybody that we couldn’t get -along without her. And then we want girls that need the society -work,—indeed we all need it. I remember a girl that was so timid she was -afraid to do anything in public, but she was enthusiastic for the -society she was in, helped in all the practical ways, finally tried to -take part in the programs, and got all over being so scared. We put her -on for reading little things at first, or singing in a quartet, or doing -other things with several girls, until she found that she was valuable -in those places and liked it. You never can tell. I’m in favor of taking -in as many nice girls as we can, up to the number we decided upon.”</p> - -<p>Hilary then read the list and with the help of several other girls -passed the ballots, long ones on ruled paper.</p> - -<p>“Now does any one want to speak for her candidate?” asked Cathalina. -Several girls did. Isabel and Virginia were heralded as fine debaters -and willing to do anything for the society they were in. The new girls -were duly considered, as musical, or literary, or valuable additions in -one respect or another. Some of the girls had been dreading to do what -they ought to do in reference to one name, but when it was -enthusiastically pushed by one or two of the girls, Eloise rose, her -cheeks flushed and her dark eyes glowing.</p> - -<p>“Madam President, I do hate to say what I feel that I ought to say, and -I hope you all know that I haven’t a thing against this girl personally. -She is pretty and attractive and a good student, but they tell me that -she is a regular trouble-maker and always stirs up things wherever she -is. I hope that it isn’t so, but she has had a change of room-mates -already, and I have noticed myself that she is not on speaking terms -with one or two others.”</p> - -<p>“Miss Howe,” said Cathalina, recognizing Juliet. “I am sorry to confirm -what Eloise says. You know that the Alpha Zetas, which really does not -exist, because we are not allowed to have sororities, or any secret -societies,”—smiles went round the room at this remark, and one or two of -the girls put on a look of supreme ignorance.</p> - -<p>“—began to rush her vigorously, and all of a sudden they stopped. I -think that she is just a spoiled girl who may find out later that having -her own way at other girls’ expense is not the way to get along. I would -suggest that we wait a while about electing her.”</p> - -<p>“Madam President,” said one of the girls who had recommended this new -girl, a recent addition to the junior collegiate class, from some high -school. “I haven’t seen a thing disagreeable in Alice, and it’s just -going to be a tragedy! She is counting on it so!” The eyes of Alice’s -defender were full of tears as she sat down.</p> - -<p>Cathalina looked sympathetic and asked if there were any one else who -would speak in favor of Alice or any other candidate, but the society -seemed to be through with discussion and the election proceeded. Alas -for the occasional heartaches, but a girls’ school is a fine place in -which to learn to live with other people.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 id='chIII' title='III: The Return of “Patty”'> -<span>CHAPTER III</span><br /><span>THE RETURN OF “PATTY”</span> -</h2> - -<p>The lights from Greycliff parlors shone out over the campus. Here and -there, in the rooms above, a light would flash out, as the occupant of a -room entered it and turned on her electricity. In the larger reception -room, Hilary was at the piano, while Eloise, Lilian and some of the -other girls were singing. The sounds of the music and happy conservation -floated out and reached the ears of a young woman who had just alighted -from a taxi. She paid the chauffeur, hurried up the steps and entered -the entrance hall,—so far, alone, but only for a few moments, for -exclamations of “It’s Patty, girls!” or “Oh, here’s Patty!” began to be -heard. Soon the newcomer was the center of a welcoming group of girls. -One took her traveling bag, another her pocketbook, and since the hat -with its veil seemed to be in the way, she unpinned the stylish little -affair and handed it to another of the girls.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Miss West,—I mean Mrs. Norris, it is so <i>grand</i> to have you back!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, indeed. Miss Carver is crosser than ever since the——”</p> - -<p>“Hush! Don’t say anything about the war; Patty can’t stand it!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, are you really married?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, girls, I’m really married, and it is wonderful to have you glad to -see me, like this,—I’m going to need—lots of company!” Patty put her -face for a moment on Pauline’s comfortable shoulder, but lifted it -bravely, smiling as she finished, “—he belongs to me anyhow, and he sent -his warmest greetings to you all.”</p> - -<p>“Who in the world is she?” asked one of the “new girls,” “and who is the -‘he’ she is talking about?”</p> - -<p>“It is Mrs. Norris, who was Miss West and has been a teacher here for -several years. Dr. Norris came here to teach, too, and they were engaged -all last year. Then he was in camp and couldn’t get away to be married, -I guess. Anyway, they were just married recently, and I suppose she has -seen him off to France.”</p> - -<p>Betty, Cathalina and Pauline saw their “Patty” to her room, put away her -things for her, and hovered around till Miss Randolph, hearing of the -arrival, came up herself to greet the bride. Mrs. Norris hastened to say -that her next act was to have been a visit to Miss Randolph, after the -dust of travel was removed, but Miss Randolph replied that she was only -too glad to come to her. The girls immediately withdrew and went out to -join the other interested girls, who wanted to hear all about the -romantic wedding.</p> - -<p>“We don’t know a thing,” said Betty. “Of course, we wouldn’t <i>ask</i> her, -and it must be terrible to come back to teaching after just saying -goodbye to your husband. But I imagine that she will tell us things -after a while. Isn’t she a dear?”</p> - -<p>On the next morning, the returned teacher met her classes as usual, a -group of friendly girls clustering around her desk before the first -recitation. A little before the second bell, one of the senior girls -came in, her finger on a difficult line in Horace’s Satires, and said, -“I simply can not understand, Dr. Carver, what he means!”</p> - -<p>“Dr. Carver!”</p> - -<p>“‘Dr. Carver’, indeed, do you want to insult her?”</p> - -<p>The senior looked up wonderingly at the girls who thus exclaimed, for -she was not conscious of having used the wrong name. Then she laughed. -“Please forgive me, Miss West, I did not realize what I was saying. My -mind was on those lines I could not get. Why, what is wrong <i>now</i>? You -are all laughing!”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Norris laughed, too, patted the senior’s arm and said, “Never mind, -you will get used to the change. I don’t mind at all. If you forget, you -need not apologize, but try to get it right the next time. There is the -bell. Take your seats, please.”</p> - -<p>No one would have known that Patricia West Norris had anything to worry -over, and if there was any difference it was only that she was more -inspiring. “I am a soldier’s wife,” she said to Betty, as one day they -clambered out over the rocks and sat viewing restless waters, floating -clouds and flying gulls. “If he can go as cheerfully as they all are -going, to face the guns, I certainly will have to live up to him. I -shall want to be by myself a little, of course, to think and to write -letters, but you girls are helping me very much, and I am not going to -mourn till something happens, and I am hoping that nothing will. I -shan’t pretend that it is easy, though.”</p> - -<p>Betty stroked her hand and they sat silently a little while. Betty had -her own reasons for sober thoughts at times, but kept a bright face.</p> - -<p>“See, Mrs. Patty (which was Betty’s name for her), there is smoke coming -from that little house over the cave, and somebody is out in a boat -fishing. We were always going to investigate that place.”</p> - -<p>“It is probably the headquarters for some rough fishermen and you girls -must keep away.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, we will. I have certainly lost all curiosity about it, though -it is more or less mysterious. I’ll never get over wondering why Captain -Holley was there and what was in the box and what he threw into the lake -in such a hurry. It makes me think now of what the boys write about hand -grenades and things.”</p> - -<p>“Did it explode?”</p> - -<p>“I couldn’t tell. We kept as still as mice, Isabel and I, until we -thought the boat was far enough away for them not to see us. Even then -we kept behind the bushes for a while and near the cliff as we went back -to the Hall.”</p> - -<p>“What do your hear from Donald Hilton?”</p> - -<p>“Donald wrote me that he has a new kind of work, but couldn’t tell me -just what it was for a while. It’s as bad as ‘Somewhere in France!’ We -hardly know what the boys are doing! However, I’ve had long letters, -from both Donald and my brother, telling me lots of things.”</p> - -<p>“It is pretty chilly out here,” remarked Mrs. Norris. “Suppose we go -back and walk along the beach a while to stir us up before we go in.”</p> - -<p>“I am a little shivery,” acknowledged Betty, “for that wind is getting -cold. But I love the water. I think that this is the most beautiful spot -for a school that there could be. We just have <i>everything</i>—boating and -riding, canoeing, the winter sports and all!”</p> - -<p>“There come the girls. I suspect that Cathalina is looking for you.”</p> - -<p>“I imagine that she is looking for you, too. When I left she was working -on a poster for the Latin Club. It meets tomorrow, doesn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Then we are getting up a little stunt for society. All the clubs -represented in the Whittier Society have to do something next time we -meet. They may take it from what they have had in the regular club -meeting, if they want to, but it is to be funny if possible. Isabel and -Virgie are getting up a perfectly killing debate. Isabel’s ‘points’ are -too funny for words. They don’t mean a thing, and she gets them off with -all the oratorical agony she can put on. She goes all around the bush, -tells what she is going to prove and doesn’t prove it. Eloise and I just -lay back on the bed and laughed, when she was going over it in her room -yesterday! They only have five minutes apiece, no rebuttals or anything, -and I’m sure that the judges will decide in favor of Isabel, for Virgie -declares that she can never get up anything as funny. She can think up -points, though, and may capture the judges after all.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, here you are, folks!”</p> - -<p>Cathalina, with note book and pencil, approached Betty and Mrs. Norris, -while walking down the slope behind her came Isabel, Lilian, Juliet and -Hilary. The girls all wore their bright sweaters and locks were flying -in the wind.</p> - -<p>“How will this do for the announcement, Mrs. Norris?” Cathalina handed -Patricia a slip of paper from which she read aloud</p> - -<div class='cbcontainer'> - <div class='cblock'> - <div>“NOTA BENE</div> - <div>SOCIETAS LATINA HODIE CONVENIT.</div> - <div>VENITE, SOCII, VENITE. OMNES ADSINT.</div> - <div>LINGUA LATINA IN LITERATURA, ETC.</div> - <div>(Latin Club, Room 32, Today)”</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p>“Would you say ‘Societas Romana’ instead of ‘Latina’? asked Cathalina.</p> - -<p>“I believe I would. That is good, Cathalina. Translate it, Betty.”</p> - -<p>“Take notice. The Latin Club meets today. Come, -friends—associates?—companions?—come. Let all be present. The Latin -language in literature and so forth.”</p> - -<p>“What would Greycliff be in Latin, Mrs. Norris?”</p> - -<p>“Let me see. ‘Mons’, ‘collis’, ‘saxum’, ‘rupes,’—that is it, ‘rupes.’ -Then ‘glaucus’ is blue-grey, sometimes silver-grey, or sea-green.”</p> - -<p>“Rupes, is feminine,” announced Eloise. “Q. E. D., Rupus Glauca, -Greycliff! Feminae Rupis-Glaucae sumus. Est optima schola omnium -gentium!”</p> - -<p>“Mercy, Elo’, don’t go so fast; I can’t keep up with you!” cried Isabel. -“We are the girls, or women, of Greycliff. It is——”</p> - -<p>“The best school in the world,” finished Eloise. “Cathalina found some -Latin by Charles Lamb, giving some lines of ‘Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary’ -and ‘Little Jack Horner’; so two of the girls are going to dress up as -children and recite them, and some others that Cathalina made up. Come -on, Cathalina, cheer up your Latin teacher by reciting your latest -masterpiece!”</p> - -<p>“Mercy, I couldn’t before her.”</p> - -<p>“Just ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’!”</p> - -<p>“All right.” Cathalina dropped a little curtsey, put one finger to her -mouth and took hold of her dress with the other hand.</p> - -<div class='poetry'> -<p>“Ma<i>ri</i>a agnellum ha<i>be</i>bat,<br /> -Cujus vellus niveum erat;<br /> -Et quacunque M<i>a</i>ria<br /> -Iter faci<i>e</i>bat,<br /> -Ag<i>nel</i>lus eti<i>am</i> semper <i>i</i>bat.”</p> -</div> - -<p>“There is more, but I have forgotten it. You have to accent the ‘i’ the -first time in ‘Maria,’ and the first ‘a’ the second time, to get the -right effect. The ‘i’ is either long or short.</p> - -<p>“O, give us ‘Vetus Mater Hubbard ad armarium venit’,” urged Isabel.</p> - -<p>“Can’t. I’ve forgotten it.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Norris was smiling over the fun. “Have you any serious Latin on -your program?”</p> - -<p>“O, yes. Most of the program is serious. Dorothy has an article on the -famous Latin Hymns and some girls are going to sing the Adeste Fideles. -Then one of the Academy girls is going to recite the first part of -Cicero’s First Oration against Catiline, and there are some other -things,—historia, musica, scientia, et multae res de quibus dicere -tempus non est!”</p> - -<p>“Listen to her!” exclaimed Isabel.</p> - -<p>“I’ve just been writing it out, you know,” apologized Cathalina. -“Tomorrow, when we have composition, Mrs. Norris, I probably can’t think -of a thing!”</p> - -<p>“Who is that waving out there?” inquired Pauline.</p> - -<p>The party all turned to look toward the lake. A boat was bobbing over -the waves, and soon a voice called. Somebody was using a pair of long -glasses and had discovered who they were.</p> - -<p>“They’re in sailor costume!” exclaimed Betty. “What do you think of -that! It is Donald Hilton standing up there. I should think he would -fall in!”</p> - -<p>A fine-looking lot of sailors they were, rowing away. At a distance -there was a small vessel from which they had come. Presently the boat -came up to the dock, where by this time the whole party were waiting. -The sailors rested on their oars, smiling in friendly fashion, while the -officer in charge gave some order to Donald as he leaped out.</p> - -<p>“I’ve just about five minutes, folks,” said Donald, as he shook hands -with one and another in turn. “Have I permission, Mrs. Norris?”</p> - -<p>“Just as long as you like, Mr. Hilton—I do not know your rank. I am only -familiar with the infantry insignia.”</p> - -<p>“Not very far up yet, Mrs. Norris. What is the Doctor by now?”</p> - -<p>“A first lieutenant.”</p> - -<p>“We’re doing a little scouting for Uncle Sam, and I got permission to -stop here a few minutes to ‘see my folks’, or some of them.” Donald gave -a whimsical glance at Betty.</p> - -<p>“I think I’ll give you a little opportunity to visit with Betty,” said -Mrs. Norris. “Since you can have so short a time, we will shake hands -again and wish you safety and success. Come again.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Norris and the other girls drew away, walking slowly along the -beach in the direction of the school. It was quite marked, the -appropriation of Betty, yet in those times a few precious moments, with -friends perhaps so soon to go across, were of first importance.</p> - -<p>“Wasn’t that good of her? Betty, I’ve got your dear little picture safe -in here,” and Donald patted the place where his heart was supposed to -be. “I live on your letters, and haven’t been where I could get them for -a week or two. We’re on a little detail with some secret service men. I -can’t tell you about it now, and please don’t mention the secret -service.”</p> - -<p>“I won’t,” said Betty, rather dazed. “Are you really here, or not?”</p> - -<p>“I am. This is me, in the language of the poet. We may be in these parts -for a while, cruising around, and we may not. We are going to pretend to -leave anyway, and you will see the old tub steaming away shortly. If I -get a chance, I’m going to come again. Will you be glad to see me?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, Donald, you know I will.” Betty did not know just how glad she -would be the next time she was to see him.</p> - -<p>They sat down inside the little boat house, on one of the benches, and -managed to say a good deal in the short time allotted them. The men in -the boat, young men, all of them, talked, joked and sang while they -waited. Finally the officer spoke to Donald, who said a last goodbye to -Betty and climbed into the boat. Betty felt a little self-conscious, but -stood out on the dock, poised like a bird, as she waved to Donald. The -sailor lads waved their caps as they pushed off, then bent to the task -of rowing back to the ship. Their voices came back to her as they sang -one of the old sailor chanteys, though these were mostly college boys, -with little experience as yet except in rowing for the championship of -their schools.</p> - -<p>Betty walked slowly away, looking back and out at the boat and small -steamer. “Is this I, or isn’t it?” she thought. “Did anybody ever have -such unusual things happen? Here came Donald, out of the lake, so to -speak. Presto, a lot of good-looking boys like him, and a friendly -officer, appear from ‘the deep,’ serenade Donald and me and the girls, -and row off again.”</p> - -<p>When Betty caught up with her friends, their comments were not unlike -her own. “Betty’s always having adventures,” said Isabel. “Here am I, -longing for romance and adventure, and nothing happens.”</p> - -<p>“You were almost drowned last year,” suggested Betty.</p> - -<p>“Yes, but I was unconscious all the time I was being rescued and missed -all the thrills.”</p> - -<p>“Mercy, child! You were welcome to all Cathalina and I had!” remarked -Hilary.</p> - -<p>“If it had only been good form for Mrs. Norris and us girls to get -acquainted with some of those nice boys in the boat, life would not seem -so barren,” sighed Isabel, with pretended sorrow.</p> - -<p>“You very well know that you were the first to leave, and would have -been horrified at the thought of talking to them!” exclaimed Cathalina, -taking Isabel seriously.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps, gentle mentor,” said Isabel, putting her arm about Cathalina.</p> - -<div class='poetry'> -<p>“I would not love a sailor lad,<br /> -However bright his e’e;<br /> -A deck would have his roving feet,<br /> -No hearth-stane warm, with me!”</p> -</div> - -<p>“Set that to music, Lilian, and sing it to Betty.”</p> - -<p>“Is that your own, Isabel?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. I thought it up while we were waiting for Betty. Donald is sort of -Scotch, you know, so I put in ‘e’e’ and ‘stane’.”</p> - -<p>“It seems to be catching,” said Eloise. “Lilian and Cathalina are always -making verses, and now Isabel.”</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 id='chIV' title='IV: Again the Greycliff Ghost'> -<span>CHAPTER IV</span><br /><span>AGAIN THE GREYCLIFF GHOST</span> -</h2> - -<p>“Whither now, Lily Ann?” Diane was strolling out of classroom number -five behind Lilian.</p> - -<p>“I don’t answer to that name,” replied Lilian, pausing, however, and -linking her arm in that of Diane. “How becoming that crimson frock is.”</p> - -<p>“Do you like it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. It matches your cheeks and brings out the shepherdess complexion.”</p> - -<p>“Shepherdess yourself, Lilian, and you have the golden locks as well. -Going up to the library?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; I have to read a little for Lit. We have a perfectly terrible book -to write on it, all our notes in class and on our collateral reading. -The first half has to be ready to hand in at the first of the second -semester. I pity the girls who haven’t written up their notes right -along.”</p> - -<p>“I was sorry that I did not take that advanced course in Literature. It -wasn’t required, so I did not try it. I have so much to make up, anyway. -But your book prospect does not look so inviting,—I’m not so sorry after -all.”</p> - -<p>The two girls were climbing the stairs of the library building, tripping -up the wide steps with light feet.</p> - -<p>“Did you hear about the ghost?” continued Diane.</p> - -<p>“No, is that the latest thrill?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; Greycliff’s old standby, the Woman in Black, has appeared again. -One of the academy girls nearly went into hysterics the other night, -they say, after she saw it, or thought she saw it. She said that it -moaned and waved black arms, with wide sleeves or something, and glided -by as ghosts are supposed to glide, but very rapidly.”</p> - -<p>“I haven’t heard anything about the Woman in Black for some time. Let me -see. It was Isabel that declared she saw it two or three years ago. How -many times has it appeared this time?”</p> - -<p>“Several times, according to all accounts. There are all sorts of wild -tales about it. One girl said that it started toward her, then turned -back and just disappeared.”</p> - -<p>“Around a corner probably. If there is any appearance of the sort, I’m -sure it’s human. Somebody is trying to trick the girls. The other time, -when we had such an excitement about it, Miss Randolph just put some -extra folks on guard at night and there was no more ghost.”</p> - -<p>“All the same, the halls are sort of spooky at night, and I don’t -believe that I’ll watch for it. Diane is going to keep to her little -cot!”</p> - -<p>“All the more reason for that if it is human. Any account of its getting -into the rooms, or has anything been stolen?”</p> - -<p>“One girl tells about seeing it standing over her bed, but I think that -she was having a nightmare. She had heard about it and dreamed of it!”</p> - -<p>By this time the girls were in the library, where conversation was not -desired. Lilian went to look over the reference books and Diane -consulted the librarian about something. Isabel, Evelyn and Helen were -sitting at one of the tables and nodded to the girls. Isabel was -scribbling away for dear life, turning page after page of a tablet. -Evelyn was drawing cartoons and showing them from time to time to Helen, -who appeared much amused. Helen was reading, when not in consultation -with Evelyn. Presently Lilian and Diane went over to the same table and -drew up chairs. “What’s the fun?” whispered Diane.</p> - -<p>Helen smiled broadly, took the drawings from Evelyn and pushed them over -to Diane and Lilian. The girls bent their heads over them. Isabel looked -up, amused, and continued scribbling. The first picture was labeled “The -Greycliff Ghost,” and showed a skeleton, clothed in filmy black, and -bending over a terrified girl in her cot. The covers were drawn up over -the lower part of the girl’s face, only the big eyes looking up at the -ghost. The second picture was called “The Woman in Black” and depicted a -veiled figure in motion, arms stretched out before her, wide sleeves and -draperies flying, the head wrapped in a veil, but showing a mask and two -wild eyes. As the girls looked at these drawings, Evelyn, who was -watching them, offered a piece of paper on which was printed “DO YOU -BELIEVE IN GHOSTS?”</p> - -<p>Lilian promptly wrote her reply “No. Do You?”</p> - -<p>“YES. I’VE BEEN IN A HAUNTED HOUSE. LET’S TELL GHOST STORIES AFTER -DINNER.”</p> - -<p>“All right, but people that believe in ghosts are likely to have bad -dreams.”</p> - -<p>“WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU SAW A GHOST?”</p> - -<p>This last query of Evelyn’s was passed around to the girls. Lilian -wrote, “Watch it go by.” Diane wrote, “Run.” Isabel stopped her rapid -note-taking long enough to answer, “Try one of the boys’ tricks,—stick -out my foot to see if I could trip it.”</p> - -<p>“Diane’s answer is the only sensible one,” whispered Evelyn as she read -the different replies. Tucking away her pictures in her note book she -proceeded with the more serious work for which she had come to the -library. The other girls were also absorbed in their books. But later, -when they left the library for Greycliff Hall, there was laughter, and -stories of mysterious doings were told. “Of <i>course</i> I believe in -ghosts,” insisted Evelyn, who had never outgrown the coquettish ways and -naive speech with which she had come to Greycliff. “Didn’t my mother’s -old Mammy bring me up on ‘ghos’es’ and ha’nts? <i>I</i> never saw any, but -she did.”</p> - -<p>“You just want to for the excitement of it,” said Isabel. “I wish the -seniors would give Hamlet this spring, for their play, and let me play -the part of the ghost.”</p> - -<p>“That isn’t much of a part,” said Lilian. “I should think you would want -Hamlet.”</p> - -<p>“I would, but the seniors would want that themselves. ‘To be or-r-r-r-r -not to be. That iz-z-z-z-z the question!’ I heard an elocutionist do it -that way once. What are you girls going to give for your senior play?”</p> - -<p>“We haven’t decided yet, but we thought of having it outdoors and giving -‘As You Like It’.”</p> - -<p>“That will be wonderful!” exclaimed Isabel. “There are so many places -about the campus that would make a fine setting.”</p> - -<p>“Come around to our room after dinner for the ghost stories,” reminded -Evelyn, as she and Diane left the other girls on their way to their -respective rooms. Like Isabel and Virginia, Evelyn and Diane were -occupying a large single room this year. But Greycliff seniors have not -so much time for ghost stories and the like, and Evelyn herself, with -her knitting, was in the parlors after dinner, listening to some -singing, and chatting to Isabel, Lilian, Hilary, Cathalina and Betty.</p> - -<p>“I believe that Evelyn has begun two or three sweaters,” said Isabel. -“Which one is this for?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I can’t be partial, you know,” said Evelyn, smiling as she -recovered a dropped stitch. “Geo’ge and Pehcy ah in the same company, -and if I send one a sweatah I must send the otheh one, too. I did think -that I would send this one to Cousin Francis,—I used to be engaged to -him, you know. We ah only thi’d cousins.”</p> - -<p>“Which one are you engaged to now, Evelyn?” asked Isabel, adding -hastily, “You need not answer that, of course. It is rude of me to ask.”</p> - -<p>“O, I don’t mind,” said Evelyn, putting her hand on one side to survey -the sweater which she held up to view. “Do you think that is big enough -to go over the head?”</p> - -<p>“It looks pretty small to me,” said Cathalina. “Is he big or little?”</p> - -<p>“My head just comes to his shoulder. Yes, he is pretty big, Pehcy is.”</p> - -<p>“I wonder if that is my answer,” remarked Isabel to Cathalina.</p> - -<p>“No telling.”</p> - -<p>“Well, girls,” said Hilary, “I’d like to visit longer, but I have to get -to work. I see a hectic evening before me. I don’t know when I’ve been -so behind with everything. I’ve been doing too much knitting and -letter-writing, I am afraid. However, under the circumstances, I can’t -regret it. Patriotism before everything!”</p> - -<p>“Are you sure that it was <i>all</i> patriotism, Hilary?”</p> - -<p>“Quite sure,” laughed Hilary.</p> - -<p>In Lakeview Suite there was, indeed, a busy group that evening. It -happened to be near examination time. Notes were being brought up to -date. Exercise books in the languages were to be put into final shape. -Eloise came in to consult Lilian about some exercises in Harmony, which -both were taking, Lilian because she wanted to know how to write her -little songs, and to catch up with Philip in his knowledge of the -subject. The girls were all tired when the first bell rang, and Hilary -sat, writing on, without paying any attention.</p> - -<p>“You’ll be in the dark pretty soon, Hilary, unless you break rules,” -remarked Lilian.</p> - -<p>“Don’t mind me,” said Hilary. “Put the lights out when the bell rings. -I’ll just write till then; I’m almost through. Then I’ll use my flash -light when I get ready for bed.”</p> - -<p>Finally, darkness descended upon the suite, and Hilary, her head aching -a little, tossed and turned, till finally she wandered off into a dream -with Campbell Stuart, both on a vessel, on the way to France, and -watching a submarine whose periscope had just appeared close by. In the -middle of the night she woke, consumed by thirst, and reaching under her -pillow for her flashlight, slipped quietly out of the room after some -water.</p> - -<p>Just outside of her door she paused and started a little, for around the -corner came a ghostly figure, looking very much as Evelyn had pictured -the “Woman in Black.” There were two corridors running at right angles -to Lakeview Corridor, and it was from one of these, in the direction of -which Hilary was headed, that the ghost came. And, without warning, from -the other direction, which Hilary, though not the ghost, could see, came -running another figure with flying hair, light slippers and pale kimono.</p> - -<p>“Two ghosts,” thought Hilary.</p> - -<p>It all happened so quickly that Hilary could not have prevented it even -had she been able to recover from her surprise. The “Woman in Black” saw -Hilary, without doubt, for she waved her hands and moaned, a high quaver -of ghostly sound. And right at the corner, plump into the Woman in -Black, ran the other flying figure,—bump!</p> - -<p>It was Evelyn’s face that turned toward Hilary. The black form recovered -from the shock and sped on, but dropped a little roll of papers and, -with an exclamation, turned and came back. Evelyn hastened to pick up -the papers first—Evelyn, who was afraid of ghosts!</p> - -<p>“Give them to me at once!” demanded the “ghost” in a hissing whisper.</p> - -<p>Evelyn unrolled the papers in the dim light of the hall and showed no -intention of hurrying. Impatiently the black ghost snatched at the -little bundle, but Evelyn put it behind her back at first, then with a -bow held it out,—“Your property, I believe,—Louise Holley!”</p> - -<p>The “Woman in Black” angrily pulled away and disappeared down the hall. -Evelyn leaned up against the wall and looked after her, while Hilary -moved toward her, saying gently, in little more than a whisper, -“Evelyn.”</p> - -<p>“Is that you, Hilary?” asked Evelyn, in evident relief. “Did you see -that performance? I suppose Louise has been out to meet that precious -brother of hers. That is why she is staging the ghost act. How do you -happen to be on hand?”</p> - -<p>“I woke up and perishing with thirst, or was. I declare I was so taken -by surprise that I forgot what I was up for.”</p> - -<p>“It’s that ham, that grand baked ham we had for suppeh. I was so thihsty -too, that I just had to have a drink and we forget to get any watch for -the room, as we usually do.”</p> - -<p>“So did we.”</p> - -<p>“I happened to think about the ghost stories after I was in the hall, -and put on speed just in time to run into the actual ghost! Honestly, -I’m shaking all oveh!”</p> - -<p>“You did not act afraid.”</p> - -<p>“I wasn’t. No ghost is as solid as what I ran into.” Evelyn chuckled. -“It was the shock, and being afraid that I would meet a ghost, a real -one.”</p> - -<p>“Do you still believe in that kind?”</p> - -<p>“I must say that my faith is shaken. Didn’t Louise look like the real -thing though as she disappeared?”</p> - -<p>“She looked like a bad spirit all right. Some of the lights in the hall -have been turned out. Did you notice that?”</p> - -<p>“I think they always do it.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, but they always leave enough to make a little light, and you can’t -see any toward Louise’s room.”</p> - -<p>“She must have done it on purpose. My, how mad she was when I would not -hand her her papers.”</p> - -<p>“They were little diagrams, Hilary. What do you suppose that means.”</p> - -<p>“I think that Miss Randolph ’d better send her away again. That is what -I think. Shall we tell her?”</p> - -<p>“Let’s sleep on it. Take me back to my room, will you, Hilary?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t lose your courage now, when you were so brave.”</p> - -<p>“I always do when I have somebody to lean on. I ought to have a lot of -responsibility put on me, I reckon.”</p> - -<p>“You nice little thing!” exclaimed Hilary, patting Evelyn’s shoulder. -“Let’s get a good drink first.”</p> - -<p>“All right. I could drink all the wateh there is! Let it run and run to -get fresh and ice-cold!”</p> - -<p>All this conversation was carried on in subdued tones. Evelyn decided -that she would show her bravely by going back to her room alone, but -Hilary paused at the parting of the ways and watched her scampering -through the corridor to her room, which she entered, after giving one -hasty backward glance to make sure that no ghost or human was entering -behind her.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 id='chV' title='V: Senior Basket-ball'> -<span>CHAPTER V</span><br /><span>SENIOR BASKET-BALL</span> -</h2> - -<p>Upon returning to her room, Hilary was too wide-awake to sleep and -dropped upon the window-seat in the dark study room, drawing around her -Cathalina’s steamer rug which happened to be there. The wind was sighing -through the trees. She could hear the sound of the waves upon the beach -not far away, and another louder sound came from the lake as well, that -of some motor. “A boat or a plane,” thought Hilary, looking out through -tree-tops, “I believe it is a plane. Perhaps they are trying out the -hydroplanes though it is rather late for that.” Just then there came a -flash from where the shore line was located. “A search-light,” was -Hilary’s thought, but no steady sweeping light continued, only two or -three flashes. Hilary leaned out of the window, looked in all directions -and was rewarded by seeing dim flashes far down the lake. Two or three -times the signals were repeated, then no more.</p> - -<p>For five or ten minutes, Hilary still sat by the window thinking over -the occurrences of the night, then went to the table where her own clock -was still ticking out the hours, so carefully watched that evening when -they were hurrying their lessons through. Flashing her light on its -familiar face, she read that it was one o’clock, yawning a little, she -stole gently back into her bedroom without waking Lilian, tucked a -comfortable pillow under her head, threw back her heavy brown braids to -a position where they would not annoy her, and was soon in a dreamless -sleep.</p> - -<p>But Hilary had come to a decision while she sat looking out of the -window. Whatever it was in which Captain Holley was concerned, it was -evident that Louise was meeting him and was taking advantage of the old -tradition to play the ghost and make the girls afraid to go through the -halls at night. It was no single prank to be winked at. Miss Randolph -should know the whole story from beginning to end.</p> - -<p>In the morning, therefore, the performances of the night were related to -an interested audience of three, as the girls of Lakeview Suite dressed -for breakfast, and Hilary said that she had determined to tell Miss -Randolph. “What do you think, girls?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“You are right, Hilary,” said Lilian, without hesitation.</p> - -<p>“Are you going to tell her about me, too?” asked Betty, “and the cave, -and everything?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, unless you have some objection.”</p> - -<p>“Not a bit.”</p> - -<p>“I wish you would go with me, Cathalina, and I want to get Evelyn to -support my evidence about last night. I think it is our business as -seniors to stop this affair of coming and going at night.”</p> - -<p>“Louise will be furious.”</p> - -<p>“Louise isn’t any too safe herself.”</p> - -<p>“I shall be glad to go, Hilary. I have felt like speaking to Miss -Randolph about several things before this.”</p> - -<p>But it was easier to make a decision than to carry it out, where other -persons were concerned. Scarcely had Cathalina finished speaking, when -there came a quick rap at the door, and, upon invitation, Louise herself -came in. Looking from one to another, she saw knowledge written on the -faces of all and hastened to make her appeal. “Say, Hilary,” she began, -“you are not going to tell Miss Randolph, are you, about my playing the -ghost? Please don’t!”</p> - -<p>“I made up my mind to do that very thing,” said Hilary, her face -flushing with the effort of doing a disagreeable thing. “I didn’t think -that you should be allowed to go on with this sort of thing.”</p> - -<p>Louise burst into sudden tears. “I can’t see anything so dreadful about -fooling the girls!” she said, as soon as she could control herself.</p> - -<p>“No, Louise, but I can’t feel that that is all there is to it. Now -haven’t you been out to meet your brother again? I’d like to know what -he is doing, too. It certainly looks queer to us girls that you find it -necessary to meet your own brother in this way, when he can come to see -you at any proper time. Have you a key to one of the doors?”</p> - -<p>“It isn’t your business what I am doing!”</p> - -<p>“No, but I fancy that it is Miss Randolph’s, if you are disobeying such -important rules. It is a matter of your own safety as well as ours. I -don’t intend to do anything but inform Miss Randolph. She can use her -own judgment.”</p> - -<p>Louise wore an ill and sullen look, then realized what it would mean if -Hilary informed Miss Randolph, and began to cry once more. “I didn’t -think that you were such a mean girl,—to tell!”</p> - -<p>“If I don’t, will you stop going out at night?”</p> - -<p>“What good would it do for her to promise us?” inquired Lilian with -surprising bluntness. “We can’t sit up nights to see that she keeps her -promise.”</p> - -<p>“Will you give me your key?” said Hilary.</p> - -<p>Louise hesitated. “Y-yes,” she said, “if you will not tell.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Louise, I’ve no desire to have you sent away, and I suppose that -is what would happen. If you will give me your key and promise not to -leave the hall at night, I will at least postpone telling Miss Randolph, -and see what happens. There’ll be no more ‘Woman in Black’ nonsense, of -course.”</p> - -<p>“All right. I suppose I’ll have to do it. Here is the key.” Louise -handed Hilary a key, while the other girls looked at each other as if to -say, “Funny that she had it all ready like that.”</p> - -<p>After the departure of Louise, Hilary sank into a rocking chair and -dropped her hands in a gesture of helplessness upon her lap. “Did you -ever!”</p> - -<p>“Crocodile tears!” exclaimed Betty.</p> - -<p>“Oh, her tears were genuine enough,” said Lilian, “and she got what she -came for.”</p> - -<p>“I suspect I was a goose,” said Hilary, “but perhaps she will be good, -and I hate to tell things that will send a girl away from Greycliff.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps Evelyn will tell,” suggested Betty.</p> - -<p>“Louise is probably there now,” said Lilian.</p> - -<p>Sure enough, Evelyn came in a few minutes before the breakfast bell to -ask if Louise had been there. “She wept and carried on till I didn’t -know what to do with her, and begged me not to tell any of the teachers. -I was so provoked with her that I wouldn’t promise, but finally said -that I would do whatever Hilary thought best. You ought to have seen the -funny little smile she had when I said that. She just said, ‘Very well,’ -and pretended to go out in a bad humor, but I could tell that she -thought it would be all right.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll just let it go a while, Evelyn, and see. I didn’t promise <i>never</i> -to tell.”</p> - -<p>On the bulletin board, as the girls went to breakfast, there had already -been put up notices of a senior class meeting, a “short meeting” of the -Whittier Society, and regular basket-ball practice.</p> - -<p>“You will have to have some one else take the minutes, Cathalina,” said -Hilary, “for I can’t miss the practice.”</p> - -<p>“Of course not. My, I’m glad that you are playing this year, Hilary. Now -we shall be sure to win the tournament. It was terrible that we lost -that time when you did not play. Of course we can beat the academy -classes and I’m not afraid of the juniors now. Do you remember how -nearly we came to winning that first year?”</p> - -<p>“Indeed I do. How we worked! This will be my last year to play, though. -Oh, of course, little games, perhaps, but I mean in competitive games of -any consequence. We are getting in pretty good trim. You ought to see -Juliet and Pauline make baskets. They almost never miss, if they have -any kind of a chance.”</p> - -<p>“It is only a few days until the big affair comes off.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,—that was one reason why I didn’t want to have any trouble about -Louise. I want to keep fit. I don’t feel any too lively today after last -night’s late hours.”</p> - -<p>“Cut your last class this morning and take a little nap before lunch. -I’ll wake you up.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no! I’ll get through all right. I’ll get to bed early.”</p> - -<p>For the next few days basket-ball was the chief topic of conversation at -Greycliff. All the teams were “getting into shape,” as they said, and -all the other girls were watching practice or inquiring about it and -trying to prove that their class had the best team in school. “Time will -tell,” said Hilary. “I’m glad we have a referee that is so strict about -the rules. If we win, it will be a real victory.” Hilary was captain -again.</p> - -<p>“I declare, I don’t know which class I want to win,” said Isabel. “Of -course, I want my own class to beat, but here are all your Psyche Club -and Whittier chums in the senior class. Class spirit, however, is the -thing in the tournaments,—hurrah for the junior collegiates!”</p> - -<p>“I remember your leading the yells, Isabel, for the junior academy class -at our first tournament. It was too funny. Avalon led the singing. Who -would have thought that such a little mouse as she seemed at first would -be so lively? I suppose that the academy girls will make as much noise -as we did.”</p> - -<p>“Are you going over for the Academy Tournament tonight?” asked Isabel. -There had been a meeting of the Psyche Club at the “Olympic Portal” and -the girls were chatting on after adjournment.</p> - -<p>“Yes, indeed,” replied Hilary. “We want to see what our opponents can -do, also get into the spirit of the game. All of us that are on the -teams are going, and I guess that the other girls in our suite are -going, aren’t you?” Hilary turned toward Cathalina and Betty, who stood -near. “I know that Lilian is.”</p> - -<p>“Aren’t we what?” asked Betty.</p> - -<p>“Going to the Academy Tournament tonight. Old Hilary says that she wants -to see <i>her</i> opponents, as if she were sure that it will be the <i>senior</i> -collegiate that will play the winning academy class.” Thus Isabel.</p> - -<p>“Too bad, Isabel, that you are a junior and can’t conscientiously root -for us.”</p> - -<p>“She talks as if I wanted to,” and Isabel turned to Virgie in pretended -indignation.</p> - -<p>There was great fun in the gymnasium that night. “Susan’s Band” had been -revived and marched in between games with much playing upon combs, -triangles and other difficult instruments. Four different classes had -their class songs, class yells and unrepressed enthusiasms. Miss -Randolph, who was present from a sense of duty, fairly put her hands -over her ears as applause mingled with the closing strains and clashes -from “Susan’s Band.” This was a longer performance than the contest -between the junior and senior collegiates would be. That was to take -place in a few days, provided no accident to the chief performers -occurred tonight, to postpone the event of the contest between the -winning academy team and that of the collegiates. But it was best to -have the collegiates meet in battle early, for they too, might need time -for recovery.</p> - -<p>It was always determined by lot how the classes were to play. This time -the freshmen, academy, met the sophomores and defeated them in a close -game. The seniors and juniors played against each other, the juniors -defeated. Both games were exciting, the scores nearly even. But the last -game, between the excited little freshmen and the seniors was easily won -by the senior class, with a score rather humiliating to the freshmen, -but on the whole they were pleased to have been in the final game at -all.</p> - -<p>“It will be the seniors against seniors,” whispered Pauline to Juliet, -who smiled at her and said, “Mayhap it will.”</p> - -<p>Several days later, the gymnasium was again the scene of a real contest -between the two collegiate classes. The seats were full of interested -spectators from all the classes, academy and collegiate. Many of the -teachers were there and some of the faculty wives who lived at Greycliff -Heights. There was no uproar, the two classes contenting themselves with -a few yells given at especially appropriate times, and the more -dignified class songs of the upper classes, if any of the class songs -can be called such at all. Very little nervousness, if any, was shown by -either team at first, and the game began with much skill in evidence. -Hilary’s forces began with success in getting the ball, and keeping it -against much interference; the seniors made one basket after another, -and the score was all in their favor. Then luck turned. Calamity of -calamities, it was Juliet who fumbled and lost the ball to a junior, who -tossed it some distance to a girl under their basket,—into which it went -in a jiffy. After the ball was tossed, the juniors were again in -possession. How the senior girls worked to get a chance once more, and -when one of the juniors missed a basket it was a senior girl who -captured the ball. Fast and furious waxed the efforts. For some time -nobody could make a basket for the successful interference of opposing -forces. But at last it was the senior class which was victorious, and as -Pauline had said, it would be the seniors against the seniors in the -final tournament.</p> - -<p>The greatest interest, perhaps, centered in the first tournaments, for -the academy classes were more interested in beating each other than in -trying to win over the collegiates, while the senior and junior -collegiates felt more eagerness to win from each other. However, at the -last tournament the collegiate class always felt that they would be -disgraced if beaten by the academy, a thing which rarely happened. The -academy class which won in the academy tournament felt, moreover, that -they must at least have a respectable score, and make it as hard as -possible for their opponents to win. Then there was always the -<i>possibility</i> of victory.</p> - -<p>The senior academy of this year was especially good. Their team was made -up of experienced players; their captain was a girl of good judgment and -ability.</p> - -<p>“Now, girls,” said Captain Hilary, “don’t imagine that we have already -won this game. It may be close however. Remember how well these girls -play. I feel sure that we can win if we are not over-confident and think -that we need not play our best. Remember to keep your wits about you and -feel that the game depends on how well each of you plays. I don’t think -that this other team will try anything but straight, clean basket-ball, -and let us be as careful. Look out that your interference is within -rules.”</p> - -<p>The senior collegiates had a little advantage over the other team in -poise, but the academy girls were fast and eager. The game began under -the close attention of a very much interested audience composed of the -whole school, teachers, and as many visitors as the collegiate contest -had boasted. The shrill whistle of the referee sounded “ever and anon,” -as Isabel said to Cathalina, next to whom she sat, with a firm grip on -Cathalina’s hand, which she clutched in her excitement. Cathalina said -afterward that she could have shut her eyes and known how the game was -going from Isabel’s grip and exclamations. This time, as a collegiate, -Isabel had her heart with Hilary’s team. Isabel had grown out of the -noisy period, but in tones loud enough to be heard by Cathalina, and by -Virgie, on the other side of her, Isabel’s conversation ran on with the -game. “O, <i>get</i> the ball, Hilary! That’s fine. Oh, mercy, she is going -to try the basket herself instead of giving it to Pauline—she never can -make it at that distance!” Quick withdrawal of Isabel’s hand from -Cathalina’s, as with the rest of the audience she applauded Hilary’s -placing the ball in the basket from an awkward position. “That was -<i>great</i>! A few more plays like that—sakes, we’ve lost the ball now. How -in the world did that happen! That guard ought not to have been there! -Good work, Juliet. Another basket! For pity’s sake, keep the ball. -Pshaw, what a fumble! Jump for it girlie. There,—our ball. Good play. -But they are pretty good at keeping our girls from making a basket. -‘Toot-toot,’ time’s up.”</p> - -<p>Cathalina turned laughing to Isabel. “You need a rest as much as the -team, Isabel. Virgie, did you ever see anybody as tense? I begin to get -that way, too, but I don’t dare; it makes me almost sick.”</p> - -<p>Virginia assented. “I have to hold myself in hand, too, but it doesn’t -make Isabel sick. She thrives on excitement. She will go right to sleep -tonight, while I will be seeing the game for half an hour at least. How -much are we ahead?”</p> - -<p>“Not enough to feel easy about for the rest of the game,” said Isabel. -“I’ve got to work just as hard the rest of the time,” she added, with a -whimsical smile.</p> - -<p>“How did it ever happen that you did not play basket-ball on one of the -teams?” asked Virginia.</p> - -<p>“Promised my father and Jim that I wouldn’t.”</p> - -<p>“Aren’t they interested in athletics?”</p> - -<p>“The boys play everything, but Father and Jim said I shouldn’t except in -just ordinary games, like the regular practice we used to have at camp. -I have to display my prowess in the water sports.”</p> - -<p>“You shine there, Isabel,” said Virginia.</p> - -<p>“But at that I had to be rescued by Cathalina last year.”</p> - -<p>“That was because you were hit by that log or whatever it was.”</p> - -<p>“Just the same, I would have drowned, like anybody that couldn’t swim, -if it hadn’t been for her. Here they come. Now for the tug of war!”</p> - -<p>But in this last half of the game the senior collegiates had no trouble, -apparently, in walking off with the honors. Anticipating a close -struggle, they made a great effort to hold the ball, and did brilliant -playing when it came to baskets, receiving enthusiastic applause. This -rather discouraged the younger seniors, who were tired and beginning to -feel the excitement. For them, everything seemed to go wrong, as it -sometimes does. When they had the ball, somebody would fumble, or the -interference kept them from accomplishing anything. The game closed with -a good score in favor of the senior collegiates. But they joined with -the audience in giving the senior academy yell, and heartily returned -the generous congratulations, which the losing team offered them, with -many a warm statement about how good a game they had played.</p> - -<p>Lilian, Eloise and several others of the guitar and mandolin club had -brought their instruments to help lead the singing of Greycliff songs at -the beginning of the tournament or contest, and now escorted the winning -team home with much strumming and singing. Just before entering the -solemn doors of Greycliff Hall, the players lined up and gave the senior -yell with great spirit:</p> - -<p>“Seniors ’rah! Seniors ’rah! ’Rah-rah, Seniors Col-le-gi-ate!”</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 id='chVI' title='VI: The Rustling of Wings'> -<span>CHAPTER VI</span><br /><span>THE RUSTLING OF WINGS</span> -</h2> - -<p>“No Ice Carnival, girls,” mourned Betty. “Of course we’ll not have any -with just those infants at Grant Academy this year.”</p> - -<p>“All the more time for other things, then,” said Eloise. “It will be -warm before we know it. I have so many things to do, that if I stopped -to count them up I would have to leave school in self defense! There is -doing our ‘bit’ with the knitting and everything right along, of course, -and I want to have time for canoeing and the other athletics this -spring. Hilary, I am going to have as long a bird list as you, or perish -in the attempt! Isabel, our canoe is going to beat in the senior-junior -race.”</p> - -<p>“Is it?” inquired Isabel in a tone which implied doubt. “Try it.”</p> - -<p>Isabel was taking a butterfly pin out of a tiny box. She was the -secretary and treasurer of the Psyche Club, and had ordered this pin for -Betty, who had lost hers several months before. Not a whole year, her -senior year, could she do without her butterfly pin, which stood for so -much of Greycliff happiness and delightful friendship.</p> - -<p>“How did Betty happen to lose her pin?” asked Eloise. “I wonder where it -could be.”</p> - -<p>“That is what Betty wonders. She doesn’t even know when it was lost, -because, you know we keep our pins pinned on something for days at -times. She thought that she took it off a wool frock to pin on a silk -one, but she has hunted her dresses over, besides bureau drawers and -every crack about the suite.”</p> - -<p>It seemed that Greycliff days had wings. The girls complained that -teachers in every course demanded more and more. “Patty thinks that we -are taking nothing but her Latin and English,” remarked Cathalina, “and -Dr. Carver is going to have us cover more ground this year in what is -college Sophomore Latin than any class ever did. She <i>said</i> so! But she -actually complimented the class on doing it, can you imagine it, -Isabel?”</p> - -<p>“I can not. I should pass into unconsciousness if I heard anything of -the sort from her. But I am sorry for her. She had an awful time at -first because she studied in Germany and couldn’t believe that they -started things, and then she was more than half in love with Prof. -Schaefer they say, and mad because the girls didn’t sign up for German, -but after a talk with Miss Randolph she came around and there has been a -distinct coolness between her and Prof. Schaefer of late.”</p> - -<p>“Really, Isabel?” asked Hilary. “Cathalina and I once thought that it -would be a match.”</p> - -<p>“Once Miss Randolph told me a little about her life, girls,” said -Cathalina, “and she has had a pretty hard experience, Miss Randolph -said. It did not make me think any more of her methods, but has helped -me to stand it. And she certainly does know what she is talking about. -There are lots of different people in this world, aren’t there? I don’t -suppose I would have known it if I hadn’t come to Greycliff, but it will -make me interested in people outside the family circle now.”</p> - -<p>“To go back to our work,” said Hilary, “our music director says that -there never has been such a concert as he expects to have the girls give -this Commencement, when all the parents and everybody can be here. The -practice is taking a good deal of time, but it is such fun! There is the -Glee Club and the double quartette and the orchestra—all practicing the -most beautiful things! Lil is to sing as her second number one of her -own songs, and Phil is writing the accompaniment for her now, in between -times at camp. Aunt Hilary is coming this time to see her little -namesake perform!”</p> - -<p>“O, I heard a red-winged blackbird today, girls,” said Juliet, “down by -the river near that place where the cattails grow. They will be nesting -there.”</p> - -<p>“That is fine,” said Hilary. “I must go down there; I haven’t one on my -list yet. I was just thinking of how wonderful it all is this morning -when I first woke up. I heard a bluebird and a robin singing, and I -began to think about all the wings starting North on the spring -migration. The Bible says something about the land of the ‘rustling of -wings’ and that is what is happening now. Can’t you imagine how it is, -some warm night when the wood warblers are flying, tiny little things -with their <i>weeny</i> wings, and then the big birds, like the water birds. -Then—presto—the sun comes up and lights up all the bright colors, the -scarlet tanager and the rose-breasted grosbeak, the indigo bunting and -the bluebird, the orange and black of the Blackburnian warbler, the -cardinal,—come on, I’m going to get my glass and go down to the beach!”</p> - -<p>“All right, Hilary, but remember that your flight of imagination looked -forward into May. Don’t expect to find a rose-breasted grosbeak this -afternoon.”</p> - -<p>“No. Isabel, my imagination is subject to a little common sense. Where’s -my note book, Lilian?”</p> - -<p>“I put it with mine, right on the book-shelf by our geology notes. If -you will wait a few minutes till I get this letter to Phil finished, I -will come too.”</p> - -<p>“If it is not too long,” replied Hilary, “but I know what happens when -you strike a new vein of thought and remember some more things to tell -him. Isabel, you might tell Virgie that we are going out to see what we -can see. Perhaps she will want to go, too.”</p> - -<p>The work of the field classes began a little later than usual that -spring. Hilary, because her work and interest in this line had been a -little more persistent than that of any others, was put in charge of one -bird section. The classes went out in small groups, from the very nature -of the study, for few birds would be seen by any large company, except -at a distance. Cathalina’s generosity had long since supplied the “bird -library” with the finest reference books and some strong field glasses -and binoculars. A number of the girls had their own glasses, ranging in -power from that of an opera glass to the strong lenses of various sorts. -Outside of Lakeview Suite, probably the most enthusiastic bird “hunters” -were Eloise and Isabel, and in friendly fashion, whenever any one saw a -new bird for the season, word was passed around. Isabel dubbed her -particular section “The Stealthy Prowlers.”</p> - -<p>By the time the girls were ready to go to the beach, the party numbered -six, Hilary and Eloise in the lead, Betty and Cathalina strolling along -together, Isabel conducting an investigation by herself, and Lilian -running down the hill last.</p> - -<p>“It is almost too windy to see anything today,” said Isabel, looking at -the scudding grey clouds above tossing waters.</p> - -<p>“Let’s start up along the river. The little birds will hide away from -the wind and the banks there along under the woods ought to have a -number of good ‘finds.’ We ought to see some sandpipers there if nothing -else. How chilly those gulls look. Some day we’ll row out to the -breakwater and take down the different varieties we always see there -every spring.”</p> - -<p>“The Island is better, if you are willing to wait until the first -picnic.”</p> - -<p>Betty was looking off to see if by any chance the same government boat -which had brought Donald before might appear upon the horizon. So -suddenly had he come before, that she was prepared for anything. But no -smoke from passing steamer could be seen in any direction.</p> - -<p>“Poor old Betty,” said Eloise, with a little smile. “‘He cometh not, she -said, I’m a-weary, a-weary,’—<i>Tennyson!</i>”</p> - -<p>“My bonny is over the ocean,” began Lilian, then with a sober look -added, “They’ll all be over soon enough!”</p> - -<p>Betty did not mind the teasing, but blew a kiss in fun out to the waves, -and turned with the rest where the little river joined the lake. They -picked their way along over wet sand and mud in places, as at times they -were forced to ascend the bank.</p> - -<p>“Here’s where the doughty Cathalina and Hilary rescued the sinking -Isabel,” said Eloise, as they passed the famous spot. “More than once -have I had it pointed out to me. In after years, when Isabel is famous -for,—what are you going to be famous for, Isabel?”</p> - -<p>“Debating in Congress,” replied Isabel without hesitation.</p> - -<p>“All right,—in after years when the famous Senator Isabel Hunt startles -the country with her eloquence, Greycliff will put a tablet here,——”</p> - -<p>“And on it will be written,” continued Betty in grandiloquent style, -“‘Saved for Greycliff and her country’!”</p> - -<p>“Sh-sh!” whispered Isabel. “I saw something fly up stream, and I heard a -spotted sandpiper call.”</p> - -<p>The girls stopped to listen. The lyre-like notes of a red-winged -blackbird came first to their ears, then a meadow lark sang from the -fields behind Greycliff. A few grackles flew down to the river’s edge -and walked in dignified fashion near the shallows.</p> - -<p>“O, look!” exclaimed Cathalina, pointing to a little hollow ahead of -them. “We shall find some anemones and bloodroot there I’m sure. Don’t -you remember last year they were there, and just beyond is that lovely -violet patch, if they are out yet.”</p> - -<p>“Wait a minute, Cathalina,” said Hilary in a low tone, “what is that -scratching away in those leaves? Could it be the ground robins?”</p> - -<p>The glasses were all focused upon the little hollow before them, -Hilary’s face growing brighter as she watched. She and Eloise turned to -each other and in one breath whispered “Fox sparrows!”</p> - -<p>“I’m so glad,” whispered Lilian. “I missed seeing them last year, for -some reason. Look, there is a flock of them.” Several more of the pretty -brown sparrows flew from across the river and joined those which the -girls were watching.</p> - -<p>“Can’t he scratch for a living, though?” remarked Isabel pointing to one -that was making the leaves fly. “See him fly around with that reddish -tail. What’s that little chap over there?—Oh, a junco. You are very -pretty, sir, but I’ve got you on my list already and I am seeking other -prey! However, I like your pink bill and your black hood and mantle.”</p> - -<p>Just at that point, Betty lost her footing and stepped sidewise into a -pool of water, exclaiming a little over her wet feet. With a little -whir, the fox sparrows, and a small flock of juncos which had been -hidden from sight, rose from the old leaves and fresh green of the new -plants to fly away. But from across the stream there came a clear little -carol which was some fox sparrow’s “goodbye,” so Cathalina said.</p> - -<p>“I had no idea that there were so many juncos there,” said Lilian. “I -was watching the fox sparrows when all at once those whisking white tail -feathers came into view.”</p> - -<p>“It’s the vesper sparrow that has those white feathers on the sides of -the tail, too,—isn’t it, Hilary?” asked Betty.</p> - -<p>“Yes, and other birds, too, but it is easy at a quick glance to identify -these little birds that way, as they fly.”</p> - -<p>“You’d better get back to the Hall, Betty,” said Cathalina. “We don’t -want any cases of tonsillitis in Lakeview Suite. Come on, want a hand -up?”</p> - -<p>“No, thanks, Cathie, I’m still able to climb up a hillside.”</p> - -<p>The girls scrambled up the hillside that led to the wood, while as they -did so, Lilian called their attention to the sound of an airplane -humming above them. “Another kind of a bird,” said she, “a humming -bird.”</p> - -<p>“More like a night hawk,” said Isabel, “circling around up there. -Somebody is practicing. Perhaps it is the hydroplane.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no. That is a regular plane,—see?”</p> - -<p>Out over the lake, back over the fields behind Greycliff, out of sight -up river, behind the woods, appearing again and coming toward them, then -turning away in the direction of “White Wings,” the plane finally -disappeared entirely from view.</p> - -<p>“I suppose it is from one of the aviation fields,” said Lilian. “I -haven’t gotten used to them yet. I’m so glad that Phil isn’t in the -aviation. It’s just as dangerous practicing as it is in battle.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no, not quite,” said Isabel. “There are a few more chances to fall -under fire. There’s where I’d be if I were a soldier, sailing over the -clouds,” and Isabel’s hand made all sorts of gyrations in illustration.</p> - -<p>The girls became rather more sober in the thoughts of their brothers and -friends that came to them with the suggestions of aviation and the -camps. They hurried toward and into the Hall, Betty to change her shoes, -and the other girls to hunt up the evening papers with the latest news -from the front. Mail, also, was delivered, and Lilian received a long -package from the camp where Philip was located.</p> - -<p>“It’s the music manuscript, Hilary; let’s go into the society hall and -try it over before dinner. I am crazy to see what sort of an -accompaniment Phil has written. O, dear! If I could only hear him play -it!—his beautiful hands and voice,—sometimes, Hilary, I think I can’t -stand having him go to France and maybe——”</p> - -<p>“Don’t say it, Lilian,” said Hilary, with a tender and understanding -look. “We have to meet it. Someway I think our boys will come back.”</p> - -<p>Lilian looked at Hilary’s sweet, strong face and felt comforted by her -friend’s faith.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 id='chVII' title='VII: The Night Hawk'> -<span>CHAPTER VII</span><br /><span>THE NIGHT HAWK</span> -</h2> - -<p>Real night hawks fly by day as well as by night. It is not unusual to -hear and see one as it circles over the city at near noon and calls its -loud “Kee-ou.” And at night many a tempting insect, fit for a night -hawk’s menu, flutters about the city lights. The name, then, which -Isabel had given to the aeroplane was not so inappropriate. “There’s the -Night Hawk,” she would say when the droning sound was heard. Whether -there was only one plane, which chose this neighborhood for its -manoeuvers, or several they did not know.</p> - -<p>Greycliff girls were more busily occupied than ever, it seemed. The -seniors were practicing and learning parts for the senior play, planning -a Collegiate Field Meet with the juniors, preparing for final -examinations, paddling, rowing, having beach parties, and rushing out at -odd times to see the wood warblers, which were going through or stopping -to nest there.</p> - -<p>One afternoon about four o’clock, Betty, Isabel and Pauline were over in -the meadows which stretched away from the foot of “high hill,” having -been lured there by an ever-disappearing warbler, which would sing its -little song and then fly to some farther perch. Now the song came from a -little clump of bushes and small trees in the center of an expanse of -meadow land.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I wish it would be a chat,” sighed Isabel.</p> - -<p>“It can’t be,” said Betty. “Its song is more like that of a myrtle -warbler.”</p> - -<p>“If it is a myrtle warbler, after all this chase, I shall be all out of -patience,” declared Isabel. “Every other warbler I’ve seen is a myrtle -warbler or a chestnut-sided! Hilary has seen ten different kinds -already!”</p> - -<p>“Listen, girls,” said Pauline, “there’s the plane right over us.”</p> - -<p>Betty and Isabel looked up. “The Night Hawk,” said Isabel. “Why, there’s -something the matter; it’s coming down!”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps it’s just landing,” suggested Betty. “This is a good place.”</p> - -<p>Realizing that they might be in the way, they scurried for safety’s sake -to the little clump which they had been watching, and stood there to see -the aeroplane land.</p> - -<p>“There are two men!” said Pauline in surprise, as the aviators climbed -out and one of them began to adjust something about the plane. “I’d like -to turn the field glasses that way. I wonder if I couldn’t be looking at -a meadow lark or something and accidentally swing the glasses around -toward them!”</p> - -<p>“I fear that it would not be very polite,” said Betty, laughing, “and I -imagine that the better part of valor would be for us to start for the -Hall.”</p> - -<p>But no sooner had Betty spoken than they observed the idle aviator in -the act of turning a field glass in their direction. A look seemed to -satisfy him, for he touched his helmet in salute, and came hurrying over -the grass toward them.</p> - -<p>“What shall we do?” asked Betty.</p> - -<p>“Wait and see who he is. He might be Donald.”</p> - -<p>“No, it isn’t Donald at all,—it looks like,—it is—Oh, dear, help me to -be polite, girls!”</p> - -<p>“How fortunate I am,” said Captain Holley, as he came up to the girls. -“My friend was taking me for my first ride in an aeroplane and something -about it was not just right. I was quite glad to reach <i>terra firma</i> in -safety. I suppose this is part of a bird class?” The captain was -assuming all the dignity and patronage which as a teacher in a -neighboring school he could take.</p> - -<p>“Yes, Captain Holley,” replied Isabel, with remarkable meekness. “We -were looking for a warbler and found a night hawk instead,—I have called -this plane that we hear occasionally the ‘night hawk’,” she added on -noticing that Captain Holley looked a little taken aback and startled. -“Is it an army plane?” she continued, not thinking that as an ‘enemy -alien’ he would not be permitted to ride in one.</p> - -<p>“No, not exactly,” replied Captain Holley. “A friend of mine is -experimenting. By the way, Miss Betty, do you know whether our young -friend Donald Hilton has gone across yet?”</p> - -<p>“No, I think not, but I think that he is to sail soon with one of the -convoys.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know the vessel on which he will sail?” continued Captain Holley -pleasantly and with an air of slight preoccupation, as he looked back at -the plane and the busy aviator. Isabel nudged Betty at this juncture, -and replied for her:</p> - -<p>“Oh, none of the boys know what vessel they are to go on or when, you -know.”</p> - -<p>Captain Holley, with perfect poise, paid no attention to Isabel’s reply, -but looked inquiringly at the young lady whom he had addressed. Betty -hesitated. “I have not heard for some time, but he wrote that he was -hoping to go over before long. I know nothing definite.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps Donald will be back to see his friends before he goes,” -suggested Captain Holley.</p> - -<p>“I do not know as to that,” said Betty. “When men are in the army their -time is not their own. Do not the people at Grant hear from their boys?”</p> - -<p>“Sometimes,” assented Captain Holley.</p> - -<p>The girls began to move off and Captain Holley managed to fall in by -Betty and to detain her a little, while the other girls had no choice -but to go in advance, though slowly.</p> - -<p>“May I call some evening, Miss Betty?” asked Captain Holley.</p> - -<p>“Certainly,” said Betty, who did not know how to get out of it, and felt -that for some unknown reason she must keep this young instructor in a -good humor.</p> - -<p>“By the way,” said the young man, after he had thanked Betty and said -that he would be over some time soon, “I found something which -interested me very much the other day.” Unbuttoning his outer coat a -little way, he touched, upon the lapel of the coat beneath, a little -butterfly pin.</p> - -<p>“O!” exclaimed Betty, “my butterfly pin!”</p> - -<p>“But you have one,” smiled Captain Holley, buttoning his outer coat -again.</p> - -<p>“I had to send for another. Oh, you <i>wouldn’t</i> keep my pin, Captain -Holley! Why, it has my name on it, and everything. <i>Please!</i>”</p> - -<p>But the captain merely smiled, made her a bow, and went back with rapid -steps to the aeroplane whose aviator was beckoning.</p> - -<p>“What do you think, girls!” exclaimed Betty. “He has my butterfly pin -and wouldn’t give it to me!”</p> - -<p>“Why, the <i>idea</i>!” exclaimed Pauline.</p> - -<p>“That is certainly the limit!” said Isabel.</p> - -<p>“And worst of all he was wearing it right on the lapel of his coat for -everybody to see, and some of the boys over there know all about our -Psyche Club.”</p> - -<p>“I saw him fixing something before he started over toward us,” said -Pauline. “I imagine he was putting it there. I don’t think that for his -own sake he would wear it around there at Grant. He just wanted to tease -you. He likes you, Betty.”</p> - -<p>“He takes a funny way to show it, then.”</p> - -<p>“I nudged you, Betty,” said Isabel, “because I thought if you did know -anything about Donald’s sailing it would be better not to tell him. He -might possibly tell some spy,——”</p> - -<p>“Or be one himself,” added Pauline.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no,” said Betty kindly. “I guess he isn’t that bad, though he has -done some funny things.”</p> - -<p>“What are you going to do about the pin?”</p> - -<p>“When he comes over to call, I’ll try to persuade him to give it to me, -and if he doesn’t, I’ll ask Miss Randolph what to do, though I would -hate to have her know anything about it. Oh, I guess I can persuade him. -But he has gotten so flirtatious lately whenever I have seen him. At -that faculty party they had last week, when we girls served for them, -Captain Holley came over to me, and talked and talked.”</p> - -<p>“What did he talk about, Betty?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, he wanted to know if Louise was pleasant to the girls, and if they -like her,—that was a poser, but I got around it some way, and spoke of -that compliment Patty gave her on her Latin lessons. Then he talked -about me, always a pleasing subject, of course,” Betty’s dimples were in -evidence then. “And he talked about himself, also, hinted that his -family fortunes were going to change for the better, and asked me if I -liked to travel.”</p> - -<p>“Betty, you mischief! You are making that up!”</p> - -<p>“Indeed, Pauline, I’m not. He would look at me once in a while, to see -if I were taking it in. Of course, I was only seeing him out of the -corner of my eye, and would raise a bland countenance to him and ask him -some question about Grant, or something,—anything!”</p> - -<p>“He is very handsome,” said Pauline, “has so much style, but it is hard -to be fair now to an enemy alien no matter how innocent he may be.”</p> - -<p>“Style?” said Isabel, “I call it pomposity. Look out for him, Betty.”</p> - -<p>“I will,” laughed Betty, “but I’ll have to be nice till I get my pin -back.”</p> - -<p>“He found out whether you wrote to Donald or not, didn’t he?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Isabel, or rather that Donald wrote to me.”</p> - -<p>“Well, the night hawk drove away the warblers from this spot and we’d -better go back. I think that the aviator of the night hawk is a skilled -gentleman. Look at the way it is performing up there.”</p> - -<p>“Do you suppose that it really was Captain Holley’s first trip?”</p> - -<p>“I doubt it, Pauline,” replied Isabel. “To change the subject, girls, do -you mind if Virgie and I come over tonight to talk with you girls about -the Inter-Society Debate? We want to have every point that can be -thought up for and against. Sometimes it helps to talk it over with -somebody who has not been thinking about the subject and has a different -viewpoint.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll be delighted to have you come,” said Betty, “but we are not a bit -worried about the result of the contest, with you and Virgie on our -team. It is the first time that there have been two juniors with such -responsibility.”</p> - -<p>“That is what worries us, for fear we won’t come up to expectations.”</p> - -<p>“Have you gotten your main speeches ready?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and notes on all the points that we think they can bring up, ready -for rebuttal. We’ve even spouted against each other, taking the -different sides, either finding a weak point or defending a point. It is -lots of fun, but takes so much time from our lessons!”</p> - -<p>“All for the glory of the Whittiers, though, and it will soon be over -with victory for us,—depend upon it.”</p> - -<p>“I hope so, but Jane Mills will be fine, has so much self-confidence and -a splendid memory for what her opponents have said.”</p> - -<p>“Your memory is just as good, and your enthusiasm, united with having -real arguments, will certainly carry the day for us. Hurrah for the -Whittiers!”</p> - -<p>“There go Eloise and Hilary, comparing bird lists, I suspect,” said -Pauline. “Mercy, Cathalina, how you startled me!”</p> - -<p>The girls were passing a tall hedge of bushes not far from the “pest -house” just as Cathalina and the slim Juliet slipped between bushes, -without seeing the girls, and crept along a step or two, on the bird -trail also.</p> - -<p>“Cathalina, you looked just like an ovenbird then,” said Isabel,—“like -this,” and Isabel gave an exaggerated imitation of a stealthy walk. -“Anyone would know that you and the ovenbird belong to The Stealthy -Prowlers. Pauline scared your bird away, didn’t she?”</p> - -<p>“That’s right, blame it on Pauline,” said that young lady.</p> - -<p>“You were the one that called out, weren’t you?”</p> - -<p>“I was, but then we were all hurrying along and talking. Cathalina, what -do you suppose is the latest adventure of your giddy room-mate?”</p> - -<p>“I’m sure I couldn’t guess,” said Cathalina, tucking back a sunny lock -and brushing a dry leaf or two from her blue sweater. “What have you -been doing now, Betsey?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing at all but trying to find a warbler.”</p> - -<p>“She found a night hawk instead,” said Isabel. “A gay young Lochinvar -came out of the skies, and doubtless would have carried her off had it -not been for Pauline and me.”</p> - -<p>“Listen to Isabel’s raving!” exclaimed Betty. “I’ll tell you how it was, -girls. It was an interesting adventure, but I was a passive observer.”</p> - -<p>Betty’s account of the descending plane was a spirited one and the -climax thereof was the sight of the butterfly pin on the lapel of the -Captain’s coat.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Betty!” exclaimed Lilian. “I don’t think that was a gentlemanly -thing to do at all. I wonder what will happen to you next!”</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 id='chVIII' title='VIII: The Bridle Path'> -<span>CHAPTER VIII</span><br /><span>THE BRIDLE PATH</span> -</h2> - -<p>The next Sunday came, bright and sunny. Girls who were busy bringing up -their work mourned because they had to “waste so much time in study.” -Early after lunch, a number of girls started off for their ride, one -groom in charge. Most of these were seniors, whose experience in -horseback riding guaranteed a good time. Greycliff boasted handsome -horses, for some of which the girls felt a real affection. Juliet and -Pauline were already mounted and holding in their impatient steeds, when -Cathalina and Betty came down to the pavilion. Grooms were bringing out -the horses, helping the girls to mount, which most of them did most -easily.</p> - -<p>Cathalina patted the black head of her pretty horse and whispered to -him, “Nice old Prince, I think I like you best of all our horses. But -we’ll have to change your name, I guess, because, as Kipling says, ‘the -captains and the kings depart’ in these days. Come, Boy, quiet now.”</p> - -<p>Betty called the groom to her and asked him to fix her saddle a little. -“It feels loose, some way. Thank you.”</p> - -<p>Cathalina pulled her horse beside Betty’s, as they waited for the entire -company to assemble, and asked her what she was going to do after she -came back. “I’d like to take a row, wouldn’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I’d love to, but I can’t. I’m going off by myself and bone, as -Donald says, for that Lit. quiz on Monday. There are some things I -haven’t read at all! I’ll try not to think of you girls out rowing. I’m -just going for this ride and that is all the outing I’ll dare take. I -love the bridle path through the woods, don’t you? There are so many -lovely places along the shore, too. Do you remember that wonderful -picnic we had before the boys went away?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t I!”</p> - -<p>“There they go. Pauline is a fine rider, isn’t she?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, but Juliet is even better, and I think that you are the prettiest -thing on horseback that I ever saw.”</p> - -<p>“Thanks, but you are partial.”</p> - -<p>“Not a bit of it. It is my artistic eye.”</p> - -<p>“Shall we bring up the rear? Come on, Calico. This horse has Arabian -blood in him. See his spots?”</p> - -<p>“Is that why they call him that ridiculous name?”</p> - -<p>“I suppose so, but they often call horses that. Let’s catch up with -Pauline if we can. There come Lilian and Hilary, I guess they are going. -They are dressed for it, at least. See, they are explaining why they are -late.”</p> - -<p>In the woods, vines trailed down over their heads, branches met above -them and the sunlight flickered down through lacy leaves once more. The -riders slowed their horses to a walk or jogging trot, while the path -wound between tall trees or spindling saplings. Further on, they had a -gallop on the country road until they struck the bridle path along the -shore, where a beautiful view of the lake was one of the attractive -features. Miss Perin, the teacher who had “substituted for Patty,” as -the girls said, on the picnic at White Wings, was with the girls and let -them stop occasionally to examine a wild flower or pursue some new bird -a little distance.</p> - -<p>“There’s a wonderful old farm-house over there, Miss Perin,” called -Juliet. “Can’t we ride up their drive and see if we can get some milk?”</p> - -<p>“You are not hungry now, are you?”</p> - -<p>“I am starved, aren’t you, Pauline?” The girls laughed, but looked at -Miss Perin with beseeching glances. “Girls are almost always hungry on a -ride, you know, Miss Perin.”</p> - -<p>“Or anywhere else,” said Miss Perin, “All right; lead the way, Juliet.”</p> - -<p>It was a modern place up whose concrete drive they trotted, Juliet -bringing up her horse in style at a side entrance, where a very small -girl sat on a stool just inside a latticed path. She ran out upon the -upper step to see who was coming, then quickly ran back and hid behind -the lattice, peeping out at them.</p> - -<p>“Little girl, will you ask your mother if we can have a drink of milk?” -asked Juliet, in coaxing tones. A bareheaded, barefooted little boy next -came running around the corner of the house and stood still, blinking in -the sun and staring at the girls and horses. The girls sat on their -horses and looked in turn at the clean lawn, the flower beds, the -comfortable looking brick house with its newly painted grey blinds and -wide front porch, the big barns and tall silo, the stretching fields, -one of them with a herd of handsome Holstein cattle.</p> - -<p>“Here is wealth, health and contentment,” said Juliet, just as a thin, -tall woman came from the porch and descended the steps, an inquiring -look on her face. “Pardon me,” continued Juliet. “One time when some of -us were riding we got some milk here, and we think that it would taste -very good again.”</p> - -<p>“Are you the girls from the school?” asked the woman, smiling a little.</p> - -<p>Miss Perin replied this time, “Yes, these are the girls from Greycliff.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, I see. Once in a while some of them stop, but we can’t always -let them have the milk. And we charge a good price for it,” she warned. -“We have enough today, though.”</p> - -<p>The girls dismounted, tying their horses, or letting the groom do it, to -the fence that ran along one side of the driveway.</p> - -<p>“Don’t tie yer horse to no tree,” said the little boy, waving back one -of the girls who was about to fasten her horse to a young peach tree. -“They either breaks the branches or gnaws the bark,” he added.</p> - -<p>The little girl had overcome her shyness by this time and was edging -outside of the porch, trying to make up her mind whether she dared -descend or not, among so many big girls. A big man, dressed roughly for -his chores, came from one of the barns and added to the audience as he -stood and watched the girls and his children from a distance.</p> - -<p>Presently the woman reappeared carrying a big, white pitcher, and a -young girl of about the same age as the Greycliff girls brought a tray -of glasses, shining and clean.</p> - -<p>“It can’t cost more than a Buster Brown or a pecan fudge sundae,” said -Pauline. “Doesn’t it look good?” The milk was being poured by this time, -creamy and cool.</p> - -<p>Lilian, meanwhile, had found a few pieces of candy in her pocket and was -coaxing the little girl to talk to her. The candy was left from Phil’s -last tribute, ordered from New York, since he was not there to send it -to her. Cathalina, too, fumbled in her pockets and discovered a little -red pencil, with a silk cord attached, which had been used for some -society doings and recently put in her pocket as convenient for taking -her bird notes when afield.</p> - -<p>“What is your name?” asked Cathalina.</p> - -<p>“Charlotte,” replied the child, much taken with the red pencil.</p> - -<p>“I have a cousin Charlotte, who is just about as old as you are, I -think. Do you go to school yet?”</p> - -<p>The child shook her head and broke away from the girls to show her -treasures to her mother, who was too busy, however, to pay much -attention.</p> - -<p>“It’s a shame we haven’t anything for the little boy!” exclaimed -Cathalina. “I haven’t another thing in my coat pocket but a -handkerchief.”</p> - -<p>“I believe I’ve got one of those pencils,” said Hilary, “and I put a -little memorandum book in my pocket this morning. I though we’d -certainly see something new, but I haven’t made a note in it.”</p> - -<p>Hilary searched her pockets to see if she, too, had brought one of the -pretty pencils, for she usually preferred a more substantial kind and -had provided one of that sort for this trip. But she found a bright blue -one, which she hastened to offer to the small boy with the memorandum -book, and received a beaming smile as a reward.</p> - -<p>By this time the farmer himself had joined the company and took the -empty glasses from Miss Perin and Betty, who happened to be standing -together. “Did you hear about the bomb explosion?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“No, where?”</p> - -<p>“O, a piece up the road, about ten mile, I reckon,—railroad bridge. -Something went wrong and it wasn’t hurt much, but a troop train was -about due. They’ll have to guard all them bridges. Some queer doin’s -around here.”</p> - -<p>Betty’s mind immediately flew to the cave and the queer men. Miss -Perin’s brow contracted. “You wouldn’t think there was anybody who could -do anything like that.”</p> - -<p>“Easier to kill ’em off here before they get over, I suppose—a bombed -train or a ship sunk by a submarine, not much difference.”</p> - -<p>The girls settled for their milk and the contents of a jar of cookies, -not a trace of which remained, and the cavalcade moved on, this time -toward Greycliff. Cathalina and Betty fell back to the rear, though all -the horses traveled at a pretty good pace, as horses do when their faces -are turned homeward.</p> - -<p>“Really I don’t want to hurry,” said Betty, “even if I ought to. Perhaps -I can study better.”</p> - -<p>“I wonder what time it is,” said Cathalina, “I did not put on my watch.”</p> - -<p>“Neither did I,” said Betty, “but the wood thrushes have been singing -steadily for some time and I’ve noticed that they begin to tune up about -three o’clock sun time. We lost lots of time at the farm-house. It will -be pretty late by the time we get home, I mean, late to begin studying. -Don’t worry if I’m not at dinner. I’ll get excused afterwards. Would you -mind making me a sandwich and putting it somewhere in the suite where -nobody will eat it up?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Betty, you ought to take time to eat!”</p> - -<p>“Dinner takes too long. I’d rather have the time here.”</p> - -<p>“I feel more like hurrying, if we get a row before dinner.”</p> - -<p>“Let’s catch up, then.”</p> - -<p>The girls had been lagging behind the rest for a few minutes, as they -were in the bridle path in the woods, the last lap before the final -gallop to Greycliff Hall, and the groom who kept behind them, according -to orders, had shown some slight restlessness, though he did not -interrupt their conversation. The column of riders closed up, and some -one from in front called to the groom to come and fix something. He -passed a dozen of the girls till he reached the one who needed -assistance, and as they were in sight of the school, he did not return -to his position as rear guard, but kept along with the rest.</p> - -<p>“Don’t wait for me, Cathalina,” said Betty, “I see something I -positively must have for my book of Greycliff flowers. Gallop along, -I’ll be there in a minute.” So saying, she waved her hand to Cathalina, -who gave reins to Prince. He needed no urging to hurry through the rest -of the way in the wood and to gallop, with clattering feet, on the road -which led so shortly to Greycliff.</p> - -<p>At the point where Betty stopped, the wood was open for a little way in -the direction in which Betty had seen the bright flower. Instead of -dismounting, then, Betty turned her horse aside and advanced toward the -spot, thinking that she would hold “Calico” while she picked the flower. -But Calico was nervous. He wanted to get on with the rest, and when a -rabbit started up from almost under his feet, he suddenly bolted, and -before Betty could tighten her loose reins he darted ahead where the -woods was still open, paying no attention to Betty’s “Whoa, whoa, Boy! -Whoa, Calico! Steady now!”</p> - -<p>Betty shook her feet lose and prepared for the worst. “If he goes under -those trees, I’ll try to catch hold of a limb,” she thought. But being -unexpectedly whirled among the trees does not give one much of a chance -for any gymnastic exploit. Calico stopped suddenly in front of an -apparently impenetrable wall of bushes, and as Betty shot over his head, -wheeled and started in another direction.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, Cathalina, galloping with the gay company of seniors and -others, had never a thought that anything could happen to Betty. At the -pavilion she slipped quickly from her fiery Black Prince, as she called -him, ran to catch up with Hilary and Pauline who were ahead of her, -hurried to Lakeview Suite, donned more suitable attire for the lake, and -joined Hilary, Lilian and some of the other girls who were bound for the -same place. Arrived at the lake, they found the waters smooth, and to -their delight, the <i>Greycliff</i> ready to take any of the girls for a -ride. It had recently come in from a trip to White Wings and was only -waiting to be filled up again.</p> - -<p>“This is better for lazy folks like me than rowing,” said Cathalina.</p> - -<p>“We are all pretty tired after our long ride anyway,” said Hilary. “Poor -Betty! I don’t believe she could have resisted this, if she had known -that the <i>Greycliff</i> was going out. Had she come when you left -Cathalina?”</p> - -<p>“No; I was only a few minutes behind you girls. I was almost ready when -I told you to start on. She was going to gather a flower or two she saw -for her book. I imagine she stayed to talk to some of the girls at the -pavilion.”</p> - -<p>“Eloise couldn’t come, either, had a music lesson. She had forgotten it -and went back, after she saw the <i>Greycliff</i> and everything. ‘O!’ she -said, ‘There’s that music lesson!’ The next minute she was running up to -the hall on the double-quick.”</p> - -<p>“How lovely the sky and lake, and the shore, with its trees and cliffs, -look when everything is safe and happy!” said Lilian, who was sitting in -the bow, watching the water and the clouds, and thinking of Philip.</p> - -<p>“Were you thinking of the ‘Wreck of the Hesperus’?” asked Isabel, who -sat next.</p> - -<p>“No, I was thinking of the boys and of how quickly sometimes things can -change.”</p> - -<p>Isabel patted Lilian’s hand. Quietly the girls sat as the boat cut -through the water and rocked a little when Mickey turned it about to -take them back. Nobody felt like singing, but if they had, Betty, lying -in the woods, could not have heard them.</p> - -<p>Dinner-time came. “Where is Betty?” asked Hilary, who sat at the head of -a table now. When there were not enough teachers to go around, senior -girls were chosen to grace the head of tables. Betty and the rest of the -suite-mates sat at the same table.</p> - -<p>“Betty asked me to make a sandwich for her and put it where it would not -be eaten. I think she meant to stay in the library. Dorothy, you were -reading in the library, weren’t you? Did you see Betty?”</p> - -<p>“No, but she may have been in the stacks. I was over by the reference -books.”</p> - -<p>“She ought not to do this,” said Hilary, “but I won’t see you if you -make a sandwich, Cathalina. She will be starved.”</p> - -<p>“We had that milk in the afternoon,” said Dorothy.</p> - -<p>“I think we have a few crackers in the suite, too,” added Cathalina.</p> - -<p>After dinner the girls had their usual time of recreation, some of them -outdoors, some at the pianos, some visiting in different parts of the -hall; then the three girls of Lakeview Suite met in their rooms and -prepared to study. Hilary declared that she could scarcely keep her eyes -open and was going to bed as soon as she finished reviewing her French.</p> - -<p>“I think I will go early, too,” said Lilian. “Not having ‘society’ last -night put me ahead with my work.”</p> - -<p>An hour or so went by, then Hilary and Lilian began to take down their -locks and braid them, while they finished the last of their student -tasks.</p> - -<p>“Thanks, Lil, I was hoping you would bring me my comb when you got -yours, but couldn’t quite bring myself to ask you.”</p> - -<p>Cathalina yawned. “I wonder how late Betty will stay up.”</p> - -<p>“What time is it?” asked Hilary, whose back was toward the clock.</p> - -<p>“Eight-thirty, almost. I believe I’ll go over to the library and hunt up -Betty,—O, I forgot. I certainly can’t do it in this rig.” Cathalina -looked down upon her silk kimono and smiled. “Oh, hum. I guess it’s -moonlight, isn’t it?” she said as she crossed the room to the window. -Kneeling on the window-seat, she looked out to see a fitful moonlight and -a moon crossed by floating clouds. Then she startled the girls by an -explanation,—“Why, girls! Here are all Betty’s books!”</p> - -<p>“Well?” said Lilian inquiringly, “Wasn’t she going to read at the -library?”</p> - -<p>“Not altogether, and besides, here are her notes, and everything that -she told me she had all ready to use when she came back. Why, <i>girls</i>! -I’ll have to go to the library now.”</p> - -<p>Nobody was sleepy then. Cathalina dressed as quickly as possible and -started over to the library. Hilary and Lilian started on the rounds of -the rooms and suites in which Betty might possibly be visiting. No -Betty, and the first bell rang for the close of study hours.</p> - -<p>Cathalina came back looking frightened. “She isn’t anywhere over there, -or in the practice rooms, or the chapel, and I even went over to the -pest house, thinking that she might have slipped in there to see -somebody. But after all, girls, those books on the window-seat tell the -story, because I know that she was going to use them.”</p> - -<p>Hilary and Lilian had been the rounds, too, but agreed with Cathalina -that the presence of the books indicated something wrong, or at least a -different plan.</p> - -<p>“I’m going right down to Miss Randolph and she will tell us what to do,” -decided Cathalina.</p> - -<p>“We’ll dress and come down, too,” the girls assured her.</p> - -<p>Miss Randolph listened gravely to Cathalina’s story, sandwich and all. -“The first thing to do,” said she, “is to find out if the horse Betty -was on came in. I can’t see, though, if the groom was riding according -to orders, how Betty could have been left behind. It was a new groom, -however.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, Miss Randolph, I remember that he was called up front to fix -one of the girls straps or saddle or something, and Betty said she was -just going to gather that one flower and for me to hurry on. I supposed -she was coming and I don’t remember a thing but hurrying to get to the -Hall. There was such a crowd of us at the pavilion.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll call up the stables. It is possible that with the horses turned -into the pasture, the absence of one would not be noticed. What horse -did you say Betty had?”</p> - -<p>“Calico,” replied Cathalina with a smile. “Betty was talking about his -being part Arabian.”</p> - -<p>There was some delay. Miss Randolph called again and several men went -out into the pasture to see if the spotted horse were there. It would -not have been hard to see in the moonlight, but Calico was not in the -pasture. Cathalina was waiting for the report. When it came, Miss -Randolph’s voice shook a little, as she told Cathalina to go up and put -on a wrap. “You will have to go with us to show us the place where you -saw Betty last,” she said. “Don’t alarm the girls, or tell anybody but -those who already know. Tell them to go to bed. The bell for lights out -has rung, so only your suite-mates will have to know about it. Perhaps -Betty is all right. I hope so.” Miss Randolph turned again to the -telephone and Cathalina flew upstairs as fast as her feet could carry -her.</p> - -<p>Miss Randolph had too much faith in her girls’ keeping the rules, or -pretended to have, though pretence and Miss Randolph were scarcely -acquainted. When Cathalina got upstairs, out of breath and excited, the -room was full. Hilary and Lilian were fully dressed. Pauline, Helen, -Eloise and Juliet were still in their usual study-hour habiliments. -Isabel’s slippered feet peeped out from her white night-robe, and her -kimono was only gathered around her shoulders.</p> - -<p>“We went down, Cathalina, as we said we would, but Miss Randolph was -telephoning and we did not dare knock. What is it? Any news? Hilary and -Lilian were both speaking at once, while the other girls, in hushed -silence, waited for Cathalina to get her breath and reply.</p> - -<p>“Calico isn’t in. I’m to go at once and show them where I saw Betty -last. Miss Randolph said for me to get a wrap and come down, and for -everybody to go to bed. I guess she meant for me to think that Betty is -just lost in the woods. Oh, girls, if I just hadn’t gone on! Here we -have been having a good time and maybe Betty——”</p> - -<p>“Hush, Cathie,—it wasn’t your fault,” said Hilary. “Come, now, let’s not -imagine the worst. I’ll go downstairs with you, Cathalina, even if we do -get scolded. Here is your coat. You’d better have a scarf or something -on your head, too. Miss Randolph is right; everybody ought to go to bed. -Come over in the morning, girls, and you will probably find Betty here.”</p> - -<p>Such was Hilary’s influence that the girls, Isabel and Virgie shivering -with nervousness, departed at once to their rooms to crawl into bed, and -after declaring that they should not sleep a wink, to fall sound asleep -not to waken until the rising bell should wake them.</p> - -<p>By the time Cathalina had gone downstairs, Miss Randolph was ready. She -smiled at Hilary and Lilian, told them to go to bed, took Cathalina’s -arm and started. Capable Mickey was on hand, as Cathalina was glad to -see, and helped them into the small car which had been brought around in -front of Greycliff Hall. There was several men on horseback, armed with -large flashlights.</p> - -<p>It seemed only a minute before they came to the bridle path which -started off the main road. Then Cathalina and Miss Randolph were put on -horses and led along the path until they came to the spot where -Cathalina said Betty had stopped. With flashlights they examined the -place and saw the hoof marks where Calico had stampeded. Cathalina -wondered why she and Miss Randolph had not been put on horseback at -first, then shudderingly realized that they might need the car for -Betty. As soon as Cathalina had identified the spot, she and Miss -Randolph were led back to the car to wait while the search went on; but -just as they started, a loud whinny was heard from the depths of the -woods further on, and the men started in that direction. “That is our -horse!” exclaimed Miss Randolph. “It must be!”</p> - -<p>“Why don’t they call to Betty?” asked Cathalina.</p> - -<p>“They will pretty soon,” replied Miss Randolph, and sure enough, there -were a few loud hails that came to their ears as they sat in the car.</p> - -<p>Presently, one of the men came to report that the horse had been found, -the saddle partly off, and the bridle so caught in a strong branch that -the animal could not get away. “Miss Betty was not anywhere near the -horse, nor near the place where the horse must have bolted. We think -that it would be better for you and Miss Cathalina to go back to the -Hall. We are intending to stay out all night, if necessary, to find the -girl.”</p> - -<p>Cathalina looked around at the shadows, the dark trees and bushes, -wondering if Betty were somewhere among them and thought of what Lilian -had said in the afternoon about its all being so beautiful “when every -thing was safe and happy.”</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 id='chIX' title='IX: Water Wings'> -<span>CHAPTER IX</span><br /><span>WATER WINGS</span> -</h2> - -<p>It looked very much as if this were Betty’s final adventure. She lay -upon the ground, on one side, where she had rolled from the elevation -about the trunk of a huge tree. Both arms were over her head, for she -had tried to catch the branches as she was thrown. Tossed over the -bushes, she had just escaped being hurled against the tree, but had -struck her head on one of its large roots as she fell. Her face was -pale, her hands and arms limp, her brown hair a tumbling mass about the -dark collar and shoulders of her riding coat. For a long time she lay -so, then gradually began to come to a very sick consciousness of her -condition and surroundings. Her arms were stiff as she drew them down to -hold an aching, dizzy head. She tried to raise herself on her elbow, but -fell back again and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they -rested on a little ground squirrel that sat at attention on a projection -of the root which had made the large lump on Betty’s head, as she later -discovered by the stain there.</p> - -<p>“Hello, little chap,” she said, whereat the chipmunk whisked out of -sight behind the tree. Betty tried to think what had happened, and -turned over on her back, her arm under the bruised head, looking now -into the leafy branches of the big elm. A fat wood thrush flew upon one -of the lower limbs and sang “Come to me,” most consolingly. Every dark -spot upon his breast was in view, and he spread his wings, preened his -feathers, turned this way and that, changed the key of his song, went -from major to minor, and tinkled his little musical bell from time to -time.</p> - -<p>“Aren’t you a darling?” asked Betty, smiling a little crooked smile. -“Oh, yes; I got thrown. It was Calico. I’m supposed to be ‘boning’ on -Lit., and it’s little Betty who will have to get herself out of this -mess. I can’t be so awfully far in this woods. But I imagine that Calico -has found his way home. Maybe they will come after me. No broken bones -anyway, unless my head,” and Betty smiled again her drawn smile. “Now -I’m <i>going</i> to sit up!” And sit up she did. She gathered up her loose -hair, wet and stained, and finding still a hairpin or two, fastened it -on top of her head, away from the aching lump. “My, it’s getting dark. -I’ll have to hurry.”</p> - -<p>But there was no hurrying for Betty. She crawled to the tree and drew -herself up against it. “If I could only see where the sun is, I could -tell the direction,” she thought. Then she wondered if she were near -enough to the lake to hear it and listened attentively. She could not be -very far from the bridle path, and yet the horse had run into the woods -for quite a distance. Oh, well, she didn’t know what would happen, but -she might as well try to get out of the woods some way. Deciding on the -direction, she staggered from tree to tree at first, but came to no -clearing, and it kept growing darker. It was hard to keep in any one -direction when there were so many thick bushes to go around, and the -time seemed very long. Every little while Betty would have to sit down, -all sick and dizzy, to rest. The night air was chilly and little noises -startled her.</p> - -<p>Finally, she seemed to come into a narrow path, and presently she heard -the sound of waves. She had at last come through that almost -impenetrable woods to the lake shore. “Now I can find the way home,” she -thought, though what part of the shore she would reach she had no idea.</p> - -<p>Feeling her way along slowly, Betty would lose the path at times, then -find herself back upon it again, and while she watched, for fear she -might walk over the edge of some bluff, she saw a glimmer through the -trees, then found herself before an open door from which shone the -feeble light of a lantern. She staggered in, and dropped into a straight -chair which was propping open the door. At once she heard voices -outside, and began seriously to doubt the wisdom of her walking into the -place. She looked around. There was a long table roughly made and upon -it stood bottles of chemicals and different tools. This was no real -house,—what had she stumbled upon? Could this be the house over the -cave? But it was too late to get away, for they were almost at the door. -Betty could hear the conversation now. It was partly in English, partly -in simple German, and Betty thought to herself that, after all, having -studied German was not such a waste of time as she had felt. There were -words here and there which she did not recognize, but to her horror she -realized that these were the men who were responsible for the attempt on -the bridge. They were explaining to some one evidently in authority over -them, and excusing themselves for their failure. The other man spoke -harshly, telling them that there would be a search and they must conceal -the evidences of their work at this place.</p> - -<p>“Tomorrow the government boat will be down here. Fishing pretence will -not deceive them. They will search everywhere. The secret service men -are already on the trail. Signal for the hydroplane. You can work for -White Wings till this blows over. Throw all that stuff into the lake. -Did you remove all the bombs from the cave?”</p> - -<p>Betty’s heart sank as she recognized the voice. It was that of Captain -Holley. She rose, having some wild idea of trying to escape, but did the -best thing that she could have done under the circumstances. Fright, -chill, and the injured head were too much for her, and she sank to the -floor by the chair in a faint.</p> - -<p>Round the corner of the little house walked the three men and stopped -astonished at the sight of the fallen figure in the doorway. Betty would -have been still more frightened if she could have seen the revolvers -drawn, and heard Captain Holley’s angry exclamation as he discovered who -she was. “It is one of the young ladies from the school,” said he, -stooping over her. Betty was regaining her senses, but did not dare -move. Stepping over her, still with revolver in hand, he went inside and -looked around to see if she had any companion.</p> - -<p>“She has seen too much. Throw her in the lake,” growled one of the men.</p> - -<p>“There is no one else here,” said Captain Holley, returning. Lifting -Betty he laid her on a bench which stood against the wall inside. “She -has been thrown, I judge, and has come through the woods.”</p> - -<p>“They will be hunting for her, too,” said the same man who had spoken.</p> - -<p>“If they catch us, it will be better if we have treated her well,” spoke -the second man.</p> - -<p>“If they get us, they can prove nothing unless she tells them something. -Throw her in the lake, I say.”</p> - -<p>A sharp reproof from Captain Holley stopped further remarks, and the two -men began to bundle up various articles, with the bottles and other -things on the table. “Row out a little distance before you drop them,” -was the order.</p> - -<p>As the men left the room, Betty moaned a little, to give warning that -she was conscious, and Captain Holley came over to look at her. Taking a -flask from his pocket, he poured a small dose of something into a dingy -glass which stood by a pitcher on the table, diluting it with water from -the pitcher. Betty opened her eyes and stared at him without a word as -he lifted her head and gave her the stimulant. She drank, not knowing -but it might poison her, for she had little confidence in the gentleman -who was giving it to her. But she felt much better after swallowing the -hot dose and said, “Thank you, Captain Holley,—can you take me home, -please?”</p> - -<p>“I do not know,” he replied non-commitally,—“what can I do. I have a -serious errand. I dare not leave you here alone, and I can not take you -home now.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I am afraid of those men,—<i>do</i> not <i>leave</i> me!” cried Betty.</p> - -<p>“Did you have a fall?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; I waited to pick a flower and told the girls, or Cathalina to go -on.”</p> - -<p>“What became of the horse?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know. If he had gone home, I should think they would have come -for me right away. I must have been unconscious a long time.”</p> - -<p>“Miss Betty, I have been interested in you for some time. Could you -think of going away with me tonight. Could you forget your prejudice -against my nation? I shall have large sums of money and could make you -happy.” The young man’s eyes sparkled as with perfect poise he stood -looking down on the forlorn Betty.</p> - -<p>Betty’s eyes closed in sick surprise. Surely no girl ever listened to a -proposal under such difficult circumstances. While not an actual -assassin, the man had been planning death for her countrymen and -justified it under the name of patriotism for another country. He had -been playing a part at Grant Academy.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Captain Holley!” she cried—“I’m too sick to think of anything! No, -of course I would not go away with anybody without my parents’ -knowledge! But I do trust you to be good to me,” she added, her lips -trembling.</p> - -<p>“You are a very beautiful girl,” said Captain Holley, his cold face -expressing no feeling now. “You will think of me and change your mind. -Come.”</p> - -<p>Betty had heard the humming of a motor, but remembered that she must not -show any knowledge of what had been said about the hydroplane.</p> - -<p>Putting his arm around the shaken girl, the young officer led her down -some rude steps at the rear of the building to the foot of the bluff. -She thought as she went how cleverly these must be concealed. But as she -reached the bottom, she felt so sick again, that she reeled against her -companion, who picked her up, carried her over the rocks and put her -into something at the water’s edge, something with wings, a dark shadow -in the night, for the moon was hid by clouds.</p> - -<p>Betty was fastened in and off they glided, presently rising from the -water and cutting through the cold night air. Betty had ceased to care -what became of her, though she drowsily longed to get to some -comfortable place and go to sleep. These were water wings indeed, more -interesting than the “night hawk,” but how cold it was! Next, they were -descending, upon the water once more, and approaching some landing.</p> - -<p>Dazed and stiff, she was lifted out. Captain Holley gave a sharp whistle -and a man came running to the landing. “Take it right back, for they -have need to hurry. They were destroying the contents of the hut, but it -is too late. I saw the vessel lying off to the east as I came. Look out -for the marines. Our men were to row off from land and wait for you, -signaling when they heard the motor. I shall be waiting for you in the -plane, at the accustomed place.”</p> - -<p>This was in English, and the reply was in the same language. The young -captain was evidently under strong excitement. He half carried Betty -some little distance to a house, where a stern looking woman opened the -door. To her the officer used a strange language which Betty thought -might be Russian, and they talked rapidly while a fire was being made -and a kettle of water put on the stove. Another man appeared and all -three left the room. There was the noise of furniture being moved, of -people going up and down stairs and talking.</p> - -<p>After a little, the woman came in again, made Betty a cup of strong hot -tea and brought it to her on a plate which also contained a piece of -bread and butter and a small, round cake. The little meal was very -refreshing. Betty ate it and watched the woman making hurried -preparations for another lunch, setting several plates on the kitchen -table, for it was into the kitchen that Betty had been brought and -placed in an old-fashioned rocking chair near the stove.</p> - -<p>She had just finished the last drop of tea when Captain Holley came -running lightly down the stairs, as she could hear, and entered the -room, drawing up a chair. Catching the eye of the woman, he pointed to -the door and she obediently went out.</p> - -<p>“I have had a cot put in the attic with everything that you will need. -It will be safer. Whatever you may hear, do not come downstairs until -morning. Will you remember?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Come in, Sofia. Help this lady upstairs and <i>give her the key</i>.”</p> - -<p>As Betty left the kitchen, she turned and saw her strange admirer -standing erect and still, in his aviator’s costume, looking after her -with an expression almost stern. She stopped a moment. “Thank you, -Captain Holley, more than I can tell, for your protection.” He did not -reply, but raised his hand in salute.</p> - -<p>It was a tiresome climb to the attic for one in Betty’s lame condition, -but at last the woman opened a door at the head of the stairs and -ushered her into a dusty, close place, pointing toward a clean cot in a -space which had been hastily cleared from rubbish. An old wash-stand had -been moved up near the cot and contained water-pitcher and towels, which -Betty was very glad to see. Handing Betty the key, the woman went -downstairs, and Betty turned the key in the lock with great -satisfaction, feeling almost safe, if she was in a strange garret, as -she said afterward. She had known the time when she was afraid of attics -at night, but this was so safe by comparison that she did not think of -being frightened. When she had bathed her face and carefully combed as -much of her hair as was not matted over the wound, she felt more like -the old Betty. Cold compresses felt good to the sore spot and loosened -the hair over it. “I am whole up to date,” she thought, “and perhaps I -can persuade his highness to let me go in the morning. Why, this is an -electric light! I don’t know any place in the country around here that -has it but White Wings. Of course it is White Wings. Where else could a -hydroplane come from? If I hadn’t been so stupid, I would have -recognized it.” A cord dangled from the ceiling with a dingy little bulb -swinging at its end, and Betty carefully located it relative to the bed -before she turned off the light and crawled into a slightly lumpy but -very welcome cot. The coarse gown provided was clean, and the little -pillow soft. Air came from somewhere, though she had seen no windows. -The atmosphere of the place would soon be improved, she concluded.</p> - -<p>The tea had made her less sleepy. For some time after she had thanked -Providence for her safety, she lay awake, wondering what Greycliff folks -were doing, what would come of this adventure, and how she was going to -get back. “I need a doughty knight to come and rescue the princess in -the tower!” Betty giggled at the thought and grew drowsy, her head -aching less, until finally she dropped into a slumber perhaps less -disturbed than that of her suite-mates, who were still dressed and -curled up on the outside of their beds. Miss Randolph was sleeping -scarcely at all, and there were men searching the woods and shore for -her all night. Although she knew that Captain Holley was concerned in -this dreadful work as a spy, she felt that he had a fancy for her and -that she was comparatively safe in any refuge of his choosing. The last -sounds that Betty heard were of people hurrying about, an occasional -door closing noisily. The ever-shifting moonlight crept into a little -round window behind some heavy furniture and threw long shadows from the -dusky objects in the attic over the lonely little figure in the old cot.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 id='chX' title='X: Betty Finds Her Camera'> -<span>CHAPTER X</span><br /><span>BETTY FINDS HER CAMERA</span> -</h2> - -<p>In the morning, Betty wakened with the feeling that she was too stiff to -move. She had taken cold from the exposure and ached all over. Her head -seemed “two sizes too large,” as she thought, and she lifted it -cautiously from the pillow to look around. Not having her watch, she did -not have any idea what time it might be. Everything was still about the -house, but from the outside she heard bird songs, the chickens, and the -farm animals. “It’s White Wings all right,” said Betty, as she decided -to dress. She turned on the light again, though there was sunlight, if -dim, and she could see at one end of the room a window covered with a -dark curtain. She did not care to traverse the dusty floor till she was -dressed, but when that was at last accomplished, she peered around in -such parts of the place as she could go without fear of bumping a head -already too sore, and found the open, round window behind an old highboy -and a tall bookcase. As she peeped out of the window, she could see the -little ice house and the shed which had been built for the hydroplane. -“Probably they kept the ‘night hawk’ there too,” she thought.</p> - -<p>Retracing her steps, she noticed a familiar object, among a pile of -things on a large box near her cot. Could it be? Yes, there was the Red -Cross seal which one of the girls had stuck in one corner. She reached -over, threw aside a pile of old clothing and drew out her camera. It was -covered with dust, but seemed to be unharmed. She looked at once to see -if the film were there, the film with the pictures of the birds, the -scenes and the people of White Wings,—but it had been taken out.</p> - -<p>“H’m,” said Betty to herself, “that was why my camera disappeared. That -man was into this work and did not want any pictures of himself thrown -around.” Betty shivered, looked around the attic, and was seized with a -desire to get out of it as soon as possible. Gathering up the few -articles which she had not yet put on, she hurried to the door, key in -hand. The light was dim, and as she fumbled with the key in the lock, -she saw something on the floor, an edge of something white. When she -opened the door, this proved to be folded paper, which she picked up. -She listened a moment. Not a sound inside the house as yet. Betty ran -down the stairs, opened another door, and found herself on the second -floor, in a hall from which bedroom doors opened, bedrooms all upset -from hurried packing. She stopped and listened again, then ran down to -the first floor and unlocked and opened the front door. Ah, freedom felt -so good! But she went into the house again and went through the first -floor, determined to find out if she really were alone. There was no one -in the house. Dishes unwashed and food left standing were on the kitchen -table.</p> - -<p>Betty thought of the telephone, then, and took down the receiver before -it occurred to her that the wires would be cut. They would not risk her -waking and trying to communicate with Greycliff. There was, of course, -no response. “Very well,” thought Betty, “if no one comes, I could walk -it and swim the river, or walk around to the bridge. Or, of course, -there are other farm-houses between here and Greycliff. I believe I’d -better get something to eat.” But the chances were that some one would -come, for if these people had been obliged to leave so hurriedly, they -must have been quite sure that they were or would be under suspicion. -Something had happened.</p> - -<p>On the pantry shelf stood a bread box containing the best of home-made -bread. There was a refrigerator, also, in which she found butter, milk -and cream, with other things which she did not want. Jam, jelly, pickles -and canned fruit on the shelves might have looked good to her under -other circumstances. But she cut herself one slice of bread, and found a -clean glass into which she poured some milk. Spreading the bread thinly -with butter, she ate it slowly, sipping the milk, preparing herself to -get back to Greycliff if she had to walk! Then she thought of the horses -which she might saddle and ride. And what about the stock, anyhow? Had -they used the horses to carry them away? Very likely. Who had fed the -other stock? She had heard the cows lowing. All that was to be -discovered. She had forgotten about the note. What had she done with it. -Oh, yes, she had put it in her pocket.</p> - -<p>Having finished her breakfast, Betty pulled the note from her pocket and -read:</p> - -<blockquote> -<p style='text-indent:0; font-variant:small-caps'>Little Bettina:</p> -<p>A word of goodbye. Our cause is discovered. I wish that I could take you -with me, but my strange duties forbid. Do not marry that stupid American -boy,—but no danger. Our armies will see to that. After the war we shall see. I -can make you a countess.</p> -<p>In haste—</p> -<p style='text-align:right; font-variant:small-caps;'>Rudolph Von Holle.</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Betty dropped the note into her lap in perfect surprise. “He came up and -left that note, and has gone, run away from Grant and everything! -‘Stupid American boy,’ indeed! I wonder if he really did care about me. -It’s funny way of caring, and still he has kept anything from hurting -me. Oh, dear! I wish somebody’d come! If it were Juliet or Pauline, the -stock would get fed and the milking would be done, but I don’t feel like -poking about the barns. There might be somebody left around.” Betty -stood a moment, thinking what she ought to do, then decided that her -father and mother would want her to be cautious. Slowly she walked again -to the front door and looked out. She saw nothing, but heard a motor and -quickly withdrew, locking the door. The other outside doors were locked -she knew, for she had carefully tried them before settling down to her -little breakfast. What she feared was the return of the “night hawk” or -the hydroplane, in spite of the note in her hand. Perhaps not all were -suspected and after helping the others off were coming back. There was -the White Wings motor boat, too. These things flashed through her mind -while she stood looking out of the front window in one of the rooms.</p> - -<p>It was not the “night hawk.” The sound was different. It was a boat. She -could not see through the trees what sort of a boat it was that was -landing, and waited, all ready to whisk upstairs to the attic and lock -herself in, or to slip out the back way and hide in the woods, if she -could reach them without being seen. The sheltering vines of the little -vineyard on the hillside were not so far away. Like a little Indian maid -she might perhaps slip from covert to covert.</p> - -<p>But all this planning was unnecessary. To Betty’s great relief, she saw -marines running rapidly across the way from the picnic grounds and up -the ascent toward the house. But their guns were ready for action, and -Betty drew back from the window, undecided just how to let them know she -was there. In a moment the house was surrounded and a loud voice called, -“Open the door and surrender!” Another voice which she recognized -immediately called, “Betty! Betty! Are you there?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Donald,” she answered. “Yes, I’m here all alone. Tell them not to -shoot!”</p> - -<p>Betty hastened to unbolt and unlock the front door and greeted with -smiles of joy the tall captain, who stood there, and Donald, close -behind.</p> - -<p>“This is Captain Stone, Betty,” said Donald as the captain stood aside -waving Donald toward the pale little lady who leaned against the -doorway, for Betty was not altogether steady on her feet as yet.</p> - -<p>“I surrender, Captain Stone,” said she, with a smile.</p> - -<p>“I thought that there might be some of the miscreants left,” said the -captain, returning her smile. “But I prefer to find you this time.”</p> - -<p>“No, there does not seem to be a soul here, though I was a little afraid -to go down to the barn. The poor stock is in need of being fed, I -think.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll set some of my lads to work,” replied Captain Stone, and turning, -he gave a few orders and disappeared around the corner of the house.</p> - -<p>“Are you all right, Betty?” asked Donald anxiously. “You must not stand -here,—come in and sit down and tell me what happened to you.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I will. You look pretty tired yourself, and I imagine that you -have some things to tell, too. My, but I’m glad you came. I was just -wondering what I should do!”</p> - -<p>“I suppose the horse threw you.”</p> - -<p>“Yes. Did it get home all right?”</p> - -<p>“Not until it was found. The bridle got caught in some branches, a sort -of Absalom affair, you know. We did not know what had happened to you, -of course, though the men thought that they could tell by the hoof marks -that the horse got frightened and bolted. You see we were after the men -in this affair and ran into the men that were hunting you.”</p> - -<p>“I see. What made you think that I was here?”</p> - -<p>“I found one of your gloves in the bushes by those steps that lead down -from the hut.”</p> - -<p>“O, Donald! To think that you should find it! I tossed it there on -purpose, but knew that the men would take it away if they found it. I -was terribly stupid and dazed by my fall, but I had sense enough to -think of that. I dropped a handkerchief, too, in another place, but it -did not occur to me while I was in the woods. I was just thinking about -finding my way out.”</p> - -<p>“We didn’t find the handkerchief. They must have seen it and picked it -up. We got them just as they were rowing off.”</p> - -<p>“The hydroplane did not get there in time, then Captain Holley gave -orders for it to go after them. They were removing bombs and things, -chemicals and everything.”</p> - -<p>“Holley! Was he the fellow that brought you here?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. But if he hadn’t been there they would have killed me, I guess. -One of the men said, ‘She has seen too much. Throw her in the lake!’”</p> - -<p>Donald clenched his fist. “The scoundrel! He is in jail by this time.”</p> - -<p>“Did they get Captain Holley?”</p> - -<p>“No. He and that ‘scientific farmer’ of Greycliff’s got away. We really -had no proof that any one at White Wings was concerned in this till one -of the two fellows we arrested said something by mistake. I suppose they -thought that the whole affair was discovered and did not take any -chances. Some of the neighbors on the farms around here have been -suspicious of these people, not in any definite way, though. You ought -to have heard all the talk last night and this morning. Several of us -were detailed to help look for you. We were to arrest Holley, or Von -Holle.”</p> - -<p>Betty rapidly outlined what had happened the night before, while Donald -possessed himself of one of her hands and held it firmly, living through -the events of the night before with Betty. This was a little -distracting, but Betty was so thankful for Donald’s protection that it -only seemed natural, nor did she have any doubts as to Donald’s state of -mind toward her. She even told him word for word of the strange -proposal, but was not quite prepared for the way in which Donald took -it. Placing her hand back upon her lap, Donald sprang to his feet and -walked across the floor and back.</p> - -<p>“Betty! Tell me that you could not think of such a man!”</p> - -<p>“Donald Hilton! Sit right down here by me and apologize for thinking -that I could!” Betty dimpled, but was in earnest, as Donald could see. -He dropped down upon the sofa again and duly apologized.</p> - -<p>“It makes me go crazy to think of what danger you were in. Betty, -<i>could</i> you wait for me? If I get through this war, may I come back to -you? You know well enough how dearly I love you,—don’t you? If I could -only think you cared enough for me!”</p> - -<p>“Don’t be too humble, Donald. Who was it that looked into the mirror of -my fate?”</p> - -<p>“Betty!”</p> - -<p>“Besides I need somebody to take care of me,—no more adventures for me!”</p> - -<p>Foolish, perhaps, but happy conversation followed, about when they first -met, the mirror on Hallowe’en, the skating at the Ice Carnivals, and -other occasions at school. “I knew that you were my girl when we first -skated together,” said Donald. “See here,” and Donald took from his -pocket a little leather case. “Here is the picture of the girl of all -the world for me, and the little pansy that caught on my button that -Hallowe’en night. They never leave me.”</p> - -<p>Betty noticed how white and worn Donald seemed and thought to ask him if -he had had any breakfast.</p> - -<p>“Why no, Betty, none of us have. We thought that there would be -something here, though if you had not been here, we would have kept on -hunting.”</p> - -<p>“There is plenty here. Let me show you the things in the pantry. I’ll -fix you something nice.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed not. You are going to lie down and rest here, while I shut the -doors and keep the boys out. Everybody will want some hot coffee. Chuck -Williams will do the cooking. It was not by chance that he was put on -this detail. Wait till you taste his coffee. I don’t think it will hurt -you for once.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I take a cup occasionally. You are so good, Donald,” she added, as -Donald covered her with a light cover which was folded on the end of the -sofa. The marines were now coming to the house, and she and Donald could -hear their conversation.</p> - -<p>The stock had been fed and watered. Pails of warm milk were being -carried into the kitchen, and Betty could hear the voice of some one in -charge whom she supposed to be “Chuck Williams.” Donald warned the -sailor lads not to disturb the weary lady in the front room and listened -to some good-natured joking at his expense. A fire was made in the stove -and it was not long before the aroma of fresh coffee stole into the -front room where Betty lay resting. How different this was. She was -perfectly safe, in the hands of her own people, and, best of all, with -Donald to manage everything. He came in soon with a cup of coffee and a -little sandwich made of bread and butter and blackberry jam.</p> - -<p>“Have you had anything yet?” asked Betty.</p> - -<p>“No, but I shall in a minute. I was just thinking that I had not -finished telling you how we knew you were here. After I found the glove -I went right back to Greycliff. That was early this morning,——”</p> - -<p>“Then you were up all night!”</p> - -<p>“Surely; that is what soldiers and sailors are for.”</p> - -<p>“I have made everybody so much trouble,—but go on, Donald.”</p> - -<p>“Well, there was great excitement at Greycliff, of course, over your -disappearance, and more when I told of the arrest of the two men. I -showed the glove to Miss Randolph and I never saw such a look as she -gave me. I know that she thought the men had put an end to you, but I -did not think so, someway. I saw some footprints on the wet sand, small -ones with the big ones,—you see it could not have been long after you -had gone that we caught the men. I thought that they would hardly injure -you because of the hue and cry there would be, and the approach of the -hydroplane and its swift retreat made me think of White Wings as the -most likely place. I can’t say that there was so much sense in my -reasoning, but it proved to be true.</p> - -<p>“Now for the part that I will have to give Holley credit for, though you -can imagine how I feel toward <i>him</i>! While I was trying to cheer up Miss -Randolph and telling her that I was going to try to hurry off our party -to White Wings, one of the girls came running in with a note in her -hands. She had gone into Louise Holley’s room for something and had seen -this note on the bureau,—it was more of a notice, that read, ‘Tell Miss -Randolph to look at White Wings for Betty.’ Louise had had a telephone -message last night about nine o’clock, Miss Randolph said, but nobody -thought anything of it, for her brother often telephoned. It must have -come from White Wings instead of from the academy.”</p> - -<p>“Then Louise was gone?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and Prof. Schaefer, too. One of the stable men who had gone with -me to Greycliff, and was waiting outside to see if there had been any -news, said that he came rather late from the village, and saw the -professor taking Louise to the station. They seemed to be in a hurry, -and were carrying suitcases and bags, but as the girls are sometimes -called home he thought nothing of it, and the excitement over you put it -out of his mind. They were getting ready to come after you with the -<i>Greycliff</i> when we put off, and I am surprised that they have not -gotten here before this.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps the motor is out of fix. I thought that perhaps you had come in -the <i>Greycliff</i>.”</p> - -<p>“No. We had our own launch.”</p> - -<p>“Now do go and get a good breakfast, Donald, please.”</p> - -<p>Protesting at being sent away, Donald yielded and carrying Betty’s empty -cup, for she drank the coffee to please him, went into the kitchen to do -full justice to such food as remained.</p> - -<p>It was not long before Betty heard a boat, then girls’ voices, and knew -that the <i>Greycliff</i> had arrived. Donald heard them, too, and joining -Betty, went out in front to meet them. There were Cathalina, Hilary, -Lilian and Helen, with “Patty” and Miss Perin.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Betty, Betty, Betty!” was the chorus. “All the girls wanted to -come,” said Lilian, after the first greetings were over, “but Miss -Randolph wouldn’t let them. How are you Betty?”</p> - -<p>“All right,—a little shaky. Oh, how glad I shall be to go back to the -good old every-dayness!”</p> - -<p>“You won’t wait to pick a flower or two?”</p> - -<p>“Indeed not!”</p> - -<p>Mickey was conferring with the captain of the marines, and the Greycliff -janitor and his wife, with bags and bundles, hastily packed, were going -into the house, where they would stay a few days, or until some one -could be found to run the farm. “We’ll send ye a couple o’ hired men -tomorry,” said Mickey to the janitor, as he left their dooryard to go -back to the boat.</p> - -<p>Donald went with the party to the boat, helped Betty into a comfortable -seat and said his farewells with rather a sober face.</p> - -<p>“Keep out of danger, Betty,” said he.</p> - -<p>“I will. I wish I could ask the same of you, but I wouldn’t be very -patriotic, would I?”</p> - -<p>Several interested marines joined Donald and watched the <i>Greycliff</i> and -the girls disappear over the white caps.</p> - -<p>Betty, too, watched Donald as long as she could see him, then turned her -attention to her friends, who were looking at her with affection.</p> - -<p>“I look like a battered war casualty, don’t I?”</p> - -<p>“Not very much battered, but pretty pale. You have been through enough -to kill you. Weren’t you frightened terribly?” asked Cathalina.</p> - -<p>“My fall dulled my intellect, I guess,” laughed Betty. “I was frightened -several times and then I got used to it. Was any word sent to father?”</p> - -<p>“Fortunately not,” said Cathalina. “Miss Randolph was considering a -telegram when they found the word from Louise. She may have sent one; -no,—I think that she would wait till we actually had you at Greycliff, -then telegraph, so they would not worry if anything were in the papers. -When Donald came to the Hall, he said that the woods had been thoroughly -covered by the men hunting for you, and by the marines hunting for those -men, and that they were going down to White Wings. After they had -arrested the men, a hydroplane came nearly to the shore and went away -again, seeing their lights, I suppose. Since the only hydroplane -anywhere around was at that place they thought some one there must be -interested.”</p> - -<p>“They must have found out some more, for Donald seemed to know about our -farmer and Captain Holley.”</p> - -<p>“My, Betty, what a heroine you are,—kidnapped and imprisoned in a tower -till the prince arrived.”</p> - -<p>“Something like that. I thought of it myself this morning, but it began -to get on my nerves.”</p> - -<p>“How would you like to own a flying machine?”</p> - -<p>“Not at all. You girls may have all my rides in hydroplanes.”</p> - -<p>The experience put Betty to bed for several days, more because of the -exposure and excitement than because of any trouble from the blow upon -her head. She was disgusted at being put in the “pest house,” but quite -enjoyed the rest and the attentions of the girls, who brought her her -books, kept track of the lesson assignments for her, and were forbidden -by the nurse to mention the late adventure. By Wednesday she was in her -class again and preparing for a special examination in “Lit.” A bright -letter from Donald expressed concern for her hard experience, but much -happiness over their understanding. “I will write you how many -submarines we sink, for I sail with the next convoy. The ‘stupid young -American’ is on his way and isn’t worried now in regard to whom you will -wait for! That note was characteristic, but he would regard you as a -beautiful possession. I wish that I could tell you on what boat and when -we go, but that is something I do not know myself.”</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 id='chXI' title='XI: The Collegiate Field Meet'> -<span>CHAPTER XI</span><br /><span>THE COLLEGIATE FIELD MEET</span> -</h2> - -<p>Isabel Hunt was gracefully flying over wooden horses in the gymnasium -and landed, after the last jump, in front of Lilian and Cathalina, who -had just arrived after a swim in the pool. Fresh and pink after their -shower, they were considering whether to take any further exercises or -to let well enough alone.</p> - -<p>“Think of swimming in the pool when there is a perfectly good lake -outside!” exclaimed Lilian. “Don’t you hope this miserable cold spell -will soon be over? If it doesn’t warm up before Commencement I shall be -perfectly disgusted!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, it always does. Besides, if the lake weren’t so rough, we would go -in,—the lake water is always cold anyhow. We have to have a few storms -once in a while. But it is fine and sunshiny today. Let’s take a run out -to the athletic field.”</p> - -<p>“All right. There are Pauline and Hilary, Isabel. I wonder if they would -not like to come, too. We can practice for our fifty-yard dash.”</p> - -<p>Lilian beckoned to Pauline and Hilary, who joined the girls presently, -and the group walked to the athletic field. This was back of the -gymnasium and separated by a fence from the pastures where grazed the -riding horses. There were very few interscholastic events and games, but -the trustees had provided enough seats under a canopy to accommodate -about five hundred spectators. The tennis courts stretched beyond.</p> - -<p>“Do you suppose that we shall be able to remain friends after the -contests?” asked Isabel. “There is the collegiate field meet, in which -seniors and juniors will be pitted against each other in a desperate -battle. Then there are the canoe races in which the non-beatable juniors -meet the unsurpassable seniors. What will happen then, who can -foretell?”</p> - -<p>The girls laughed, and Lilian said, “I was needing some new words for a -poem on our athletics for the Star. ‘Non-beatable’ and ‘unsurpassable’ -are good, though I am not sure how they will fit into the meter.”</p> - -<p>“There is one thing, Isabel,” said Hilary, “which may soothe the -disappointment of either side; the future success of the Whittiers, when -you and Virgie win honors for us all in the inter-society debate. All -our crowd are Whittiers, you know.”</p> - -<p>“It is a great responsibility,” said Isabel, gravely shaking her head. -“Absolute split in the Psyche Club unless the Whittier Society wins in -debate!”</p> - -<p>“Come on, girls,” said Hilary. “I’ll beat the bunch in a dash to the -fence where the horses are looking over at us. The first one who touches -it wins.”</p> - -<p>“I accept the challenge,” said Isabel. “Line up, girls. On your mark. -Get set. Go!”</p> - -<p>The five girls scampered like mad. Five gym suits, five pairs of gym -shoes on flying figures crossed the field. Cathalina gave it up when she -was two-thirds of the way across and sat down in the grass to laugh. -Prince, Poky and Lady Gay, were looking over the fence and had hoped for -lumps of sugar, threw up their heads, snorted, and with cavortings and -kicking of heels, fled, galloping over the pasture.</p> - -<p>Isabel and Hilary touched the fence at the same time; Lilian, -breathless, bumped into Pauline and both sat down suddenly. Both were -convulsed with laughter, and Pauline leaned back against the fence -remarking that it was by intention that she sat there. “If Lilian and I -had not run into each other I would have beat you, Hilary,” she -continued.</p> - -<p>“You were laughing too much,” returned Hilary. “Isabel and I paid strict -attention to business and won. Shake hands, Izzy.”</p> - -<p>“You shake hands with the <i>defeated</i>, Hilary,” said Lilian, holding out -her hand to Hilary, who pulled her to her feet, and hastened to hold out -her other hand to Pauline. She scrambled to her feet without assistance, -however.</p> - -<p>Cathalina was still sitting on the ground embracing her knees, as the -rest of the girls came toward her. “Anything the matter, Cathalina?” -inquired Hilary.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no; I was just laughing so hard I had to stop. And you ought to -have seen yourselves and the way the horses looked at you. They ought to -be used to such performances by this time.”</p> - -<p>“They probably enjoyed it.”</p> - -<p>“I shall enter the result of this contest upon the sporting page of the -<i>Greycliff Star</i>,” said Lilian. “Will you write it up, Cathalina? You -saw it all.”</p> - -<p>“I will. Prince won in the pasture, and I suppose you want him -mentioned.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, indeed.”</p> - -<p>On the day of the Collegiate Field Meet, almost the entire school was -out to see the events. The ranks of the Faculty were invaded for judges. -Patty West Norris and Miss Perin were among the popular ones. Music -teachers and instructors, indeed, almost all the women teachers were -present, including Miss Randolph and even Dr. Carver, who was daily -becoming more human. She even had a favorite pupil among the seniors, -one who had Ph.D. aspirations, in whom she was very much interested, and -who returned great admiration for Dr. Carver’s attainments.</p> - -<p>The girls were all in good spirits, the day was bright, cool but too -cool, and the athletic grounds were in fine condition. There were little -jokes and some fun, but this was more or less of a serious occasion, for -success in the events might mean a good deal in the final athletic -honors. The All-Around G’s, the class trophies, and the senior silver -trophy to go to one girl for her entire school record,—all were worth -striving for.</p> - -<p>Most of the spectators were assembled, either in the seats or scattered -about the field when the junior and senior teams came over from the -gymnasium.</p> - -<p>“Start up the new song, Lilian and Eloise,” said Juliet. “Here, get in -front.”</p> - -<p>There was some shifting, and Eloise and Lilian, as the “World-renowned -senior songsters,” according to Isabel, took their places in front. They -had collaborated on this newest of senior songs, and the singing seniors -made an effective entrance on the athletic battlefield, eliciting great -applause from the bleachers, where academy girls and such juniors and -seniors as were not taking part in the contest, with the faculty not -engaged as judges, were gathered. The tune was lively, and the girls -made great effort to have the words clearly sung:</p> - -<div class='poetry'> -<p>Who would not go to Greycliff?<br /> -Tra-la, la, la, la! Tra-la la, la, la!<br /> -Who would not go to Greycliff,<br /> -To win an All-Around G?<br /> -    G.G.G.G.!<br /> -To win an All-Around G!</p> -<p>In class-room contests seniors win,<br /> -They’ve put it over, thick and thin,<br /> -In basket-ball and swimming, too,<br /> -Their women shine, indeed they do,—<br /> -Oh, now look out, we’re coming in,<br /> -To get that All-Around G!<br /> -    G.G.G.G,<br /> -To get that All-Around G.</p> -</div> - -<p>The senior girls wore their colors, silver and blue, around their arms -in a band, and after parading in front of the spectators they settled -down on the benches, to wait until the contests began. The juniors, -likewise wearing their colors, green and gold, modestly let the seniors -have their little parade, applauded the song, and scattered around in -groups. As usual, there were more juniors taking part than seniors.</p> - -<p>“Deeds, not words,” announced Isabel.</p> - -<p>Cathalina and Betty were going to take part in the broad jump, the relay -broad jump, and in the basket-ball and base-ball throwing, but would not -run. Juliet was the star runner among the seniors and they expected her -to score high in the high jump. Eloise, too, was quick and good at -either high or low hurdles. After much practice, in the gymnasium and -outside, for these several school years, the girls knew pretty well the -ability of the different girls entered for the events. The great -question, however, was who would win. There is something exciting about -any contest, for often the most surprising things occur, and no one is -sure of the result until the end.</p> - -<p>First a fifty-yard dash was called. Four ran at a time and four teachers -were taking the time for each heat. Two seniors and two juniors ran -first, Juliet and Jane Mills, Isabel, and a chubby little junior, who -did not look as if she could run, but did. It was quite evident that -Juliet made the best time. Sometimes it was hard to tell, when the -contestants were more evenly matched. Hilary and Lilian were called next -and ran with Virginia Hope and another junior.</p> - -<p>“Hilary and Lilian are pretty nearly even,” said Cathalina to Betty. “I -shouldn’t be surprised if they do pretty well.”</p> - -<p>“Look at Virgie!” exclaimed Betty. “She is just skimming over the -ground! I didn’t know she could run like that! Good for you, Virgie,” -she called, as Virginia came off the track and toward them.</p> - -<p>“Thanks, dear enemy.”</p> - -<p>There were many entered for the first dash and some time was spent, but -at last it was finished; the judges and timekeepers consulted, and -presently announced the winners as Juliet Howe for first place, Hilary -Lancaster, second, and Virginia Hope, third.</p> - -<p>“Two seniors!” exclaimed Eloise. “First place counts five, and second -place three, and the juniors only one point. That is a fine start for -us.”</p> - -<p>The standing broad jump came on next. In this, again, there were many -entries. Cathalina, to her horror, was called on first to jump. She had -not outgrown all her timidity and the eyes of all this audience were -almost too much for her. Her first effort was graceful but short. “Try -it again, Cathalina,” called Hilary encouragingly when her turn came -again. “Never mind how you look, but jump for your class!” Spurred on by -this, Cathalina gave a prodigious leap and did very well indeed. She -took her third chance, but did not surpass her second attempt. Patricia -Norris and Miss Perin were very busy measuring and recording. To her own -surprise, Lilian had made the best record in this event, Virginia won -second place, and Dorothy Appleton, third.</p> - -<p>“Six points for the seniors,” was Betty’s comment, “and three for the -juniors in this event.”</p> - -<p>“We are still ahead,” said Eloise, “and a good deal ahead.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, on this, but is anybody watching the ball throwing? I guess we -can’t keep track of it all.”</p> - -<p>“Evelyn is watching that. Diane and Pauline are doing some fine -basket-ball throwing. They’re calling you, Betty, now.”</p> - -<p>The bleachers were deserted, everybody wanting a closer view of the -jumping and ball throwing, which were going on at the same time. The -spectators stood around in groups, according to their interest in the -several events.</p> - -<p>“Let’s have the relay broad jump, Miss Perin, while everybody is in the -jumping mood, can’t we?” asked Cathalina.</p> - -<p>“It is on next,” replied Miss Perin, “then the hurdles, and last the -relay race.”</p> - -<p>The relay broad jump started badly for the seniors. Jane Mills fully -expected to break the record, she said afterward, but slipped, digging -her heel firmly into the ground, yet, alas, sitting down back of them. -The distance measured from where she sat to the starting place was not -one to boast about. Hilary really did break the record, but Isabel, -roused to a supreme effort, landed six inches beyond Hilary’s mark, and -although she fell, it was forward and did not spoil her feat. The -juniors loudly applauded her, both then and later when they had won the -event.</p> - -<p>In the ball throwing, meanwhile, Pauline, Diane and Juliet were making -fine records, but Hilary went over from the relay jumping to win first -place in throwing the basket-ball, and was second to Diane’s first in -throwing the base-ball. Juniors scored among all those entered for the -hurl ball event.</p> - -<p>“There are so many of them,” sighed Evelyn, “that they have more chances -to win.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know that it makes so much difference,” replied Dorothy, “if we -have an expert or two on.”</p> - -<p>“But we haven’t enough experts to be in everything when we are limited -in entering events.”</p> - -<p>“They don’t want us to overdo our little selves,” answered Dorothy with -a smile.</p> - -<p>Lilian in the “sixty yard low hurdle,” and Eloise in the high hurdle -were light and graceful, carrying off the honors. Juliet, to the -surprise of every one, was only second in the high hurdle. Juniors won -second and third place in the low hurdle event.</p> - -<p>“Oh, why didn’t you do the low hurdle, too?” Lilian regretfully asked -Eloise.</p> - -<p>“They wouldn’t let me enter any more, and I really forgot it when I -entered to my limit in the other events.”</p> - -<p>A seventy-five-yard dash followed the hurdle events, and last came the -interesting relay race. One senior and one junior ran, handing the stick -to the next senior and junior, and so one. This was the most exciting of -all the events. The spectators stood as close to the track as they were -permitted to come, the academy girls rooting for their favorites.</p> - -<p>In this event, the juniors started under a handicap, for one of their -best runners turned her ankle, and could scarcely get over the remaining -distance. It was to Virginia that she handed her stick, but although -Virgie ran like the wind, the seniors were already much in the lead. -Some of the ground lost was recovered by the juniors, but at the end the -junior stumbled and fell.</p> - -<p>“Goodbye, juniors!” exclaimed Isabel as the senior covered the distance -to the final goal before the junior had risen to her feet. “I most -certainly didn’t think it would be as bad as that!”</p> - -<p>The events were over. All that remained was the announcement by the -judges of the winning class, and the awarding of the trophy. The girls -who had not kept account of the results in the separate events were -uncertain, some hoping, each for her own class.</p> - -<p>“I am sure that we have it,” said Evelyn, running over her record and -comparing it with that of another senior girl.</p> - -<p>At last Miss Randolph rose from a seat in the bleachers where she had -been conferring with the judges, and announced that the silver cup was -awarded to the senior class. The events have been of unusual interest -said she. “Both classes deserve great credit for their good work and -spirit of good sportsmanship. I congratulate the seniors, and remind the -juniors that they have another year.”</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 id='chXII' title='XII: On the River'> -<span>CHAPTER XII</span><br /><span>ON THE RIVER</span> -</h2> - -<p>“Girls, we’ve simply got to beat the seniors this time,” announced -Isabel to her crew, as they made ready to take out the junior canoe one -afternoon.</p> - -<p>“I’d like to know how,” said one of the junior girls. “They have so many -good paddlers and girls with a good deal of endurance, too. Then they -are having regular practice, too.”</p> - -<p>“Not any too regular,” said Isabel. “If I didn’t have to work so on that -debate, I could do more, but after all, I think we can manage to get -enough practice in if we are only determined enough. It’s determination -and management that we need, girls. Now listen. The senior girls are -interested in a lot of other things. There is the senior play, you know, -and practices for that, besides the glee club and other things.”</p> - -<p>“We are in those, too.”</p> - -<p>“Some of them,” Isabel admitted. “But if we practice regularly and often -say nothing to the seniors about our extra practice, and make up our -minds to learn to paddle <i>as no juniors ever did before</i>, we shall win -that race, depend upon it.”</p> - -<p>“Some of those girls are your very best friends, Isabel. Can you and -Virgie stoop to such base deception?”</p> - -<p>“‘Base deception’ is good,” laughed Isabel. “How about it, Virgie? -Didn’t I tell the girls that we were going to beat them in the canoe -race?”</p> - -<p>“You did.”</p> - -<p>“Did they hesitate to beat us in the field meet? The answer is ‘no’! -Will they be just as good friends of mine if we beat ’em? Yes. If they -notice how we are practicing, will they care? No.”</p> - -<p>“I think that the main thing is to learn to do it together,” said -Virgie. “Most of this crew are pretty good paddlers, but we need to -learn to make the stroke exactly together and practice speed. Nobody can -lose her head at that critical time.”</p> - -<p>“I should think not!” exclaimed Beatrice Lee, the junior who had rallied -Isabel on deceiving her friends. “The seniors have ever so much on their -minds, too. Commencement doings soon, and friends coming and -everything,—clothes and all. It may be mean to gloat over hindrances to -your enemies, but one can’t help thinking of those things when -considering the chances.”</p> - -<p>“We are not gloating, but we need encouragement when we think of -entering any contest against that crew. There are Hilary and Pauline, -strong as can be, and fine in any of the water sports. Then Eloise and -Diane are wiry and quick, and the rest are right at home in a canoe. I -felt a little discouraged when I thought about them, but then I began to -think of our own crew, and I tell you girls, I feel sure that we can do -it if we will!”</p> - -<p>“Both shall and will, then,” declared Beatrice.</p> - -<p>Later, on the same afternoon, the senior canoe came out. “Do you know, -girls,” said Pauline, who was captain of the crew, “we shall have to do -some good practicing. We have not rowed or paddled together since last -year. The way we paddled the last time was a disgrace, everybody for -herself!”</p> - -<p>“Remember that it was the first time we had been out in the big canoe.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Diane, I know, but we must be accustomed to paddling together.”</p> - -<p>“We did pretty well by the time we stopped.”</p> - -<p>“‘Pretty well’ won’t do in a race. That is a good crew of juniors.”</p> - -<p>“You are right, Pauline,” said Hilary. “If we want to beat we shall have -to work.”</p> - -<p>“Isabel declared that they were going to beat,” remarked Cathalina, who -had come down to watch the proceedings. “They were out a long time this -afternoon.”</p> - -<p>“Is that so? Well, stand by me, girls, when I call a practice, and I -believe that we can beat our ‘jolly juniors.’ Nobody is to worry, just -work.”</p> - -<p>Some of Isabel’s crew complained at times that she would not let them do -anything else. “We can’t even get any swimming in, nothing but paddle, -paddle, paddle,” said Beatrice, half in fun, half in earnest.</p> - -<p>“Wait till this race is over and then you can swim all you want to. I -have great hopes, for the seniors had not begun to paddle in their canoe -until after the field meet, whereas we had some practice right away, as -soon as the river was fit for it. Some of their crew are down in the -lake swimming this minute, and if I’m any judge, Pauline will not be -able to get them out till late.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you think this is fun, though, Beatrice?” asked Virgie, who -thoroughly enjoyed the canoeing.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, I do, but it is work, too. The senior academy crew is out -today, let’s get them to race us. We ought to practice on paddling -against them.”</p> - -<p>“That is a good idea, Beatrice. It will be more fun. Hoo-hoo! Senior -academy!”</p> - -<p>The senior academy captain answered Isabel’s hail and agreed that it -would be great fun to race. “Pretend that we are the senior -collegiates,” said she.</p> - -<p>“We will,” answered Isabel. “Let’s go back to the starting place and -race as long as you feel like it.”</p> - -<p>“Maybe we can beat you,” bravely spoke the academy captain.</p> - -<p>“All right, mayhap you can. Try it. If you do, I’ll bring you a pan of -fudge tonight.”</p> - -<p>“I’d like that fudge, as scarce as candy is now.”</p> - -<p>Laughing and joking the two crews paddled back to the place up the river -from which the race always started, leaving a little group of judges at -the tree which marked the goal. “Look out for them a little,” said -Isabel to her crew. “They are pretty good, but if they get nervous, no -telling what will happen. They are taking it seriously. Give them lots -of room.”</p> - -<p>“They are good,” said Virginia. “I watched them the other day when I was -waiting for you all. But I think we can beat them.”</p> - -<p>“Mercy, Virgie, if there is any doubt of that, let me ‘bend to my -oars’!”</p> - -<p>“They are only one class behind ourselves, remember, Beatrice.”</p> - -<p>“Did you hear that, Martha, and the rest of you?”</p> - -<p>Not having any one up river to give a signal, Isabel herself, after -asking if the other crew were ready, gave it after her usual -fashion,—“On your mark, get set, go!” Onward glided the two canoes, the -girls all striving for absolutely correct paddling, and increasing speed -as they thought necessary. The juniors had in mind the coming race and -shot ahead very soon. The seniors, academy, redoubled their efforts in -order to gain lost ground, and as they were not equal to the juniors -either in strength or in practice, found it a difficult task. The -juniors slowed down a little, because they had entered this race chiefly -to see how it would seem to have company, most of the way, at least. The -other crew thought this their opportunity, and with all their might sent -their canoe ahead of the other. But, alas, one paddle “caught a crab,” -as the girls said; her paddle flew out of her hands; she leaned after -it, causing great disturbance among the crew, and the canoe, whirling -across the stream, struck the junior canoe. In a moment the girls were -in the river, both crews.</p> - -<p>Isabel came up, blowing the water from her lips, and found Virgie -opposite to her as both reached the overturned canoe and clung to it. -Other heads were bobbing up around them.</p> - -<p>“Virgie,” said Isabel, “You see if our girls are all here while I swim -after the kids. I think they can all swim, but you never can tell what -they may hit.”</p> - -<p>Isabel did not stop to think that the girls were never permitted to go -canoeing unless they could swim, but had very clearly in mind her own -accident. The presence of one of the best swimmers in the school was of -great encouragement to the younger girls, some of whom were frightened -by the sudden overturning. All had come to the surface, however, and -were swimming for dear life, or floating to rest. Isabel helped catch -the canoe, but took one white-faced girl to shore immediately. It was -not far, and there was no such current as there had been when Cathalina -and Hilary had gone after Isabel.</p> - -<p>“All’s well that ends well,” called Isabel as the other girls brought in -the canoe. “You S. A’s won the race, if you did upset us to do it. I’ll -be over with that fudge. At what time do you want it? I’ll make it right -after dinner.”</p> - -<p>“Just before study hours, Isabel. Will it be patriotic to eat it?”</p> - -<p>“If it is patriotic to make it. But this is some sugar that Virgie had -left over last year and we discovered it in a box she left at Greycliff. -It was only hard, and isn’t hurt for candy.”</p> - -<p>“Isn’t Isabel Hunt wonderful!” inquired the senior academy captain as -Isabel left the group.</p> - -<p>“Indeed she is. She can do <i>anything</i>.”</p> - -<p>“It was good of the girls not to be mad at our accident, upsetting them -and everything.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Isabel is like that. She wouldn’t be cross unless you meant to do -something. And I think she felt responsible because they got us to race -with them.”</p> - -<p>The senior collegiates, meanwhile, heard that the senior academy had -beaten the junior collegiates in a race, and Isabel did not enlighten -them, nor would she say which of further conflicting reports were true. -She only looked mysterious and remarked, “It was a sad blow. O, what a -fall was there, my countrymen!”</p> - -<p>“She quoteth Shakespeare, girls. It’s no use. Anyhow Mickey said that -the two canoes upset.”</p> - -<p>“Then I, and you, and all of us fell down,” continued Isabel, with a -dramatic gesture. “By the way, I have to see Mickey. Please excuse me, -fair hostesses.”</p> - -<p>Virgie had offered to make the candy, and the girls of Lakeview Suite -had beguiled Isabel into their headquarters in the hope of getting the -truth about the latest excitement. Isabel had seen Mickey cross the -front lawn and bethought herself of an errand.</p> - -<p>“Mickey,” said she as soon as she had reached that busy man without whom -it seemed Greycliff could scarcely exist. “Mickey, I wish that you would -investigate that place in the river. I really believe that there is -something sticking up that caught that girl’s paddle. And we are going -to have some real races pretty soon.”</p> - -<p>“Oi think the only ‘crab’ was hersilf, miss. She did not know how to -handle a paddle,” returned Mickey.</p> - -<p>“That may be. I know the girls were excited, but I thought when I was -swimming after the girls that my feet hit something there.”</p> - -<p>“All right, thin. Oi’ll row out tomorry.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, Mickey, a thousand times! If you have time now, I’ll show -you where I think it is. Here are Bee and Martha now. Come on, girls, -let’s show Mickey where we think there might really be a ‘crab’.”</p> - -<p>The girls accompanied Mickey, showed him the exact spot at which the -canoes upset, and on the following day, Mickey and one of the other men -rowed out with a pole to investigate. There, indeed, he found part of an -old tree that had doubtless drifted down with the early spring floods -and had become lodged in the mud, and perhaps other driftwood at the -bottom of the stream. The branch that was sticking up nearly to the -surface was not very large, but sufficient to catch a paddle or oar. -Some of the girls were watching, as Mickey dislodged the obstruction and -it came to the surface, floating down and guided shoreward by the pole.</p> - -<p>“There! I knew something caught my paddle the other day,” said one of -the girls who had had a similar upset in a single canoe. “You all -laughed so when I said that it had, that I did not dare speak of it -again, but I was sure something caught my paddle. It was just those -sprangling twigs.”</p> - -<p>Everything was quite safe for democracy, then, on the day of the great -event, the race between the juniors and seniors. The winning crew were -to give a consolation party to the defeated, and the girls had amicably -decided on the menu and ordered the feast together, through a committee -from each class, including the captains of the crews. Pauline said that -it might just as well be charged to the seniors, but Isabel, who was at -the telephone, ordering something from Greycliff Village, soberly said, -“Charge it, please, to the junior class, Isabel Hunt ordering. A check -will be sent as soon as possible, the next day, in fact.”</p> - -<p>Pauline laughed and said, “Well, if you do win, you will have to pay the -price.”</p> - -<p>“That’s the point of this fine old jamboree, to make the defeated feel -good. I’m prepared to be jolly whoever wins, but of course we are going -to win!”</p> - -<p>“It is usual for the defeated to treat the other side.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, adding insult to injury. <i>We</i> shall <i>welcome</i> the opportunity to -entertain you!”</p> - -<p>“How generous. Don’t you hope it will be fine weather?”</p> - -<p>“We’ll have to put it off if it isn’t.”</p> - -<p>But the day of the race was ideal. Never crews wore prettier bathing -suits, ready for any experience like that of the junior and senior -academy crews. Each canoe floated a little streamer of class colors and -the crews were in the best of spirits. The Greycliff side of the river -bank was lined with girls, spectators of this contest, so long prepared -for, so soon over. Cathalina, Helen, Betty and Juliet selected a high -point from which they declared they could see nearly the whole course, -at least the finish.</p> - -<p>“Which do you think has the better chance, Juliet?” asked Helen.</p> - -<p>“Oh, ours, of course,” replied Juliet. “Our girls are so much more -experienced. They have not had as much practice as I had hoped they -might. Several times, when Pauline thought she had them all together, -one or the other would have arranged to practice something or have some -appointment with a teacher. But they do row beautifully together. It -seemed almost perfect the last time I watched them.”</p> - -<p>“O, of course, we’ll win,” said Betty.</p> - -<p>Cathalina remained silent, considering the affair, as Cathalina was apt -to do.</p> - -<p>“You haven’t said a word, Cathalina,” said Betty. “Don’t you think we -are going to win?”</p> - -<p>“Ordinarily I would, and Isabel’s being so sure might be an argument -against them if they were bluffing, as Phil says. But you don’t know how -they have been working. I haven’t said anything because I knew our girls -were giving all the time they really could to it, and they are more -experienced in general than most of Isabel’s crew. So, girls, I don’t -know how it will turn out, but I think I can tell you in about fifteen -or twenty minutes!”</p> - -<p>“So can we all.”</p> - -<p>“Really, I should not mind if Isabel did beat. We beat them in the field -meet and it’s their turn.”</p> - -<p>“Why, Cathalina, where is your class spirit?” asked Helen.</p> - -<p>“We shall have to deal with you,” said Juliet.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Cathalina’s hopeless. She always sees the side of the other party -as well as her own,” declared Betty. “Whatever happens, Cathalina -adjusts herself in two minutes. You can’t disturb the even tenor of her -way for long.”</p> - -<p>“Why, Betty, did you get that remark from Father?”</p> - -<p>“No, that is my own wise observation. It’s a real comfortable way, -Cathalina, if not popular among what my brother calls boosters.”</p> - -<p>“You’re a nice old Betty,” said Cathalina to express her appreciation of -Betty’s refusal to criticise her, “but I shall ‘root’ for the seniors, -for all that.”</p> - -<p>“There they come!”</p> - -<p>Sweeping around a little curve came the two canoes, the juniors a short -distance in the lead. Their faces were sober and they paid no attention -to the cheering crowd on the bank. With a spurt of speed, the senior -crew overtook the juniors and passed them, but the juniors steadily -regained the ground and crept up on the seniors, who were already doing -their best. Nearer and nearer the goal they came, almost together. -Juniors and seniors on the bank were almost holding their breath. Now -the juniors were on a line with the seniors. Now they had passed them. -Could the seniors regain the advantage?</p> - -<p>“Oh, dear,” said Helen, “not much time now; hurry up, seniors! Just a -little more speed, Pauline!”</p> - -<p>The seniors redoubled their effort, but it was too late. The junior -canoe shot past the goal more than its length ahead of the seniors. Such -rejoicing of juniors followed! Cheering and clapping of feminine hands -greeted the crew as it disembarked. Isabel was hugged, pounded and -shaken till she cried for relief. “Why, girls didn’t you <i>expect</i> us to -beat? I <i>told</i> you so!”</p> - -<p>“We were afraid that it was just your optimism,” said one.</p> - -<p>“It was just my determination! I was so scared at first for fear we -would not that I resorted to suggestion for the crew and auto-suggestion -for myself.”</p> - -<p>“Gracious! Isabel is studying psychology this year, girls.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t think it was all psychology. Not a bit of it. We have -practiced early and late. I’m sure I’ll be paddling is my sleep for a -month.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Isabel,” said Pauline, coming up and holding out her hand, “we’ll -have to fold our tents like the Arabs and quietly steal away, won’t we?”</p> - -<p>“Not a bit of it. Think of that party tonight! Say, Pauline, I owe you -an apology for my ordering over the telephone in that way, but I was -only trying to make myself believe that we would win. I can scarcely -realize it yet, though we practiced day and night to do it against such -foes.”</p> - -<p>“That is very nice of you to say so, Isabel. We did our level best, and -you earned your victory. Now, for the party! But we really ought to give -it.”</p> - -<p>“Not at all. The juniors entertain the seniors tonight. Senior yell, -girls,—Seniors, rah! seniors, rah; Rah, rah! Seniors!”</p> - -<p>The “Consolation Party” that night presented quite a different scene -from the afternoon. The new summer gowns, in white or bright colors, -were brought out from closets or wardrobes to grace their owners. One of -the society halls was decked for the occasion with flowers and junior -colors and the winning crew composed the reception committee. The -refreshments were served from a pretty table at one end of the long -room, and two junior girls pinned on the guests little canoes of folded -crepe paper, prepared beforehand by the joint committee. They now bore -the label “Junior,” added since the race.</p> - -<p>“Do you mind much, Cathalina?” asked Isabel, in almost repentant tones.</p> - -<p>“No, Isabel! To tell the truth,—but I must remember that I’m a senior. -Only it seems nice for you to have put it through so wonderfully. The -glory is all yours, so have no regrets.”</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 id='chXIII' title='XIII: Music and Masks'> -<span>CHAPTER XIII</span><br /><span>MUSIC AND MASKS</span> -</h2> - -<p>“Oh, the music for our play is too lovely!” exclaimed Lilian, entering -Lakeview Suite and starting to put away her violin.</p> - -<p>Isabel who was visiting the girls, looked up inquiringly.</p> - -<p>“It’s the Mendelssohn music, you know, written for the Midsummer Night’s -Dream. I wish I were playing in the orchestra. I’ve been helping -practice.”</p> - -<p>“Couldn’t you play part of the time with them?”</p> - -<p>“Not very well in costume. I might do it for a while, though. I don’t -come on until the third act, and the second scene at that,—Enter -Titania, with her train.”</p> - -<div class='poetry'> -<p>“Come, now a rounded and a fairy song;<br /> -Then for the third part of a minute, hence;<br /> -Some to kill cankers in the musk-rose buds,<br /> -Some war with rere-mice for their leathern wings<br /> -To make my small elves coats, and some keep back<br /> -The clamorous owl that nightly hoots and wonders.<br /> -At our quaint spirits. Sing me now asleep;<br /> -Then to your offices and let me rest.”</p> -</div> - -<p>“Fine, Lilian,” said Isabel, applauding. “Are you glad you decided on -Midsummer Night’s Dream?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, indeed; it is going to be too pretty outdoors, the fairies and -everything, and the costumes are perfectly lovely. Miss Randolph bought -new ones, because they have never given this before, and she is -gradually getting a good collection of costumes. Patty and the other -English teachers are just crazy about it.”</p> - -<p>“I should think that they would be really crazy by the time all the -practicing and drilling are over. Don’t you think that Patty looks thin, -Cathalina?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Isabel, and it is no wonder. I heard that she is going to France -this summer, but I have not said a word to her about it. She will tell -us if she is.”</p> - -<p>“Why, Lilian,” said Hilary, who was reading the play, “you are all wrong -about not coming in until the third act, second scene. It is the second -act, scene one.”</p> - -<p>Lilian looked over Hilary’s shoulder at the text. “Sure enough. I forgot -my converse with Oberon. That is what Mrs. Norris is scolding us for, -just learning our parts, without having the whole play in mind, but we -have so many other things to do. It is a good thing that the senior -examinations are all over so early. I don’t know what I would do without -senior week. I wish Mother and Father could come for Commencement week. -They would love seeing the play and all, at least Mother would.”</p> - -<p>“Can’t they come?”</p> - -<p>“No, not without risking not being in New York when the boys leave. Dick -is expected to be sent over at any time now.”</p> - -<p>“Aunt Hilary is coming,” said Hilary, “but Father and Mother will not -this time. Aunt Hilary was the one who wanted me to come to Greycliff.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Cathalina, “Hilary and I both owe our Greycliff days to the -suggestions of our aunts.”</p> - -<p>“What part have you, Hilary?” asked Isabel.</p> - -<p>“I’m Theseus, duke of Athens, aha! And my fair Hippolyta is Pauline, -because, as she says, they thought she was cast for an Amazon. Hippolyta -is queen of the Amazons, you know.”</p> - -<p>“I read the play once,” said Isabel, with a laugh, “but I’ll have to -read it up before the play is given or I won’t enjoy it so much. Let me -see,—who’s Hermia?”</p> - -<p>“Evelyn, because she is little and dark, and Lysander is Helen. Won’t it -be great?—Lysander and Hermia making love in that soft southern accent?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and Evelyn using her eyes as Hermia. Evelyn couldn’t help it if -she tried.”</p> - -<p>“There is another pair of lovers—?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Helena, you know, who is terribly in love with Demetrius, and he -wants Hermia, till the fairies fix that all up.”</p> - -<p>“Modern interpretation of Shakespeare by Hilary Lancaster,” murmured -Cathalina.</p> - -<p>“Wait till you hear me say with dramatic effect as Theseus,—‘but -earthlier happy is the rose distill’d, than that which withering on the -virgin thorn, grows, lives and dies in single blessedness.’”</p> - -<p>“Is <i>that</i> where we get ‘single blessedness’?”</p> - -<p>“It is. You have heard of the person, haven’t you, that didn’t like -Hamlet very well when she heard it played, ‘because it was so full of -quotations’?”</p> - -<p>“Nor original enough, I suppose,” laughed Isabel.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I must tell you girls something funny,” said Cathalina. “Yesterday -I was in here alone, and practicing my lines. I am the first Fairy, and -was saying the lines instead of singing them. I had just broken out with -‘You spotted snakes with double tongue,’—when I saw that new academy -freshman, who has only been here this spring, standing in the door and -looking at me with eyes as big as saucers. Whether she had knocked or -not I don’t know. I stopped, laughing, but I haven’t the least idea that -she understood at all. She gave me a message from Miss Randolph as -quickly as she could, and hurried off without letting me explain.”</p> - -<p>“She probably thought that you were in the habit of addressing your -room-mates in that happy way,” said Isabel.</p> - -<p>“I have wondered several times what she did think, and laughed right out -in the middle of the night last night and wakened Betty. You thought I -had lost my mind, didn’t you Betty?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; but I was glad that you wakened me, for I was having a horrible -dream about Captain Holley’s coming back for me, and it was nice to be -wakened by somebody’s laughing.” Betty’s nerves were not what they might -be since her last experience, but the girls purposely made light of it -all.</p> - -<p>At this moment, Diane Percy and Eloise arrived to join the company, and -Virginia peeped in to see if Isabel were there. “Come on in just a -minute, Virgie,” called Isabel. “The girls are telling about the play. -Have you a part, Diane?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I’m Demetrius, and Edith Lane is Helena, because she is the -tallest fair girl we have and we have to have a contrast between her and -Evelyn.”</p> - -<p>“What are you, Eloise?”</p> - -<p>“Oberon. Neither Lilian or I are really small enough for fairies, but in -the costumes we look smaller. I hope the play will go all right. The -girls are all really working now that the time is so near. They are -rehearsing some of the scenes now out on the campus.”</p> - -<p>“Wouldn’t it be awful if it rained and we had to give it indoors?”</p> - -<p>“If it rains one day, they will whisk around the program and put the -Glee Club concert on or something.”</p> - -<p>“Just think, girls, only two more weeks now for us at Greycliff, and -then we go away forever!” This was Cathalina. “I came with tears, and I -shall probably leave in tears or something like it!”</p> - -<p>“I certainly shall shed tears if we don’t win that debate,” said Isabel.</p> - -<p>“You will,” said Cathalina. “That comes off next week, doesn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, on our regular night, next Friday night. Come on, Virgie. Even -thinking of it is enough to start me thinking of the arguments.”</p> - -<p>Isabel and Virgie departed, while Diane took exception to Cathalina’s -statement that they had two weeks still as seniors. “This is Saturday, -Cathalina, and you know that the exercises of Commencement week are cut -short this year. I don’t imagine that we shall have half the company we -usually do, either. The Inter-Society Debate will be on Friday night; -the play a week from today; Sunday, the baccalaureate sermon in the -Chapel; Monday, our honors presented, and class day exercises in the -afternoon, Glee Club concert in the evening; Tuesday, diplomas.”</p> - -<p>“When are we going to have our society reception and our senior society -diplomas?” asked Betty.</p> - -<p>“When <i>are</i> we? I had forgotten that. Hilary, you are president, what -about it?”</p> - -<p>“I was counting on the usual time, but why didn’t I think of it? Well, -it can be posted. Why wouldn’t it do to go right from the class day -exercises to the society hall. It will be appropriate then. We have -asked Patty to make a little speech and present the diplomas; then we’ll -serve lemonade and cake and ice cream. The juniors will see to it while -we are having our other exercises. They are rather short this year.”</p> - -<p>“I think that will be a good idea, Hilary,” said Eloise. “The class day -exercises will probably take only an hour and a half. We could have the -society reception from four to six.”</p> - -<p>“So we could. We’d better arrange it that way. I’ll call a meeting of -the executive committee Monday.”</p> - -<p>On Monday, as it happened, another and more important matter came up. As -Cathalina sat calmly eating her cereal breakfast, a note was passed to -her. “Mercy me!” she exclaimed as she read. “Listen to this, girls.”</p> - -<p>Betty, Hilary and Lilian, who sat nearest, looked up with interest.</p> - -<p>“‘Dear Cathalina: Edith Lane has measles! You will have to be Helena. -Please let me see you right after breakfast.—P. Norris.’ Now isn’t that -like Patty? Takes it for granted that I will do it because it is to be -done. Lilian, you are as tall as I am, you do it.”</p> - -<p>“No, I’m not quite as tall, but I don’t think it makes so much -difference for that reason as that I already have a part and have -learned my lines.”</p> - -<p>“So have I.” Cathalina’s lips were curling in amusement, however, as she -reflected on her prominent part as first fairy. “How can she expect me -to learn a part in a week?”</p> - -<p>“We haven’t any lessons,—that is one thing,” suggested Hilary. “You can -do it, Cathalina. You have heard the play several times.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I am familiar with the play,” said Cathalina, “but Helena has a -good deal to say, if I remember. I know four lines of hers:</p> - -<div class='poetry'> -<p>“‘Things base and vile, holding no quantity,<br /> -Love can transpose to form and dignity.<br /> -Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind,<br /> -And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.’”</p> -</div> - -<p>“Think what a start you have,” said Betty, her dimples beginning to -play.</p> - -<p>“I’ll think about it,” said Cathalina, “but it shan’t spoil my -breakfast. Please pass me the cream, Betty. Mine has all disappeared -somewhere, and I like to see a little on my oatmeal.”</p> - -<p>After breakfast Cathalina, who had hoped to escape a prominent part, -since she was not in the Dramatic Club, hunted up Mrs. Norris and -finally consented to do her best with the part of Helena.</p> - -<p>“There are some other girls, Cathalina, who are anxious to have such a -part, but I do not feel that any one of them will do as well as you -will. You have seen the play several times in New York and know how the -different characters are represented and I don’t want this part -overdone. Edith looked the part very well, but she says the lines in an -absolutely uninteresting way, and I don’t know but it is just as well -that she has the measles, poor child. By the way, all of you must keep -away from the hospital. We can’t have an epidemic of measles starting -here just before time to start home.”</p> - -<p>“That would be a calamity,” assented the smiling Cathalina. “All right, -Mrs. Norris, I’ll try it. Shall I come to the practices and read the -lines I do not know?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. Would you like to go over the lines, as you learn them, with me?”</p> - -<p>“I imagine that I’d better. I will get the other girls to hear me, too.”</p> - -<p>“It is work for Cathalina this week,” said that young lady, as she -entered the suite after the conference with Patricia Norris.</p> - -<p>“Good girl,” said Hilary, with approbation. “Cathalina has the right -kind of class spirit. She is right there when there is anything to be -done.”</p> - -<p>“I do hate to do this, though, Hilary.”</p> - -<p>“All the more credit to you, then, for doing it. Here are your first -lines,” and Hilary, who had begun to study over again her own part, -turned the pages to Helena’s first speech. “Here you are, addressing -Evelyn as Hermia:</p> - -<div class='poetry'> -<p>“Call you me fair? That fair again unsay.<br /> -Demetrius loves your fair, O, happy fair!”</p> -</div> - -<p>“I <i>do</i> like her <i>lines</i>, the words are so musical,—‘your tongue’s sweet -air more tuneable than lark to shepherd’s ear’.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you will like it when you get at it. You ought to have heard -Dorothy Appleton rave about being Bottom, but she thinks it great fun -now. Did you see her at the last practice? She said she was not sure -which string she was pulling in the donkey’s head. She might make his -ears wiggle when his eyes ought to blink, but we told her that we didn’t -think it mattered.”</p> - -<p>Greycliff days were taking wing. The week fairly flew till its important -close. On Friday night, the Whittiers and Emersons gathered in the -chapel for the Inter-Society Debate. Isabel, with pink cheeks and cold -hands, had bid her friends goodbye with the remark that she was marching -to her doom, but Virginia was “as calm as an oyster,” to quote Isabel.</p> - -<p>“Do you think that Isabel was nervous enough to hurt?” asked Cathalina, -who was a little worried. “You know how sure she was over the canoe -race.”</p> - -<p>“That was different,” replied Juliet, who sat next to Cathalina. “She -has to remember a speech this time, and while Isabel is such a fine -debater, I think she dreads this occasion. It is more important to the -girls.”</p> - -<p>But if Isabel was nervous beforehand, when she appeared on the stage -platform she was perfectly at ease and never had debated with more -brilliance. Virginia, too, never appeared to better advantage, and -Lilian thought as she looked at the fine-looking girl on the platform, -so earnest, so well prepared, of what Greycliff had meant to Virgie -since that day when she had gone in to comfort the discouraged girl from -the Dakota ranch. It was scarcely possible to believe that Virginia was -the same girl, nor was she quite. A bigger outlook, a more unselfish -ambition and a sweeter poise was hers.</p> - -<p>The judges were not out long, and the decision was unanimous for the -Whittier team. The annual banner, which for another year would grace the -Whittier hall, was presented by one of the trustees, and accepted by -Isabel, representing the team.</p> - -<p>What sort of a day would Saturday be? This was the most important -consideration to which the seniors wakened that morning. Everything was -ready for the presentation of the play outdoors, and the girls had gone -to sleep on Friday night saying over their lines. There had been a -thunderstorm on Friday afternoon, but it had cleared for the evening, -and the stars came out. The evening paper had promised a good day, but -as Isabel said, you never can tell. The last practice had not gone off -very well. That was on Friday morning, in costume. But girls forgot -their speeches, girls who had never done that before, several came on at -the wrong moment, forgetting their cues, and Patty was nearly -distracted.</p> - -<p>“Don’t worry, Mrs. Norris, remember that Miss Perin was not here to help -you manage behind the scenes. Nobody will go on at the wrong time -tonight.” Lilian was trying to comfort her teacher as they happened to -meet on the way to the scene of action.</p> - -<p>“Oh, thank you, Lilian. I am not worried now. We have everything fixed -better now, all the stage property at hand and some one in charge. Miss -Perin will attend to sending the folks on, if they forget, and I have -the text, as prompter.”</p> - -<p>“Behind the scenes,” in the lovely spot chosen, consisted of a thick -clump of evergreens behind which a green curtain had been stretched to -screen the players. Through arching branches was the stage entrance. The -background was the woods behind Greycliff Hall and its adjacent -buildings. An even stretch of ground on the level of Greycliff Hall made -a woodland spot easy of access, yet with the wildest of surroundings. -Part of the elevation, finally resulting in what was called “high hill,” -ascended gradually from level ground, and there it was that the girls -brought cushions and newspapers and sat, on the slope, to view the play. -There were a few chairs for the faculty, ladies, alumnae and guests. The -orchestra sat at one side of the “stage,” not to obstruct the view of -the players, and were next to the evergreens before mentioned. Aunt -Hilary had arrived and occupied a place of honor next to Miss Randolph. -Girls in costume were coming up the path from Greycliff Hall, the -orchestra were tuning instruments, and the whole place was taking on a -festival appearance. Prettiest of all were the fairies, and most -ridiculous were the costumes of those taking the parts of Bottom and the -rest of the Pyramus and Thisbe players.</p> - -<p>“I’ll not forget, Mrs. Norris,” declared Cathalina, “but I shall draw a -long breath when my part is over. However, I have had lots of fun this -week. I hate to think that all this is so nearly over.”</p> - -<p>“‘Lots’?”</p> - -<p>“A great deal,” corrected Cathalina. “But sometimes I rather like our -more blunt way of speaking.”</p> - -<p>“If my girls will remember their parts tonight and not rant, I shall be -happy.”</p> - -<p>But often the simple acting of amateurs is more attractive than that of -any but the best professionals. The cast of Greycliff’s Midsummer -Night’s Dream could have no fault to find with the appreciation of their -audience. That delightful atmosphere established itself which means -players who are enjoying their work and an audience entirely held and -entertained. Long would they remember the pretty scene.</p> - -<p>“How did you like it, Aunt Hilary?” asked an excited Hilary, as she took -her aunt’s arm and led her back to the Hall. The rest of the suite-mates -followed, all interested in the one relative which their company -boasted.</p> - -<p>“I thoroughly enjoyed every moment, Hilary, and I think that all the -girls did so well. Of course I was more interested in you, and in the -girls that I know and have heard so much about during these years.”</p> - -<p>“You must come to our suite now. We are going to make some lemonade to -refresh you. The play did not take as long as I feared.”</p> - -<p>“They cut some of the speeches, you know,” said Cathalina. “I was surely -glad to have mine cut, and Patty was kind.”</p> - -<p>“Cathalina had to learn her part in one week, Aunt Hilary. One of the -girls who was to have the part came down with measles. Imagine it,—in -your senior year and just at Commencement! So Cathalina was asked to do -it.”</p> - -<p>“I thought that I should hate it, but I rather enjoyed it, after all.”</p> - -<p>“What was that perfectly heartless remark of Patty’s, Cathalina?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, she did not mean it, but Edith had not been doing very well with -her part. No wonder, if she was coming down with measles. I remember -when I had them.”</p> - -<p>“Have another lady-finger, Aunt Hilary. The Glee Club concert is our -last performance at Greycliff. One by one our duties lessen. Did you -like the music tonight?”</p> - -<p>“It was beautiful. I had no idea that you would have so excellent an -orchestra.”</p> - -<p>“It was short two good players in Lilian and Eloise tonight, but it is -really very well trained.”</p> - -<p>“I am very fond of that music anyway, and out under the trees and stars -it sounded particularly sweet. Goodnight, girls, I am glad that I am to -have some more of Greycliff’s entertainment.”</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 id='chXIV' title='XIV: Greycliff Girls Take Flight'> -<span>CHAPTER XIV</span><br /><span>GREYCLIFF GIRLS TAKE FLIGHT</span> -</h2> - -<p>The next day was a blessed one of rest, for it was not hard to go to the -chapel and listen to the sermon for them and for the seniors of the -academy. Aunt Hilary and the other guests watched with great interest -the procession of girls in their white dresses, as they took their -places in the front rows. The choir of girls sang their favorite anthems -and led in the good old hymns which were so often called for at -Greycliff.</p> - -<p>“Four years at Greycliff,” thought Cathalina, and wondered what the next -one would bring, for she was facing possible changes. Her thoughts ran -to her brother and cousins and one fine soldier in France, from whom she -had not heard for a long time.</p> - -<p>“Four years at Greycliff,” thought Hilary. “How kind of Aunt Hilary to -make it possible. Now two years of college, somewhere, perhaps at one of -our church schools, perhaps at home, if Mother does not want me to go -away. If—” Hilary’s thoughts, too, ran on, to a certain soldier boy who -might want her some day to make a home with him, if he came back,—and -perhaps it would be as well to stay with Mother and Father.</p> - -<p>Many, many thoughts came to these girls, so fair and so young, looking -forward to the fulfillment of dreams even in that sad year.</p> - -<p>When they came down to earth after the service, Greycliff outdid herself -in serving a chicken dinner beyond the memory of the oldest inhabitant. -Aunt Hilary sat with the dignitaries at Miss Randolph’s table and at -Hilary’s table, joy was unconfined, for Isabel had given up her seat to -a visitor and occupied a chair next to Lilian. Lilian, too, had thrown -off care for the day, sparkling as Lilian could when her mood was gay. -Her shining hair was piled high, one little bit of short down curling in -her neck. On her arms was the bracelet Philip had given her, and on her -neck his latest gift, a delicate chain with a jeweled lavaliere, of a -pattern then most popular. The engagement ring was on her finger, and -all together, according to Isabel, Lil presented a picture of a “fine -lady with jewels.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think I have too much on, Isabel?” asked Lilian, rather taken -back by Isabel’s careless remark. “I love to wear them,—you know why.”</p> - -<p>“And we love to see them,” returned Isabel. “I beg your pardon; I wasn’t -criticising.”</p> - -<p>“Let’s arrange about the round robin,” said Betty. “I can’t stand it not -to know about all you girls, and never can write regularly to so many. -It will be much easier to pass on the letters. Then if we want to write -any oftener to any one we can. Meanwhile the history of the chief events -can be going the rounds.”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid we’ll give it up,” said Juliet.</p> - -<p>“I know some girls who have kept one going for nearly ten years.”</p> - -<p>“How many of them are there?”</p> - -<p>“Ten.”</p> - -<p>“Somebody will be sure to be careless and keep it too long or -something.”</p> - -<p>“We might make it a rule not to keep it more than a month, and if one -had time for only a few lines that would be acceptable. It could get -around at least once a year.”</p> - -<p>“I think it will be fine,” said Eloise. “Count me in. Betty, you write -to me and I’ll send it out with a letter of my own to Pauline, next up -to Virgie, then east to New York, no, to Isabel first. The New York -folks could gather up their epistles, or write one all together. Suppose -all of us who want to have a round robin, or to take part in one, leave -our names with Betty and let her start it. Who has more adventures than -Betty?”</p> - -<p>“If it depends upon my telling adventures, there will not be any round -robin, for I’m not going to have any more. But I will receive names for -the round robin after dinner in Lakeview Suite.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t believe that we’re not coming back next year,” said Hilary. “It -does not seem possible. Here we are, all around the table, and in a few -days it will be like a dream.”</p> - -<p>“I <i>think</i> I’m coming back,” said Isabel, “but sometimes I don’t care -much if I don’t come. It is going to make so much difference to have you -all gone. And yet I’d like to finish up here. Virgie thinks that she -will teach next year, though it isn’t quite decided, you know, depends -on what school she can get, and she has not heard.”</p> - -<p>“We shall need that round robin to find out where we all are,” said -Betty. “Leave an address by which we can reach you when you give me your -names.”</p> - -<p>“Strawberries, with ice cream and cake,” announced Isabel, watching the -waitress as she brought in the dessert to the next table. “I wonder if -they are home grown.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no; they couldn’t be,” said Hilary. “These are from further south. -Don’t you remember that the Canada berries were ripe and beautiful about -the first of July that year we went to camp. I’ll never forget my sister -June’s delight. Dear me, how we go from the sublime to the ridiculous.”</p> - -<p>“We couldn’t live on the heights all the time,” said Isabel, “and there -are things we don’t dare think about at all now. Think of Betty’s last -adventure. Why, the wildest imagination could not have fancied anything -like that or thousands of other things that are happening here and in -Europe. All the old stories of Robin Hood, and ladies held up in -carriages on lonely roads, that we have read and thought so romantic, -can’t hold a candle to what happens now. We hear a humming and look -up,—there goes a knight of romance in an aeroplane.”</p> - -<p>“The great trouble is that these things are not really very pleasant to -live through,” said Betty. “I’d rather read about them.”</p> - -<p>“Yes. When you know a knight, it isn’t so pleasant to have him ‘go off -to the wars’, is it?”</p> - -<p>“No, Cathalina,” replied Betty.</p> - -<p>The next morning had one exciting hour, that during which the prizes and -honors were awarded, after the morning chapel service. At Greycliff the -honors for scholarship were considered the most important and were given -first, to relieve the tension. Aunt Hilary sat on the platform with the -faculty, in a row reserved for visitors, and received the reward of her -interest in her niece when she heard Miss Randolph say, “I have the -pleasure of awarding the prize, one hundred dollars, for the highest -scholarship in the Collegiate classes, to Hilary Lancaster.”</p> - -<p>Hilary had held her place in general scholarship throughout the years of -her stay at Greycliff. It had meant steady effort, not neglecting her -lessons under any circumstances, and a careful planning of her work in -order to take her part in other activities. No one but a girl of bright, -quick mind and comparative health could have made the record that -Hilary’s report showed, but added to that there was necessary that -determined progress of which she was capable and which carried her on to -a mastery of the subjects that she had taken. It was really a very tired -girl that went forward to take the little purse which Miss Randolph held -in her hand. She acknowledged the gift and the applause with a little -bow, and gave Aunt Hilary a bright look as she caught her eye for a -moment. It was worth the effort of the four years to see the sweet -approval and satisfaction in Aunt Hilary’s smile.</p> - -<p>Lilian and Cathalina took the poetry prizes, Lilian, also, winning a -prize in musical composition. Eloise shone both in music and some of the -lines in scholarship, and won one of the prizes for short stories. -Isabel and Virginia again won honors in debate. Betty and Cathalina both -took prizes in the art lines and in English. All the Psyche Club won -their “All-around G’s,” and when the silver trophy cup was brought out, -to be presented to the “all-around senior girl,” it was Hilary to whom -it was awarded. This award considered both scholarship and the athletic -record.</p> - -<p>“What next, Hilary?” asked her aunt as she joined Hilary back of the -entrance to the platform.</p> - -<p>“We might stroll around the grounds a while till lunch, Auntie, or how -would you like a canoe ride?”</p> - -<p>“No canoe ride, please, for me. I think that I’m quite modern till I see -all the things that you girls do. I can ride and row and drive a car, -but I dare not try a canoe!”</p> - -<p>Aunt Hilary was a good deal like an older edition of Hilary Lancaster. -Her hair was quite grey, but her face was young, with a fresh color and -animated expression. “Suppose we just go down to the beach a while and -watch the waves and birds,” said she.</p> - -<p>“All right. By the way, we can point out the ‘pirates cave,’ too. We had -forgotten that. Lil, get your guitar. You need practice anyhow, for this -afternoon. The mandolin, uke and guitar club will furnish music for the -class day exercises, Auntie.”</p> - -<p>Hilary and her aunt strolled down to the beach, while Lilian went for -her guitar and attached Cathalina, Betty and some of the other girls -along the way.</p> - -<p>“Whither with sweet music, Lilian?”</p> - -<p>“Down to the beach to help entertain Aunt Hilary. Come along.”</p> - -<p>“If you are going to the beach I think I’ll not go,” said Betty, who had -not cared for the lake and its environs this spring.</p> - -<p>“We might see Donald,” suggested Cathalina by way of replacing unhappy -memories with happy ones.</p> - -<p>Betty smiled, hesitated, and finally started with the girls. “I ought to -carry away a better impression of this lake that I have really loved -most of the time. Perhaps, if we have a good time there, I can remember -it and the time when Donald so suddenly appeared.”</p> - -<p>“That’s a brave Betty. Hurrah for Greycliff’s grey cliffs!”</p> - -<p>Taller, older, more serious seemed these Greycliff girls who were to -receive diplomas so soon and leave the scenes of so many girlish -exploits. They joined Hilary and her aunt, who were sitting out on the -rocks, discoursing of many things. Dorothy Appleton, Diane Percy and -Evelyn Calvert were coming down from the wood, and Eloise, Pauline and -Helen came from the boat house to add to the company as Hilary beckoned. -“Come on and sing Greycliff songs for Aunt Hilary,” said she.</p> - -<p>Lilian’s guitar started them. Aunt Hilary turned back a page or two in -memory of her own schooldays, as the girls ran through their songs, -athletic songs, class songs, the whole accumulation of the best efforts.</p> - -<p>“This is a good one for today,” said Eloise, and hummed a strain to -Lilian.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes,” said Lilian, playing a few chords in a different key.</p> - -<p>“All ready, one, two, sing!” This song had a lively accompaniment of -chords that came in with most surprising irregularity. Aunt Hilary asked -afterward if it were rag-time, and was told that it was.</p> - -<div class='poetry'> -<p>There are white caps on the water,<br /> -  And the sky’s as blue<br /> -  As blue can be;<br /> -On the sand the wavelets ripple,<br /> -  As we raise our song,<br /> -  Greycliff, to thee.<br /> -    Alma Mater,<br /> -    Alma Mater,<br /> -  Just a song of love<br /> -  And praise to thee.</p> -</div> - -<p>Not all the stanzas were as serious as this, one beginning There’s an -Island; another, There’s a Cave; still another, There’s a Boat, and all -recounted Greycliff doings in ballad form,—the rag-time ballad. At the -close, the first stanza was repeated and the guitar finished up in great -style.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Lilian,” mourned Isabel, who had been a member of this chorus since -some one had informed her where “all the girls” were. “<i>Aren’t I</i> going -to hear any more the plunk of your glad guitar?”</p> - -<p>“I hope that you are, Isabel, many times. But if you come to New York, -as you must, I hope that Phil will be there to play much better than I -can.”</p> - -<p>Betty and Cathalina stood for a moment after the others had gone and -looked out over the dancing sparkles which the sunlight made upon the -water. Then Betty turned away. “I’ll carry away all the memories, -Cathalina,—picnics, boat rides, the wreck and the hydroplane. Do you not -think that I have had a varied career for one so young?”</p> - -<p>Cathalina laughed at Betty’s affected tone. “Yes, I should say that if -variety is the spice of life, you have been having it. Let’s hurry a -little. I thought I heard the gong for lunch. I’m glad it is cool today. -Everything looks so fresh and pretty. I think that there was a little -shower early this morning.”</p> - -<p>“Haven’t you the class history this afternoon, Cathalina?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, haven’t you seen me racking my brains over it?”</p> - -<p>“No; I remember your saying something about it, but I wondered what had -become of it.”</p> - -<p>“I wanted it to be new to the girls, so haven’t asked them many -questions, except the girls that have been here since the freshman -academy days.”</p> - -<p>“Jane Mills has the class prophecy, hasn’t she?”</p> - -<p>“I think so. There were some changes and I was not at the last class -meeting.”</p> - -<p>The last class exercises, for the senior collegiates of that year, were -held on the front campus, and the other classes, as well as the guests, -were invited. Girls sat or stood in groups to hear the program. The -front steps of Greycliff Hall served as platform, and the members of the -mandolin, uke’ and guitar club sat on the upper steps and the porch. The -spray from the fountain blew in a fine mist under the shadows of the -great trees and across the sunny stretches between them.</p> - -<p>“It is hard,” said the class prophet, “to forecast the future for our -Lilian. I seem to see her standing before a large audience, holding them -spellbound by the cadences of her beautiful voice.” At this point, Jane -turned to look at Lilian behind her, and Lilian was busy with her -guitar. “Then, upon the shelves of a public library I see a handsomely -bound volume of poems, with the name of Lilian North inscribed.—Ah, what -is this picture that comes so rapidly upon the screen? A stately home -upon the Hudson. But the film is torn here and the figures are -indistinct.</p> - -<p>“The screen shows Hilary Lancaster doing deeds of mercy. First, I see a -schoolroom and Hilary surrounded by a group of scholars. Now I see her -in the slums, holding a wee baby and bending over a sick mother. She -wears no deaconess bonnet and I can not tell whether she is a home -missionary, a minister’s wife, or merely a ‘friend to man,’ as here in -school.”</p> - -<p>Betty was seen as a bride, going away with a handsome naval officer.</p> - -<p>Cathalina carried a degree from Columbia and was dean of a woman’s -college. Pauline galloped about a large ranch, and was finally seen to -ride off into the distance with a picturesque cowboy. Jane’s imagination -was equal to the emergency of providing a future of thrilling interest -for everybody, and the audience enjoyed her fancies. The orchestra burst -forth into a mad medley of popular music at the close of the prophecy, -while the rest scattered, after being reminded of the reception and -ceremony of bestowing the society diplomas upon the seniors in the -society halls.</p> - -<p>“Things move rapidly this afternoon,” said Aunt Hilary.</p> - -<p>“Yes, Auntie,” replied Hilary, “but there isn’t much to do at ‘society.’ -We have about half an hour before that begins and I think that I’d -better go and see if they need me to help get ready. Will you come? The -girls will probably begin to come in pretty soon.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed I will. I get as much entertainment from watching the girls as -from any of the exercises.”</p> - -<p>When they entered the Whittier Hall, Isabel was placing a little bundle -of neat, white diplomas, tied with the society colors, on the corner of -the piano, their new baby grand. Virgie was placing a step-ladder near -one of the windows, preparatory to fixing up some of the decorations -which had fallen down.</p> - -<p>“Come and taste this,” Virgie called one of the juniors who was adding a -little fruit juice to what looked like a very cooling drink in a large -glass bowl.</p> - -<p>“I’ll put this up,” Hilary offered. “You’ll have to add more ice later, -so have it strong enough.”</p> - -<p>“Look out for the ladder,” Virgie cautioned, “it’s a bit rickety.”</p> - -<p>“All right.”</p> - -<p>But it was not all right, unfortunately, and as Hilary mounted the -ladder it tipped. Down came Hilary, not very far, to be sure, but -without a chance to save herself.</p> - -<p>“Dear child!” exclaimed Aunt Hilary. “Are you badly hurt?”</p> - -<p>Two or three of the girls rushed to help Hilary up, but she waved them -away, and sat up slowly with a white face. “I’ve turned my ankle and -fallen on it. Just a minute, girls.”</p> - -<p>“We shall have to attend to it, dear,” said Mrs. Garland, and as Hilary -protected the hurt foot, with one of the girls to help, she lifted -Hilary to a chair which one of the other girls drew up, ready.</p> - -<p>“Don’t mind, Aunt Hilary, if I groan a bit,—it hurts so!” Poor Hilary -put her face in her hands a moment.</p> - -<p>“Wait a minute,” said Cathalina. “I’ll bring a rocking chair from the -nearest room and we can draw her to the suite,—lucky that it is on this -floor.”</p> - -<p>In a few minutes Hilary was being drawn in a rocking chair to the suite -and could not help laughing at Isabel who dashed by carrying a large -enameled pail which the girls had often used on picnic. By the time -Hilary’s pretty Commencement slipper was off, Isabel was back with hot -water. “I’m not sure that this is the latest thing they do for sprains, -but Aunt Helen always puts the boys’ sprains in as hot water as they can -stand.”</p> - -<p>“Does she detach them from the boys?” inquired Hilary, wincing a little -as she tried the temperature of the water.</p> - -<p>“Here’s cold water, too; Virgie, hurry up with that pitcher, please. -Detach what, Hilary?”</p> - -<p>“The sprains. You said she always put them in water. Ah—that feels -good!”</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter? Mercy! Is Hilary <i>hurt</i>?” Lilian from the doorway -viewed the scene with troubled face. In her hand she carried what -everybody recognized as a telegram.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I just thought I would get up a little excitement, Lilian. Things -were going too smoothly—Oh, is that our telegram from New York?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Oh <i>poor</i> Hilary!”</p> - -<p>That was, indeed the last straw, and Hilary, in pain, knowing that the -boys were on their way from the southern camp to New York and that she -had a serious hurt, burst into tears. Hilary, the strong, the patient, -the self-controlled, in tears! The girls all looked distressed, but Aunt -Hilary now came to the fore.</p> - -<p>“Come, Hilary, perhaps it isn’t so bad as you think,” said she. “Isabel, -will you go down and ask Miss Randolph to send up the nurse and -telephone for a physician? Now it is time for your little program, -Hilary; which of the girls shall preside in your place?”</p> - -<p>“Juliet is vice-president, but one of the juniors will take the chair -while we—the other girls, are receiving their diplomas. Be sure that -Patty is there, Cathalina. She makes the speech, you know. And see that -all the seniors are there, too, before the meeting is called to order. -Tell the girls about me, please, and one of you can bring my diploma.”</p> - -<p>“I do hate to go, Hilary,” said Lilian, “and leave you like this.”</p> - -<p>“You couldn’t do a thing. The nurse will be here in a minute and Aunt -Hilary will take care of me. Oh, I’m so glad you are here, Aunt Hilary, -but it just <i>spoils</i> your visit!”</p> - -<p>“I am very glad to be on hand, and I already have had a wonderful visit, -renewing my youth.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Lilian,—please let me see the telegram.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll leave it with you, dear girl, and I’ll get back the first minute I -can.” Lilian came over close to Hilary and put her arm around her neck. -“Are you just a little easier?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Lilian, ever so much,—I’m sorry I was such a baby.”</p> - -<p>Isabel came back, a little in advance of Miss Randolph and the one of -the nurses who was not taking care of the measles patient.</p> - -<p>“Thank you, Isabel,” said Hilary’s aunt. “Now you join the girls. Hilary -will feel better to know that everything is going as usual, and it will -be better for her to be alone with the nurse and the doctor, as soon as -he comes.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Hilary, child, what sort of a performance is this?” asked Miss -Randolph with kindness, as she came into the suite and the nurse -followed. “Mrs. Garland, this is Miss Knight, one of our nurses.”</p> - -<p>Miss Knight had a little dose for Hilary to take, and then proceeded to -examine the foot, very carefully. She was a good nurse, but very -matter-of-fact, and said in reply to Hilary’s question, “No I don’t -<i>think</i> there is anything broken.”</p> - -<p>Hilary’s heart descended to its lowest location. “Possibly something -broken. Now there was not the least hope of getting to New York in time -to see Campbell before he sailed! Why did this have to happen just at -this time?”</p> - -<p>But Hilary had little opportunity to mourn at present. The janitor -brought in a wheeled chair in which Hilary was conveyed to the elevator -and thence to the hospital room. It was only a short time until the -doctor came, a genial soul who was as gentle as a thorough examination -would permit. “Nothing broken, Miss Lancaster, and I have seen worse -sprains. I am afraid I can’t promise your being able to walk up for your -diploma tomorrow, but you will feel a good deal better than you do now.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, could I travel to New York in a day or two?”</p> - -<p>“Is that necessary?” asked the doctor, hesitating.</p> - -<p>“I want to very much.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’ll tell you, Miss Lancaster, I will give directions for good -care of that ankle and I can tell better tomorrow, when the swelling -goes down, what the prospect is.”</p> - -<p>“He wasn’t very encouraging, was he, Aunt Hilary?” Hilary was lying in -bed now, her bandaged foot and ankle on a soft pillow. “I suppose I am -crazy to even <i>think</i> of getting to New York, but it does seem—as if—I -can’t give up seeing Campbell before—” Hilary was crying again. “Please -forgive me for—crying!”</p> - -<p>“Poor little girl!” Aunt Hilary was smoothing the hot forehead. “Cry all -you want to; perhaps it will do you good. You are all tired out, and I -can understand what the disappointment means to you.”</p> - -<p>“You will go to the concert tonight, won’t you?” Hilary could always -think of some one besides herself.</p> - -<p>“Yes if you want me to and if you are fit to be left.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I will be. I guess I am pretty tired and nervous this spring. After -you have put it all through, you know——”</p> - -<p>“Indeed I do know. Now let me tell you what I am thinking about. The -telegram said that the boys were on their way from the south, didn’t -it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“That means a day or two yet before they even arrive, and they have to -get their overseas outfit. It is rarely that they are rushed right to -sea. Suppose you let the girls go, as they intend, tomorrow night, and -then you and I will leave as soon as the doctor says it is safe.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Aunt Hilary,—‘you and I’—would you go <i>with</i> me?”</p> - -<p>“Do you suppose I’m going to fail the dearest niece I have at such a -time as this, if there are trains and comfortable drawing room to get -you to your sweetheart? Besides, I want a look at the boy.”</p> - -<p>Aunt Hilary laughed at the blissful expression that dawned upon Hilary’s -face. “Do you like the idea? How very fortunate that I came.”</p> - -<p>“Do I <i>like</i> it! ‘Fortunate!’ Aunt Hilary have you ever been lifted from -the depths of despair to the heights of—” Hilary was hesitating for a -word.</p> - -<p>“Happiness?” suggested her aunt. “If you want to follow the -alliteration.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I don’t mind this, if I can only go.”</p> - -<p>“Go you shall,” asserted her aunt. “Now, child, I want you to be -perfectly quiet and if you can, take a good nap. You are worn out.”</p> - -<p>“I believe I can take a little nap before dinner. When the gong rings -you will go, won’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, and I shall be all the more likely to do so if you go to -sleep.”</p> - -<p>“All right, Aunt Hilary. Isn’t it funny how quickly things can change? I -know better how Betty felt now. But she fell from a horse and did not -sprain a limb, while I only fell a little way.”</p> - -<p>“Sh-sh, Hilary. I used to put you to sleep when you were a little girl; -can’t I be successful now?”</p> - -<p>Hilary laughed and obediently closed her eyes.</p> - -<p>The other girls, meanwhile, had received from the hands of their -favorite teacher their society certificates and were busy talking to a -few visiting alumnae, friends, and each other, while serving and being -served with the light refreshments offered.</p> - -<p>“Isn’t it the most unfortunate thing that Hilary had to have an accident -right now!” Cathalina was filling a plate with macaroons to pass around -a second time, while Lilian was putting more ice in the bowl and filling -it up with the mixed fruit juices again.</p> - -<p>“Just dreadful!” exclaimed Lilian. “What are we to do about it?”</p> - -<p>“I have a plan, if there aren’t any bones broken. We’ll talk about it as -soon as this is over. I wonder if Hilary could drink some of this?”</p> - -<p>“We’ll take her over some. Of course, she is at the pest house now. I -believe everybody’s been served and the cakes have been around twice, -except these.”</p> - -<p>“It is only five o’clock, an hour before dinner.”</p> - -<p>Laden with good things, the two girls and Betty started over to the -hospital building. “My plan is this,” said Cathalina, “that I take a -stateroom, if we can get a reservation, and just put Hilary to bed and -take her along. We girls can take care of her, don’t you think so?”</p> - -<p>“Indeed we can. The nurse will show us how to bandage her foot. Or -perhaps her aunt will go along. I’ll ask her to come to our house.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no, Lilian. They’d better come to our house because we have so much -extra room. I’ll tuck Hilary away in her own rose room.”</p> - -<p>“Do you suppose Hilary could manage on crutches?”</p> - -<p>“We’ll have to see about that.”</p> - -<p>Aunt Hilary was on guard, sitting outside the building on a rustic bench -under a tree. As the girls hurried up with their hands full, she smiled -and said, “Hilary had orders to go to sleep, but I will tiptoe in and -see.” Carefully she peeped inside the door, to discover Hilary with wide -open eyes, and surprise a long sigh from the injured senior.</p> - -<p>“You bad child, you did not go to sleep at all.”</p> - -<p>“I couldn’t, Aunt Hilary. I’m sorry.”</p> - -<p>“Come in, girls,” called Aunt Hilary.</p> - -<p>“Oh, the girls! Good!”</p> - -<p>“You poor dear, how are you by this time? What did the doctor say about -your foot?”</p> - -<p>“There isn’t a thing broken, Lilian, but of course it hurts. It’s all -bandaged up as tight as anything and he is going to see what the -prospect is in the morning.”</p> - -<p>“Cathalina has thought up a wonderful plan and we are going to take you -with us if your aunt will let us, and we were hoping that she would go -too.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” eagerly assented Cathalina. “We girls can take care of you just -as easy as pie, put you in a stateroom,—I will arrange for one tomorrow, -and Mrs. Garland, if you can <i>possibly</i> come, please come and add to our -happiness and Hilary’s comfort by being our guest. I know that you will -like my mother.”</p> - -<p>“Aren’t you the dearest girls in Greycliff or anywhere else!” exclaimed -Hilary. “Everybody is planning for poor me. I feel ashamed of my broken -heart, but honestly I thought, it was cracked in two at first. And Aunt -Hilary, too, had the plan to take me East.”</p> - -<p>“Have you, Mrs. Garland?—Look, Hilary, here come more girls with more -ice cream!”</p> - -<p>Hilary, her aunt and the nurse were soon supplied with cooling and -delicious refreshments, for Eloise, Helen, and Pauline had been seized -with the same thought, and unaware of Lilian’s mission, had also brought -the entire menu.</p> - -<p>“This will spoil our dinner,” said Aunt Hilary.</p> - -<p>“Let it,” said Hilary. “I’d rather have this.”</p> - -<p>“It will probably be better for you than a heavy meal,” said the nurse. -“I wasn’t planning to bring you much tonight.”</p> - -<p>Hilary patiently bore her disappointment in not singing with the glee -club that night. The thought that she might not have to miss the trip to -New York made her able to bear lesser ills. The girls took Aunt Hilary -to dinner and to the concert, brought her back to say goodnight to -Hilary, and took her to her room at the Hall, when Hilary and the nurse -both insisted that it would be absurd for her to stay with Hilary. The -nurse had had special directions from the doctor and bathed, rubbed and -bandaged the ankle several times during the night, that first night so -hard to bear unless something is done for relief. So the time passed -till morning.</p> - -<p>When the doctor came in the morning, he was surprised to find the sprain -in such good condition. “How would you like to be wheeled on the -platform, with the rest of the girls, when they get their diplomas?”</p> - -<p>Hilary was feeling so frisky and free from discomfort that she wanted to -ask him if the rest were to be wheeled on too,—but did not.</p> - -<p>“Do you mean it, doctor?”</p> - -<p>“Indeed I do. I don’t want you to walk on it today, but you can go to -everything if some one takes you. Come back for the treatment regularly -and don’t have any more accidents. I would not try to leave tonight, as -I believe you had planned. But by tomorrow night, I think you will feel -quite comfortable. Stay in the hospital tonight and have the same -treatment you had last night.”</p> - -<p>Aunt Hilary walked out with the doctor, to make sure that Hilary was -really in good condition, and came back rejoicing. “We shall really go -tomorrow night, then, but I shall be on hand all day to see that nothing -more happens to that foot.”</p> - -<p>So it happened that Aunt Hilary did see her niece receive her diploma. -Hilary, dressed in the pretty white graduate frock, a white shawl thrown -over the bandaged foot, was carefully wheeled from the back entrance of -the platform to a place in the line of girls who had been called forward -and had mounted the platform to receive their diplomas. Her name had -just been called, and Miss Randolph, departing from custom, stepped back -to hand the diploma to Hilary. Returning to the front of the platform -again, she said, “It would have been disappointment, indeed, if Miss -Lancaster, who is the student receiving highest honors in scholarship, -had not been able to receive her diploma in person.”</p> - -<p>Finding that Hilary would be able to leave Wednesday, the other girls -also decided to stay, help her pack and be on hand to “do her bidding,” -as Lilian put it, while they made the journey. They were able to change -their reservations, the railway authorities glad to get back the berths, -and able to make better arrangements for them, it happened, for -Wednesday night. Aunt Hilary, not Cathalina, engaged the stateroom, but -promised to stay at Cathalina’s instead of at a hotel. “It would be -terrible not to be all together!” Cathalina had exclaimed.</p> - -<p>The packing was a great undertaking. The girls were all thankful for -that extra day at Greycliff. The three at Lakeview Suite, though worn -out with much Commencement, finished their packing early Wednesday -morning while Hilary was still at the hospital, and with Aunt Hilary -packed Hilary’s things later. Most of the girls had left Tuesday night, -but there were still some trying goodbyes to be said. Fortunately, some -of the girls could still look forward to schooldays together.</p> - -<p>Miss Randolph paid a special visit to Lakeview Suite and earnestly -expressed her pleasure at having had such loyal, fine girls at -Greycliff. The girls tried to tell her how much they had appreciated -what she had taught them, in so many inspiring ways, but felt that they -had not been equal to the occasion. “But she knows, girls,” said Hilary -consolingly, as she watched Aunt Hilary and Miss Randolph stroll off -down the hall together.</p> - -<p>At last they were on the train, Hilary so comfortable that she declared -she could not have planned it better to travel in luxury, with some one -to anticipate her every need. Her companions knew, however, that if -Hilary could have her way she would exchange all that for a well foot. -But it made a happy little company, after all. There was time for much -conversation, some confidences, and many plans for the coming days. They -missed Betty after she changed cars to go in another direction, but -there were promises of full accounts in letters. And now the Hudson, the -approach, the city.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 id='chXV' title='XV: When Lads Became Men'> -<span>CHAPTER XV</span><br /><span>WHEN LADS BECAME MEN</span> -</h2> - -<p>It was a new East to Cathalina and the other girls. There had been many -a long stop on the way, for the troop trains had precedence. Everywhere -was the uniform, and in the Hudson were strangely camouflaged ships. -Cathalina and Lilian had telegraphed about their changed date of arrival -and were met by the fathers this time. No dashing Philip, blue-eyed -Campbell or brotherly Dick at the station. But the first question asked -by Cathalina and Lilian of their respective parents was “Have the boys -come yet?”</p> - -<p>“We do not know,” answered Mr. Van Buskirk. “If so, they are detained at -camp. They promised to send us word at the first opportunity, but they -might not have that for a time.”</p> - -<p>Hilary managed to hobble around pretty well and reached the Van Buskirk -car without much difficulty. Aunt Hilary and Cathalina followed Hilary -into the machine and they started off, after saying goodbye to Lilian -and her father.</p> - -<p>“Not much need of goodbyes, is there, daughter?” inquired the Judge. “I -suppose you will be over there most of the time till the boys sail.”</p> - -<p>“I may be at home a little, a very little, Daddy, so make the most of -me!”</p> - -<p>“Very well, but even you will have to take second place when Dick -arrives. Your mother lives in anticipation.”</p> - -<p>“Poor mother! Is Dick still in camp?”</p> - -<p>“He was shifted to another camp, but telegraphed, a night letter, saying -that the indications were for a start in a day or two and that he would -let us know. He will come to Camp Merritt also.”</p> - -<p>Aunt Hilary received a warm welcome from Mrs. Van Buskirk, while Hilary -was petted and waited on until she said she would be spoiled and never -would want to wait on herself again. The big Van Buskirk house was cool -and comfortable, electric fans going, flowers about the rooms, cold -salads and ices served. It was perhaps as well that the soldier lads had -not arrived, for the girls were so tired that they did not need any -extra excitement. Mrs. Van Buskirk suggested that both Cathalina and -Hilary should spend most of the time in bed for the next day or two and -sent for some one to give special treatment to the rapidly improving -foot. None of the relatives were invited in, no reunions planned, until -Philip and Campbell should arrive. Lilian, however, called up -occasionally. She, too, had been put to bed to rest, but felt anxious to -know about Hilary’s progress.</p> - -<p>“I feel it in my bones,” said she, talking over the telephone to -Cathalina, “that the boys are not far away. We got the telegram Tuesday, -you know, and your people had just heard, and then the boys had started. -I don’t see how it <i>could</i> take more than three or four days. Do you -suppose they can be at camp?”</p> - -<p>“They might be, but Mother is expecting Phil either tomorrow or Sunday. -She has given orders for all the good things that Philip likes to eat, -and such spreads as we’ll have for the next few days!”</p> - -<p>“Here, too. Well, I suppose it takes a long time to move so many troops -and we must be patient.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, but you come over tomorrow and stay all day and the next. If you -are here we shall have Phil in the house just that much more! Mother -told me to ask you to come.”</p> - -<p>“All right, Cathalina, I’ll be over in the morning.”</p> - -<p>“Better bring all the clothes you want, for Phil will not want you out -of his sight.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, he could drive me home.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and then <i>we</i> wouldn’t have him.”</p> - -<p>“I see. By the way, little sister, have you any overseas news since you -came home?”</p> - -<p>“Not a word. And Captain Van Horne’s unit is right in the thickest of -the battles.”</p> - -<p>Lilian joined the Van Buskirk “unit” the next day, spending much of the -time up in the rose room where Hilary sat with her foot up, doing her -best to take care now in order to be around with the rest soon. Mrs. Van -Buskirk and Aunt Hilary came and went, all the ladies knitting -vigorously.</p> - -<p>“I must try to match this yarn,” Hilary was saying. “Isn’t it funny that -there are different shades of khaki. I thought I had enough to finish -the sweater, but haven’t. I do hope that I can match it exactly.”</p> - -<p>“Listen!” said Cathalina.</p> - -<p>Lilian jumped to her feet. Cathalina reached for her and drew her out -into the hall. Hilary looked at Aunt Hilary and dropped her work, -wondering if Campbell could possibly come with Philip, whose voice they -now heard downstairs. Yes, who was that asking, “Is it all right to go -up now, Aunt Sylvia?” The answer must have been affirmative, for rapid -steps were coming up the stairs, and Hilary limped out of the room so -quickly that she met him at the top.</p> - -<p>There was no question of being engaged or not engaged. Campbell had just -heard of Hilary’s accident and gathered her up, fairly carrying her to -the end of the hall where there was a convenient window-seat.</p> - -<p>“Hilary, Hilary, were you badly hurt?”</p> - -<p>“No, Campbell,—but how tired you look!”</p> - -<p>It took only a few happy minutes for all explanations and expressions -that were necessary for a complete understanding.</p> - -<p>“I did not mean, Hilary, to tell you this until I came back,—but I -couldn’t help it.”</p> - -<p>“I’d rather it were this way, Campbell. If you know that I care for you, -you will write more freely and it will seem so different.”</p> - -<p>“What a heavenly difference!”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Van Buskirk ascended the stairs and stood at the top without the -lovers’ being aware of her presence, and Mrs. Garland came from the rose -room to join her. “There is another pair downstairs,” remarked Mrs. Van -Buskirk with an expression of amusement. “But our lads will go more -happily for having their sweethearts waiting for them. I thought that -Campbell and Hilary were going to be so sensible and wait.” Mrs. Van -Buskirk raised her voice purposely as she said this, though she and Aunt -Hilary had their backs turned to the window-seat.</p> - -<p>“What was that, Aunt Sylvia?” Campbell had risen, and now was walking -slowly toward them, helping Hilary.</p> - -<p>“Come and meet Mrs. Garland, Campbell. Mrs. Garland, this is my nephew -and Hilary’s friend.” Trust Mrs. Van Buskirk not to take for granted any -new relation.</p> - -<p>“It’s my Aunt Hilary, Campbell,” said Hilary as her aunt cordially -greeted the young man.</p> - -<p>“I came up to tell you all that lunch will be ready before long. You -will stay, will you not, Campbell? Have you seen your mother yet?”</p> - -<p>“No, I haven’t been out home. This was on the way, and I couldn’t resist -stopping to see if the girls had come.” Campbell looked down at Hilary -with content.</p> - -<p>“Why not telephone her that you are in the city and will be right out -after lunch. Phil will drive you out. Perhaps Hilary will feel like -going too.”</p> - -<p>“No, Mrs. Van Buskirk, I think not. His mother will want him all to -herself for a little while at least.”</p> - -<p>“It is very thoughtful of you, Hilary, to appreciate that. You might -ride out, though, and come back with Phil and Lilian.”</p> - -<p>“That is a great plan, Aunt Sylvia. You have a heart!” exclaimed -Campbell.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Van Buskirk laughed. “I haven’t wholly forgotten my own youth,” she -replied, as she started down the stairs again, Aunt Hilary accompanying -her.</p> - -<p>Campbell said something in a low tone to Hilary, who laughed. “Aunt -Hilary,” said she, “Campbell wants to know if he may carry me down.”</p> - -<p>“It will be the very simplest way of getting her down,” assented that -lady. “She has been having her meals carried to her, but will want to be -with the family now.”</p> - -<p>“If I want a permanent job as porter, then,” began Campbell, but Hilary -told him not to be silly, and he promptly obeyed, lifting Hilary and -carrying her down quickly, when the coast was clear of descending -ladies.</p> - -<p>“She has begun to boss me already,” said Campbell as he helped Hilary -into the library where were Lilian and Philip.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Campbell, as if I would do that!” began Hilary.</p> - -<p>“What, what, what?” exclaimed Philip, jumping up to come and shake hands -with Hilary. “You don’t mean to say that everything is fixed up and——”</p> - -<p>“It is,” said Campbell. “Congratulate me. Hilary says that she’ll have -me, though I’m terribly afraid that it is the uniform that she likes.”</p> - -<p>“Irrepressible,” said Hilary to Lilian.</p> - -<p>“Yes, but isn’t it wonderful to have them here for a little while?”</p> - -<p>“It makes me feel a little better, Campbell,” said Philip, seriously. -“You were so noble and self-sacrificing that I felt horribly selfish to -have asked Lilian.”</p> - -<p>The boys looked older and were thin after their strenuous months in a -southern camp. There was a firmness to young mouths in those days and a -lift to the chin, for boys had become men in the training and under the -new responsibility, as they met the evils wrought by the wrong ambitions -of wicked men.</p> - -<p>“How did it happen to take you so long to come, Philip?” asked Mrs. Van -Buskirk at lunch.</p> - -<p>“They brought us by such a round-about way, Mother. It was not by any -means a direct route.”</p> - -<p>“How long can you stay this time?” asked Cathalina.</p> - -<p>“We are off for over Sunday, but I don’t think that our bunch will go -over for a week or ten days. You must all come out to see the camp. Have -any of you been over?”</p> - -<p>“Your father and I have been there several times in connection with the -work for the boys,” replied Mrs. Van Buskirk. “We shall go when you -can’t come to us, but this is better when you can.”</p> - -<p>“I should say so!” assented Philip, accepting further attentions from -old Watts, who could not keep his usual impassive countenance under the -circumstances. Louis had come with Philip and had been warmly greeted by -both the family and the servants. He was in Philip’s company, but the -relation was not of master and man.</p> - -<p>After lunch Philip drove Lilian, Campbell and Hilary to the Stuarts, but -Hilary did not return with Lilian and Philip, for Mrs. Stuart insisted -upon her staying and promised to take Campbell off by himself for a talk -if she would stay. And the family all made much of Hilary. It had been -well known among them how long Campbell had admired her.</p> - -<p>“He has been so uneasy at times, Hilary,” said Mrs. Stuart, in a little -private conference, “and I had wondered how it was,—if you could not -care for my boy.”</p> - -<p>“It was only too easy to do that, Mrs. Stuart, but I could scarcely -offer myself to him, could I?”</p> - -<p>“No, I suppose not.”</p> - -<p>“You see you can’t be perfectly sure that a boy cares for you very very -much until he tells you so. And I think that Campbell was surprised into -it as it was! Perhaps I should have said ‘No’!”</p> - -<p>Hilary felt well acquainted with them all because of her previous visits -among the relatives, and Sara, who was a tall slip of a girl in her -teens now, quite openly adored her. Hilary told Sara and Emily all about -her sinking heart when she thought that she would not be able to come.</p> - -<p>“Oh, suppose you hadn’t!” exclaimed Sara. “Then you and Campbell -wouldn’t be engaged, and you couldn’t have seen him before he left.”</p> - -<p>“That was it, Sara. I really did not expect to be engaged to him, but I -thought I must see him, after having expected to all these months.”</p> - -<p>“But now you belong to us,” declared Sara emphatically. “Aunt Hilary -must come to see us, too.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Emily. “I imagine that we’ll all go over there to see Phil -and call on Mrs. Garland after dinner. I told Phil that he need not come -for you, that we should want a visit with him, too, and would probably -be over. Aunt Sylvia will want a quiet day with him tomorrow, I think.”</p> - -<p>It turned out so. Cathalina telephoned around to the different relatives -and to Judge and Mrs. North, asking them to call after dinner. Philip, -however, had driven Lilian home, after delivering Hilary at the Stuarts, -and was warmly welcomed by the Judge and his wife.</p> - -<p>“Dick is at camp,” announced Philip, “and will get off in the morning.”</p> - -<p>“I will go home with you tonight, Mother,” said Lilian, “and help you -get dinner for Dick tomorrow morning. I want you to have a chance to -visit with him while he can be here.”</p> - -<p>“I shall have dinner nearly prepared tonight, Lilian, and there will be -little to do tomorrow, but you are a good child and I will let you -finish it up. Can’t you come over and help her, Philip?”</p> - -<p>“If I only could! But Mother would be disappointed if I were not at -home. I’ll come over for Lilian right after dinner if you don’t mind.”</p> - -<p>It took a great deal of planning for every one to see the soldier lads, -but the time was precious for memories. At Camp Merritt, Philip pointed -out a little hut where food was sold to the soldiers.</p> - -<p>“See that sign?” he asked. “‘No Pies.’ That never comes down, because -the boys know when the pies come in, and go at once to buy them out!”</p> - -<p>At the little station in Dumont, out from which town the camp was -located, troop trains were being unloaded. Processions of worn, dusty -men were marching away toward the camp and were carrying immense packs -that looked heavy for any one not a giant. The girls watched them and -the great loaded trucks that sped away to take all kinds of supplies to -Camp Merritt. “I grow more and more indignant,” said Hilary. “All this -hardship and risk and worse, and what for?—Just because it happens to be -our job to help defeat some murderers. But it has to be done.”</p> - -<p>Those were sober days, and when several days later it was evidently -their last visit to the boys in camp it was hard to say the farewells. -Not far from where Philip and Lilian stood talking, sat a young soldier -and his wife, the latter a frail little woman with a patient, sad look -upon her face. They were not saying a word, only sat with clasped hands -till such time as he would have to go back to quarters. But Philip and -Lilian said goodbye with a brave smile, each to the other, and Lilian -stood watching Philip till he had disappeared within the barracks.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 id='chXVI' title='XVI: Butterfly Wings'> -<span>CHAPTER XVI</span><br /><span>BUTTERFLY WINGS</span> -</h2> - -<p>Free from school duties, Greycliff girls made plans for the coming year -and threw themselves into the relief work. There were letters from -somewhere in France, boxes sent and mementos received. The great drive -was on in Europe and haunting fear hovered over American homes thus far -untouched. Yet men, women and maids went courageously forward doing -“their bit.”</p> - -<p>Cathalina and Lilian had already made their arrangements to study in New -York. Lilian was giving up her music temporarily, for she said that she -did not have the heart to sing while Philip was in France. But she was -continually singing, after all, in patriotic gatherings or in the -hospitals.</p> - -<p>Hilary had decided to go to the denominational school which her parents -had selected. Always considering what would be to her advantage, they -concluded that school life would be less distracting for her away from -home, unless she really preferred to be at home and attend the excellent -university in the city. But Betty wrote that her father was considering -the same school for her, and that Eloise and Helen were waiting for her -decision, hoping that they all might be together again. After a little -correspondence, the matter was settled and the girls were greatly -delighted at the prospect.</p> - -<p>Pauline Tracy and Juliet Howe were to attend a western state university -miles and miles away from any of the girls they knew,—so they wrote.</p> - -<p>Virginia Hope’s application for a school near her home was successful. -Poor Isabel, perhaps, would have the most lonely time. All the older -Hunt boys were in the army now, even Jim, who had shared the fatherly -responsibility for discipline and finances. It was Isabel’s form of -service to stay at home, put as much cheer as possible into the house, -for the sake of the two younger boys, Aunt Helen and her father, and -take up again the friendships of the home town. To this end Isabel was -bending all her energies when school opened for the rest in September.</p> - -<p>About this time, the first round robin spread its wings, carrying -epistles somewhat brief on this first flight, and flew with surprising -speed from one to another, because the girls knew that a quick report of -where they all were was needed. Betty, who started it before she left -home for school, wrote across the top of her first page, in large -capitals, “Procrastination is the thief of time,” and under this, in -smaller but heavily underscored letters, “Do It Now.”</p> - -<p>The girls followed her advice and wrote without delay, before the -freshness of the news had been lost.</p> - -<p>When this round robin reached Betty again, it had grown much in size. -Taking out her first letter, she replaced it with another and started -the robin anew. But it was delayed this time. Things were happening. The -war was being won, the armistice came, Christmas time, soldiers coming -home—what wonder that girls found little time to write to each other in -this fashion. Betty and Cathalina wrote often, and Lilian heard -regularly from Hilary; but three weeks after Betty had handed the round -robin to Hilary she inquired for it, to find that it was in Helen’s -portfolio.</p> - -<p>Hilary had been writing a theme and was late in handing the letters to -Eloise. Eloise was to sing at a recital, and Helen had just forgotten -it. Such is sometimes the fate of round robins! By the time the letters -reached Pauline and Juliet, it was nearly time for the Christmas -vacation, and when they arrived in New York the March days were on, many -of the soldier boys at home, and life changing very fast for some of the -Greycliff girls.</p> - -<p>“Round robin coming home again,” said Hilary, as she threw the fat -envelope in Betty’s lap one spring day. “Let’s all read it together.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, let’s do,” said Helen, “and I will make a few extracts for Evelyn. -I had a forlorn letter from her today, asking why I did not write and -saying that she was starved for news from everybody.”</p> - -<p>“She ought to have joined the round robin company.”</p> - -<p>“So she says; I will put her name on the list, Betty, and this time I -will just tell her the main things. I’ll call it ‘feathers from the -round robin’.”</p> - -<p>“That is good, Helen, and be sure to give her our special love. Is Percy -back?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, but Evelyn is interested in one of the wounded boys now, a sort of -cousin of hers.”</p> - -<p>“The one she was engaged to once?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes.”</p> - -<p>Betty was opening the large envelope and sorting out the letters which -had been written by the “assembled company,” as she said. “Shall we -glance through each other’s letters?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“We know all each other’s news,” reminded Hilary.</p> - -<p>“Yes, but we might have said something brilliant, you know,” suggested -Eloise. “It would be a pity to miss anything.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, here’s something characteristic from Isabel,” said Betty a little -later. “Listen! She says, ‘I have just <i>devoured</i> the round robin! -Query,—what can you devour and not destroy? The answer is,—a round -robin. It was so good to hear from you all again.’” Here Betty -exclaimed, with a sympathetic “Oh, poor Isabel!”</p> - -<p>“What is it?” asked all the girls.</p> - -<p>“I’ll just go and read it: ‘You will be sorry for us when I tell you -about Lou, who is still in a hospital in France, and we have been so -worried. At first we got such good news about him, we thought, but he -was gassed and wounded, too, and is not doing very well. Milt is with -him, though, and will bring him home in a few weeks, he thinks. Jim is a -casual now—I’m thankful to say not a casualty—and is wandering around at -the pleasure of various authorities. It is so aggravating when we want -him to come home so much and he is needed. But there are other men in -the army that are worse off.’”</p> - -<p>“Take the New York letters next, Betty, will you? We’ve finished reading -these from Pauline and Juliet,—or would you rather read them first.”</p> - -<p>“No, I don’t care in what order I read them. Here are those from -Cathalina and Lilian. Shall I read Cathalina’s to you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Helen, “and Hilary can read Phil’s.”</p> - -<p>The news from New York was especially interesting, though Hilary had -heard some of it through letters from Campbell Stuart. The cousins, -however, had been widely separated and knew little of each other’s -movements.</p> - -<p>“Think of it,” said Helen, “another school year almost gone, and the -boys coming home!”</p> - -<p>“It has been a long year,” said Hilary, “and some of them are sleeping -‘on Flander’s Field’.”</p> - -<p>But it was in April that the most astounding news came to Betty and the -other girls. It came in a letter from Cathalina, who told how Lilian’s -brother Dick came home looking more ‘fit’ than ever in his life, and how -he and Captain Van Horne, who was growing strong after his wounds, were -in the law office with every chance of success, how Philip was trying to -build up the business which had suffered during the war, with much more -about everybody. Then she asked, “Are you girls prepared to be -bridesmaids in June?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, now Lilian and Phil are going to be married!” exclaimed Hilary. -“Funny that she has not said so to me!”</p> - -<p>Betty shook her head. “Guess again,” said she.</p> - -<p>“Dick and Louise Van Ness,” said Helen.</p> - -<p>“But they would not want <i>us</i> to be bridesmaids.”</p> - -<p>“I see a dawning intelligence on Hilary’s face,” laughed Betty. “It is, -Hilary, it’s Cathalina.”</p> - -<p>“Cathalina!” exclaimed Helen.</p> - -<p>“Bless her heart, it was his wound that did it,” said Eloise.</p> - -<p>“I can’t read you all the letter, and yet I know in my bones that she -will tell you all about it when you see her. Cathalina is shy about some -things, you know.”</p> - -<p>“Cathalina!” exclaimed Helen again. “Now I would have said that Lilian -would be the first and Hilary the second bride, unless Betty, -possibly,——”</p> - -<p>Helen was looking at Eloise as she spoke, and Eloise assented to her -statement.</p> - -<p>“Not I,” laughed Betty. “I’m thankful that Donald escaped the -submarines, but it will be some years yet before we can get married. -Both of us have to finish college and then Donald will have to get a -start in business. Philip and Dick and Cathalina’s lover are lucky.”</p> - -<p>“When did you say the wedding is to be?” asked Helen.</p> - -<p>“In June, but the date is not fixed yet. She wants us all for -bridesmaids and will fix the time after school is out, is writing to all -the girls to find out if they can come.”</p> - -<p>“Whom do you mean by all the girls? She couldn’t have the whole Psyche -Club, could she?”</p> - -<p>“No; she said that she was afraid Pauline, Juliet and Virgie could not -even get to the wedding from things they have written about their plans, -you know. She wants me for maid of honor,—think of it—her mother wants -to have a big wedding and Cathalina doesn’t mind. Then she wants to have -you three girls, of course, with Lilian and Isabel, and then that cousin -of hers that is about her age, Nan Van Ness. And Charlotte Van Ness is -to be flower girl. She says that is as far as she has planned. No, for -there is one thing more,—she wants us to have delicate colors, different -colors, and be the ‘butterfly girls’ of the Psyche Club.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that will be lovely. Cathalina will make a beautiful bride. Did she -say how she is going to be dressed or anything more about how she wanted -the bridesmaids’ dresses to be?”</p> - -<p>“No, only that she hadn’t thought it out yet, and she wants us to be -planning to come as soon as school is out in June for a real house-party -again.”</p> - -<p>“A house-party, and while they are getting ready for a wedding?” asked -Helen in surprise.</p> - -<p>“Cathalina wrote—well, I’ll read it to you: ‘I have not thought out the -details yet. It is all so new and wonderful to be engaged to a man -who,’—maybe I’d better leave out that—anyway she says that it’s love’s -young dream as yet. ‘But Mother and I will sit down some day and put it -all on paper, just what we want, and then the housekeeper and the -decorator and the caterer will carry it all out. I’m going to let Mother -plan my clothes. We’ll do some shopping together right away, and perhaps -Lilian and Mrs. North will go with us some time. Aunt Katharine will -take an interest, too. So about all little Cathalina will have to do is -to try on clothes and say whether she likes them or not. At first I did -not like the thought of a big wedding, but Mother has just one girl to -be married, and believes in being married in church, and then we have so -many friends and such a family connection that there isn’t any other -way.’”</p> - -<p>“I see,” said Helen. “I suppose that Mrs. Van Buskirk is used to -planning for big entertainments.”</p> - -<p>“I think that they usually have small companies, but they can have the -others and do occasionally,” said Hilary. “Then they have plenty of help -always. In some ways it’s more fun to do things yourself, but this will -be as perfect as money and good taste can make it. And we shall have a -glorious visit.”</p> - -<p>“What shall we give her for our wedding present?”</p> - -<p>“The Psyche Club might give her a pretty little white marble Psyche.”</p> - -<p>“A fine idea, Hilary. Cathalina would love that, I know,—a real -beautiful one. But perhaps she has one.”</p> - -<p>“No; she spoke about it once and that is what made me think of it, but -I’m pretty sure that she has not bought one.”</p> - -<p>“Then that makes the club present provided for. I’m afraid it will be -hard to think up presents for one who has everything she wants—almost.”</p> - -<p>“I felt that way, too, at first,” said Hilary, “when I first visited -Cathalina, but there are ever so many real simple things that Cathalina -likes and I never knew anybody that appreciated being thought of more -than Cathalina. Not that she expects it at all, but she shows so much -real pleasure and delight that it warms your heart to do anything for -her.”</p> - -<p>“Cathalina admires my embroidery,” said Eloise, “and I’m going right -down street tomorrow and buy the finest linen I can find and start -something. What shall it be?—doilies? table cover?—Oh, well, I can think -it out better after I look around the shops a little.”</p> - -<p>“I could hemstitch and embroider some ‘hankys’,” said Helen.</p> - -<p>“Wouldn’t it be fun to have a shower while we are at Cathalina’s?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Betty, but we would not be there long enough beforehand.”</p> - -<p>“Cathalina says that she wants us two weeks beforehand, if it is -possible.”</p> - -<p>“Let’s hope that school closes early, then.”</p> - -<p>“We can plan to leave right after examinations, and not stay for the -Commencement. We are not graduating, and what is a Commencement compared -with a wedding?”</p> - -<p>“If we had not been to so many Commencement exercises at Greycliff we -might not think so, but I fully agree with you,” said Hilary. “We can go -right on now with plans for our little gifts and have our clothes ready -for the trip. Think of it!”</p> - -<p>On the next mail there came a letter from Cathalina directed to Hilary -and addressed to all the girls, inviting them to be her bridesmaids and -telling of her plans. The date was the same as that of Betty’s and the -two letters had been mailed at the same time. “I’m going to write to -each one of you, separately, and later will have more to tell you about -plans. If you have any suggestions,—mail them on!” There was much more, -all in the happiest vein. Later the formal invitations were sent.</p> - -<hr class='tbk' /> - -<p>In New York, there was among the relatives a pleasant excitement over -the engagement and approaching marriage of Cathalina. Nan Van Ness, who -was the only one of the girls in the family to be a bridesmaid, was at -the Van Buskirk house a great deal of the time. Lilian ran in and out, -of course, and the girls were in the gayest of spirits. Philip suggested -to Lilian that there be a double wedding, but Lilian said that it would -not do.</p> - -<p>“I’m sure that your mother would want this to be Cathalina’s own -wedding, Philip. I know I would in her place. And besides, I believe I -should prefer to have a wedding of my own, too. Then I can’t leave -Mother for a little while. Hearing that Dick was ‘missing’ and not -knowing any better for a month nearly finished her and she has not -gotten over it yet.”</p> - -<p>“All right, best and dearest,” said Philip. “We’ll give our little -sister the finest wedding ever, and then I shall not have to wait too -long, shall I?”</p> - -<p>“Not very long, Philip. You have been through enough, and I’ll try to -make you forget the sad things in being happy with me. Mother will not -want to keep us apart. I’ve just been so pleased to see how she fusses -over you since you came home, almost as much as she does over Dick.”</p> - -<p>The older girls in the family connection did not expect to be -bridesmaids for this wedding. Cathalina had worried about it a little at -first, although Nan was the only one who was of her own age. She loved -the older girls, but did want her “butterfly girls,” as she sometimes -called the girls of the Psyche Club. And after Cathalina learned through -Aunt Katherine and Louise Van Ness that Ann Maria would be married some -time in the summer or fall to a young officer, she knew that Louise and -Emily and the other girls in Ann Maria’s circle of friends would be -bridesmaids for her.</p> - -<p>June came and brought the “butterfly girls” to New York. Leaving before -Commencement permitted them to arrive about the close of the first week -in June, and ten days before the wedding. The pretty bridesmaid gowns -were carefully boxed and came through in good condition. Cathalina’s and -Mrs. Van Buskirk’s maids unpacked for the girls and put their clothes in -drawers and closets. Hilary and Betty were in the rose room, Eloise and -Helen near, Isabel in a small room, to sleep by herself in the few hours -which they spent in that occupation, though Mrs. Van Buskirk came around -herself to see that they did not talk too late, reminding them that they -must keep in fine condition for the great event.</p> - -<p>There was so much to talk about! Nearly a year, and a strange year, had -some of them been separated Cathalina waited till all the girls had -arrived and then showed them her pretty trousseau. “Dainty and lovely, -like you, Cathalina,” said Isabel.</p> - -<p>“I haven’t had anything packed yet, because I wanted you all to see -everything,” said Cathalina, “but the maid is going to begin as soon as -Mother and I select what I shall want with me. We are going to Canada -for our wedding trip, not much of a trip, just to get there and stay in -a perfectly beautiful country place. We shall be there a month and then -may join the folks at the seashore. It’s all beautifully indefinite, and -Allan and I don’t care where we are just so we are together.”</p> - -<p>“‘Allan,’—Captain Van Horne! I was going to ask you, Cathalina, if you -called him by his first name.”</p> - -<p>Cathalina laughed. “He doesn’t seem so old to me now as when he was an -instructor at Grant. He’s a good deal of a boy, now that he is happy and -does not have to worry about law school and making a living and all -that. He works too hard, of course, I suppose he always will, but he has -such a fine opportunity now that he need not worry. We are not going to -begin on any large scale of living. Just think, girls, what if I had -never learned anything but just being waited on and wanting everything. -We are going to get a darling little apartment as soon as we come back -and start in that. Mother mourns a little and says, ‘Think of this big -house and nobody but your father and me pretty soon!’ But I think that -Father admires both Allan and Phil for wanting to be independent. If the -presents keep coming at the rate they are, a little apartment will not -hold them all. However, I can store them here.”</p> - -<p>“When did it happen, Cathalina?” asked Isabel.</p> - -<p>“Getting engaged, you mean?”</p> - -<p>Isabel nodded. “I do not mean to be inquisitive, but we thought that you -did not hear from him very often,—and so I just wondered when.”</p> - -<p>“No, I did not hear from him often, neither was I sure that he cared in -that way for me. I dreamed of him, but was more or less ashamed of it, -and scolded myself for having such a hero when he probably only thought -of me as a good friend—though there <i>were</i> times——”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Betty. “If ever there was adoration in a man’s eyes, it was -in Captain Van Horne’s one time, on that picnic at Greycliff. I told -Cathalina so, but she made light of it.”</p> - -<p>“What else could I do?” asked Cathalina. “The reason I didn’t hear was -that he was in action so much of the time, and he was wounded twice. The -first time it didn’t amount to much and he went back, but the second -time he was in the hospital over there a long time, and was sent home -from there. He came to New York, but got sick on the way, and had to go -to a hospital here. Then he wrote me a little note and I went to see -him.” Cathalina stopped. “I can just see him now,” she went on in a -moment, lowering her voice. “He was so thin and white and he stretched -out both his hands to me and called me his darling. I felt like his -<i>mother</i> and went right to him and slipped my arm under his head! Wasn’t -it dreadful? He says that he had just waked up and when the nurse showed -me in he thought it must be in heaven. Philip jokes me about it and -tells me that Allan was out of his mind and that I took advantage of it! -But if he were out of his mind for a minute it would not explain all he -told me when he was in his right mind a few minutes later and it all -came out; so I have no reason to wonder about whether he loves me or -not.”</p> - -<p>“It’s funny how suddenly these things do happen,” said Hilary, thinking -of her own experience.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Betty, “but you must remember that everything has been so -different with our boys, and such tragedies of separation have happened -that there has been good reason for romantic and sudden——”</p> - -<p>“Episodes,” finished Isabel.</p> - -<p>The girls were all sitting on Cathalina’s bed from which the pretty -dresses and other things had been cleared after the display, or on -chairs drawn close as they held this rather intimate conversation, all -so interested and sympathetic toward the prospective bride. Isabel was -on one side of Cathalina and Betty on the other, and all the girls were -so delighted to have the short reunions, so eager to hear the -confidences.</p> - -<p>“As soon as Allan was able he went into the office and besides that he -had a little bit of good luck in getting some property sold that had -been only an expense, something from his father’s estate, I guess,—you -know, Betty, how beautifully indefinite I am. I don’t really know, -except that he can afford to get married now. He is coming to call this -evening and see you all. Now ask Lilian how her love affair is coming -on.” Cathalina turned with a smile to her future sister-in-law.</p> - -<p>“Yes, Lilian,” said Eloise, “tell us when that event will be.”</p> - -<p>“Before so very long, Eloise, but Mother is not well and I shall just -quietly get ready and have a small wedding, though probably in the same -church, and just have the family in afterwards. Mrs. Van Buskirk wants -to give a reception for us after our trip, so that will probably happen. -Could you girls get back for it? I hate to be married without you.”</p> - -<p>The girls looked doubtful and regretful. “We always expected to have -this reunion at your wedding, Lilian,” said Eloise, “and did not dream -that Cathalina would be the first one to leave our ranks; but perhaps -you are really more free to visit than you will be later when you are -getting married yourself.”</p> - -<p>“There is something in that, Eloise,” acknowledged Lilian. “But come, if -you possibly can,” she added, and the girls all promised that they -would.</p> - -<p>That first evening, Allan Van Horne duly appeared. It was the first time -that the girls had seen him not in uniform, either that of the school -where he taught or that of Uncle Sam, and they came to the conclusion -that he appeared well in citizen’s ordinary attire.</p> - -<p>“He is handsome even without the uniform, Cathalina,” said Isabel when -she had opportunity for a private remark.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know that he is what you would call a handsome man,” replied -Cathalina reflectively, looking across the room at her prospective -husband, who was chatting with Philip, Lilian and Betty. “But he carries -himself so well and has such a fine face. Of course, I think that he is -just about the most adorable man there is.”</p> - -<p>“What color are his eyes? I thought they were blue, but they look like -brown eyes tonight.”</p> - -<p>“Isn’t that funny? Betty insisted that they were blue, and I thought of -them as brown, and they really are, I guess, though Allan says that he -was said to have hazel eyes. Anyway they are nice, kind eyes.”</p> - -<p>Hilary and Campbell were having a little visit now, their chairs drawn -near the piano, where Philip had gone to look over some music for Lilian -to sing. Mr. and Mrs. Van Buskirk had settled down to read a little or -visit the young people, as it might happen. It was like the good old -days before the war, and the sound of young voices and young laughter -cheered their hearts.</p> - -<p>Campbell was telling Hilary a piece of good news. “They want me at the -college, Hilary. I had a letter today from the president. I will be an -instructor at first, but with a fair salary, and a chance to get out my -master’s degree right there. And summers I can work on my line, too. -They will make me an assistant professor as soon as I get the master’s -degree and I can take care of you then. Will you marry me as soon as you -graduate?”</p> - -<p>Hilary clasped her hands and exclaimed. “Why, Campbell, what an -opportunity! So I’m to be the wife of a distinguished professor of -economics?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know how ‘distinguished,’ but a respectable teacher, I hope,” -replied Campbell.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps you ought to wait until you have all your study accomplished,” -said Hilary.</p> - -<p>“The college—university—is big enough for me to do most of it right -there; besides, I want to get a great deal of my material from life and -a study of actual conditions. That is what the department there wants, -and the president was good enough to say that he thought I was the man -who could bring them what they want. Then they don’t know what a -wonderful wife I’m going to take there!”</p> - -<p>Hilary laughed. “Well, I do not see but we could marry next summer some -time, while you have your vacation. I shall be graduated about this -time, and you will be through with your first year’s work.”</p> - -<p>Just then from the hall came several young men in uniform, ushered by -Watts. “Bob Paget!” exclaimed Cathalina, and the whole company rose -while Mr. and Mrs. Van Buskirk, Philip and Cathalina went forward to -greet the callers. They were Robert Paget, Lawrence Haverhill and two -other young officers who had recently arrived from France and were still -in uniform. This was very thrilling to Isabel, who began to feel that -she was not altogether left out of romance when Robert, having renewed -acquaintance with his cousin, Helen, selected Isabel as the object of -his chief attentions for the rest of the evening, saying to Cathalina as -he left. “She is as sweet and pretty as a rose. How did it happen that I -never met that one?”</p> - -<p>“You were away, I think, when she was here,” Cathalina replied, and -saved the remembrance of his words, to repeat to Isabel.</p> - -<p>Cut glass, silver, linen, china,—the gifts came pouring in these last -few days. Then there was a little of the old Van Buskirk silver which -was Cathalina’s share. “I’ve found out, girls,” said she, “that Martin -Van Buskirk was not the first one at all and did not come from Holland -to fight in the Revolution. We had it all looked up when somebody wanted -to go into the Daughters of the Revolution. It was a Laurens Van Buskirk -who came from Denmark and bought a lot on Broad Street, New -Amsterdam,—’way back in 1655. And what do you think,—a John Van Buskirk -married an Esther Van Horn about 1750! So this isn’t the first time that -Van Buskirk and Van Horn have married. We are going to see if she is an -ancestor of Allan’s, if we can find out. She was Esther Van Horn Van -Buskirk, and I’ll be Cathalina Van Buskirk Van Horne. See Isabel shaking -her head! What’s the matter, Isabel?”</p> - -<p>“All these ‘Vans’ are too much for me, It’s a good thing you can keep -them straight, Cathalina.”</p> - -<p>At last there came the eventful occasion, a mid-June night. Everything -was ready at the Van Buskirk home and an extra maid or two helped the -girls with their dressing. Cathalina had disappeared from view entirely -several hours before, as her mother insisted upon a little rest for -everybody that afternoon, and trays were brought to the rooms about five -o’clock. Bags and trunks were already at the station, checked for the -trip and Allan Van Horne had his tickets safely in the suit to which he -would change from his dress suit. Phil remarked that as there were so -many details to attend to about a wedding he thought that he would “just -kidnap Lilian, stop at a minister’s to be married, and catch the first -train out of New York, or take the boat.”</p> - -<p>“Where to?” asked Lilian upon this occasion.</p> - -<p>“Heaven,” promptly replied Philip. “Anywhere with you would be that.”</p> - -<p>There had been plenty of fun in this time of visiting, but some -seriousness, too. And now the wedding promised to be as beautiful as -Mrs. Van Buskirk wanted it to be for Cathalina.</p> - -<p>The night was star-lit, warm, but not stifling, and the June roses in -the vases gave the proper atmosphere to the house. Mr. Van Buskirk told -the girls, as they gathered downstairs preparatory to the ride to the -church, that they did indeed look like “butterfly girls,” with their -vari-colored frocks of soft silk and filmy tulle. All the colors were -pale, Betty’s frock, blue; Lilian’s, peach; Hilary’s, green; Eloise’s, -yellow; Helen’s, orchid; Isabel’s, pink; and Nan’s, lavender. Smiling, -girlish faces above these pale shades and the flowers made a charming -picture for the bride to look upon as she entered to see the girls -before leaving.</p> - -<p>They had been talking a little, as they waited these few minutes, but -all conversation stopped as Cathalina came in. Graceful and sweet in her -white satin, the white veil floating back from where it was caught in a -coronet of lace, she was, indeed, their own Cathalina. Betty swallowed a -lump and the tears almost came to Hilary’s eyes. “Oh,” said Isabel, -“when Captain Van Horne sees you coming down the aisle, he will think it -is an angel!”</p> - -<p>“Not much of an angel, I’m afraid,” said Cathalina, as she went around -and kissed every one. “Come on, everybody,” she said. “I wanted to tell -you, and Mother is waiting. Have you my flowers, Father?”</p> - -<p>“They have been put in the car, little daughter.”</p> - -<p>It seemed only a minute before they were at the church getting ready the -little procession which would accompany Cathalina. Philip was best man, -and stood at the altar, with Allan Van Horne, wondering how it would -seem when he was the groom. He suffered one pang when he thought “what -if I haven’t the ring,” but a distinct recollection of putting it in his -pocket consoled him. The old minister, too, was waiting, the same -minister who had baptized Cathalina and was now to marry her.</p> - -<p>Then they came, first, Charlotte Van Buskirk, as flower girl. Betty, as -maid of honor; Lilian with Hilary, Eloise with Helen, and Isabel with -Nan followed, and the bride on the arm of Philip Senior. Now the hush, -the solemn words of the service, and Cathalina Van Horne, with her -bridal flowers, walked out of the church on the arm of her husband.</p> - -<p style='margin-top:1.618em; text-indent:0'>THE END</p> - -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Greycliff Wings, by Harriet Pyne Grove - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GREYCLIFF WINGS *** - -***** This file should be named 62442-h.htm or 62442-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/4/4/62442/ - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - -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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