CHAPTER XIII
THE CATEGORY
"Isn't it great!" exclaimed Tavia, shaking out her blue dress, andtying a worn handkerchief over its particular closet hook so that nohump would appear in the soft blue texture. "I never would believeboarding school was such fun. Here comes Rose-Mary with more Nicks tointroduce. I hear her laughing--hasn't she got the jolliest littlegiggle--like our brook when it bubbles over."
"I wish, Tavia, you would confine your wardrobe to your own half of thecloset," Dorothy remonstrated, as she took down several articles thathad "crossed the line."
"Oh, I will, dear, only I was just listening to what those girls weresaying. I thought I heard Viola's voice. Isn't it strange she doesnot call on us. I told her our room was Number Nineteen."
"I suppose she's busy, every one appears to be except Rose-Mary. Shedoesn't seem to mind whether her trunk is unpacked first day or onChristmas," said Dorothy, working diligently at her own baggage.
"I would just love to go the rounds with her," declared Tavia, "if youdid not insist upon going right to work. I would rather have fun nowand unpack later."
"But there is no later. We must go to bed at eight thirty, my dear,and we have no time to spare. School will begin to-morrow."
"All the more reason why we should have the fun now," persisted Tavia,who was nevertheless getting her clothes on the hooks in short order."There! I'm all hung up," she declared, banging the closet doorfuriously, in spite of Dorothy's hat box trying to stop it.
"But your hats," Dorothy reminded her. "They have got to go on thatshelf, and there isn't an inch of room left."
"Then I'll just stick the box under the bed," calmly remarked the newgirl, making a kick at the unlucky box and following it up to the"goal."
"Against the rules," announced Dorothy, pointing to a typewrittennotice on the door. "Read!"
"Haven't time. You read them and tell me about them. I'll take thebox out if it says so, but if we have to keep things in such angelicorder why in the world don't they give us room?"
"Room? Indeed this is a large room, given us especially, and it isquite a favor to be allowed to room together--only real sisters everget a double."
"Heaven help the singles!" sighed Tavia in mock devotion. "But comeon, Doro,--we are missing all the fun. I did think I heard the mob atour door."
Without further leave or license Tavia dragged Dorothy from her workand closed the door of Number Nineteen behind her. In the hall theyfound Rose-Mary, whom the girls called "Cologne," Amy Brook, NitaBrant, and Lena Berg. All were trying to talk at once, each had "thevery most delicious vacation" to tell about, and to Dorothy it appearedthe first requisite for boarding school ways was the coining of absurdand meaningless phrases. Tavia fell right into line, and coulddiscount anyone of the crowd. "Splendifiorous, glorioutious andscrambunctious," were plainly hard to beat, and no one seemed willingto try. Cologne had a way of saying things in a jerky little jump thatsuggested bumping noses, Amy Brook fairly strangled with dashes andother unexpected shorts stops, while Nita Brant "wallowed" in suchexclamations as:
"Fine and dandy! Perfectly sugary! Too killingly, dear, for anything!"
It was Cologne who declared Nita "wallowed" in slang, because the Nickshad decided that no ready-made slang should be used at meetings, andNita persisted in ignoring the rule. Each new term brought theseason's current phrases back in the custody of the sandy-haired Nitaand now, on the first night, her companions took precious good care toremind her of the transgression.
Altogether Dorothy found it difficult to keep track of anything likeconversation, and was forced to say "yes" and "no" on suspicion. Taviahad better luck, Edna Black (christened Ebony Ned) took her in chargeat once, and the two (Ned had already established her reputation as ablack sheep), dashed off down the corridor, bursting in on unsuspecting"Babes" (newcomers), and managing, somehow or other, to upsethalf-emptied trunk trays, and do damage generally.
"Hello! Hello!" came a shout from the first turn or senior row."Come, somebody, and fan me!"
"That's 'Dick,'" Ned told Tavia. "Molly Richards, but we call herDick. By the way, what shall we call you? What is your full name?The very whole of it?"
"Octavia Travers! Birthday is within the octave of Christmas,"declared the Dalton girl impressively.
"Oct or Ouch! That sounds too much like Auch du lieber Augustine, orlike a cut finger," studied Edna. "Better take yours fromChristmas--Chrissy sounds cute."
"Yes, especially since I have lately had my hair cut Christy--after ourfriend Columbus," agreed Tavia, tossing back her new set of tangles."I was in a railroad accident, you know, and lost my long hair. I hadthe time of my life getting it cut off properly, in a real barber shop.Dorothy's cousins, two of the nicest boys, were with us--Dorothy wenttoo. It was such fun."
"All right, it shall be Chrissy then," decided Edna. "It's funny wealways turn a girl's name into a boy's name when we can. Let's go andsee Dick," and at this she dragged Tavia out of the corner of the hallwhere they had taken refuge from a girl who was threatening them forupsetting all her ribbons and laces.
"Oh, there you are, Ned Ebony," greeted Molly as the two bolted intoher room. "Where's everybody. I haven't seen Fiddle yet."
"Viola Green?" asked Tavia. "Funny I should have thought of that namefor her."
"You knew she plays the fiddle adorably."
"No, but I knew she had been named after her grandfather's violin.What a queer notion."
"Queer girl, too," remarked Molly, "but a power in her way. Did shecome up yet?"
"On our train," said Tavia, too prudent, for once in her life, to tellthe whole story.
"She is going to cut the Nicks," announced Edna. "She told me so firstthing. Then she slammed her door and no one has caught a glimpse ofher since."
Tavia was fairly bursting with news at this point, but she had promisedDorothy not to interfere with Viola in any way and she wisely decidednot to start in on such dangerous territory as Viola's visit to Dalton.So the matter was dropped, and the girls went forth for more fun.
Dorothy had met Miss Higley, Mrs. Pangborn's assistant. She proved tobe a little woman with glasses, the stems going all the way back of herears. She seemed snappy, Dorothy thought, and gave all sorts of ordersto the girls while pretending to become acquainted with Dorothy.
"The crankiest crank," declared one girl, when the little woman hadgone further down the hall with her objections. "But, really, we needa chief of police. Don't you think so?"
"Isn't Mrs. Pangborn chief?" asked Dorothy.
"Oh, she's president of the board of commissioners," replied Rose-Mary."Miss Honorah Higley is the chief of all departments."
"And Miss Crane?" inquired Dorothy. "I have met her."
"Oh, she's all right," declared the informer. "Camille Crane is adear--if the girls do call her Feathers."
"I thought all that nick-name business was done in colleges," remarkedDorothy. "Every one here seems to have two names."
"Couldn't possibly get along without them," declared Cologne. "I'vebeen Cologne since my first day--what have they given you?"
"I haven't heard yet," said Dorothy, smiling. "But I do hope theywon't 'Dot' me. I hate dots."
"Then make it Dashes or Specks, but you must not be Specks. We haveone already."
"Glad of it," returned Dorothy. "I don't like Specks either."
"I guess we will make it 'D. D.' That's good, and means a whole lot ofthings. There," declared Cologne. "I've had the honor of being yoursponsor. Now you must always stick by me. D. D. you are to behereafter."
"That will tickle Tavia," declared Dorothy. "She always said I was aborn parson."
"Better yet," exclaimed Cologne. "Be Parson. Now we've got it. TheLittle Parson," and away she flew to impart her intelligence to awaiting world of foolish schoolgirls.