CHAPTER IV
MIRIAM'S UNWELCOME SURPRISE
The two days that followed were busy ones for Grace, Anne and Miriam.The morning after their arrival Mabel Ashe and Frances Marlton appearedat half-past eight o'clock to conduct them to Overton Hall. There theyregistered and were then sent to the room where the examination inFrench was to be held. Examinations in the other required subjectsfollowed in rapid succession and it was Friday before they had settledthemselves in Wayne Hall, the house in which they were to live asstudents of Overton College.
Wayne Hall was a substantial four-story brick house, just a block fromthe campus. It was looked upon as a strictly freshman house, butoccasionally sophomores lived there, as the rooms were well-furnishedand the matron, Mrs. Elwood, had a reputation for looking out for thewelfare of her girls.
To their delight Grace and Anne had been allowed to room together, whileMiriam had by lucky chance secured a room to herself across the hall.
"If that poor little yellow-haired freshman hadn't failed in all herexaminations I shouldn't be rooming alone," said Miriam rather soberlyas she dived into the depths of the now almost emptied trunk.
"Did you meet her?" asked Grace, who, seated on the bed beside Anne,watched Miriam's unpacking with interested eyes.
"No," replied Miriam. "One of the freshmen at the table told me abouther. She said that the poor girl cried all day yesterday and last night.She didn't dare write her father, who, it seems, is very severe, thatshe had failed. He won't know she's coming until she reaches home."
"What a pity," said Anne sympathetically. "It must be dreadful to failand know that one must face not only the humility of the failure, butthe displeasure of one's family too."
"If I had failed in my examinations neither Father nor Mother would havesaid one reproachful word," said Grace.
"Of course I'm sorry for her," said Miriam, "but considering the factthat I am now going to room alone, I shall write to Mother and ask herto send me the money to furnish this room as I please. I'd like to havea davenport bed, and I want a chiffonier and a dressing table to match.There's room here for a piano, too. I'll have it over in this corner andthen I'll----"
Rap, rap, rap! sounded on the door.
"Come in," called Miriam frowning at the interruption.
The door opened to admit Mrs. Elwood, and following in her wake, ladenwith a bag and two suit cases, her hat pushed over her eyes, ahalf-suspicious, half-belligerent expression on her face, was J. ElfredaBriggs.
"Well I never!" she gasped in astonishment, dropping her belongings in aheap on the floor and making a dive for the nearest chair. "You're thelast people I ever expected to see. Where have you been, anyway? Isupposed you'd all flunked in your exams, given up the job, and goneback to Glendale, Hilldale--what's the name of that dale you hail from?"
"Oakdale," supplemented Anne slyly.
"Yes, that's it. Oakdale. Foolish name for a town, isn't it?"
During this outburst Mrs. Elwood had stood silent, looking at J. Elfredawith doubtful eyes. Now she said apologetically, "I'm very sorry, MissNesbit, but could you--that is--would you mind having a roommate afterall? My sister, Mrs. Arnold, who manages Ralston House just down thestreet from here, took Miss Briggs because she thought one of her girlswasn't coming back. Now the girl is here and she has no place for MissBriggs. Of course, if you insist on not having a roommate, my sister andI will see that Miss Briggs secures a room in one of the other collegehouses." Mrs. Elwood paused and looked questioningly at Miriam, whostood silent, an inscrutable expression on her face. Grace and Anne,remembering Miriam's dislike for the stout girl, wondered what heranswer would be.
The settling of the question was not left to Miriam, for during thebrief silence that followed Mrs. Elwood's deprecatory speech J. Elfredahad been making a comprehensive survey of her surroundings. "It's allright, Mrs. Elwood," she drawled. "Don't worry about me. I like thisroom and I guess I can get along with Miss Nesbit. You may telephone theexpressman to have my trunk sent here. I'm not going back to RalstonHouse with you. I'm too tired. I'm going to stay here."
Mrs. Elwood looked appealingly at Miriam, as though mutely trying toapologize for J. Elfreda's disregard for the rights of others.
Miriam's straight black brows drew together. She stared at theirunwelcome guest with a look that caused a slow flush to rise to thestout girl's face. Suddenly her face relaxed into a smile of intenseamusement, and extending her hand to J. Elfreda, she said, "You arewelcome to half this room, if you care to stay."
"Well, I never!" exclaimed the other girl for the second time, as sheshook the proffered hand. "Honestly, I thought you were going to give mea regular freeze out. You looked like a thunder cloud for a minute. Iexpect it won't be all sunshine around here, this year, for I'm used tohaving things go my way, and I guess you are, too."
"Then perhaps learning to defer to each other will be good practice forboth of us," suggested Miriam.
"Perhaps it will, but I doubt if we ever practise it," was thediscouraging retort.
"I'll notify my sister that you are to be here, Miss Briggs," broke inMrs. Elwood. "Then I'll see that this room is made ready for two. Thankyou, Miss Nesbit." She turned gratefully to Miriam.
"All right," answered J. Elfreda indifferently. "You can fix it up ifyou want to, but I warn you that I'll probably buy my own furniture andthrow out all this." She waved a comprehensive hand at the despisedfurniture.
"You are at liberty to make whatever changes you wish," Mrs. Elwoodresponded rather stiffly, and without further remark left the room.
"She didn't like my remark about her furniture," commented the stoutgirl, "but I'm not worrying about it. It's funny that I should run intoyou girls, though. What kind of a time have you been having here, anddid you pass all your exams?"
The girls replied in the affirmative, then Grace asked the same questionof Elfreda.
"Of course," was the laconic answer. "I had a tutor all summer, besidesI told you on the train that I wasn't a wooden head."
"Where did you stay until you went to Ralston House?" asked Anne. "Wesaw you go away from the station with two girls when you left the train,and we've seen you twice at a distance during examinations, but this isthe first chance we've had to talk with you."
J. Elfreda stared at Anne, her eyes narrowing.
"Do you want to know just what happened to me?" she asked slowly. "Well,I'll tell you three girls about it, because I've got to tell some oneand I don't believe you'll spread the story."
"We won't tell anyone," promised Grace.
"How about you two?" asked the stout girl.
"I'll answer for both of us," smiled Anne.
"All right then, I'll tell you. Now remember, you've promised."
The girls nodded.
"Well, it was this way," began Elfreda. "When I left the train I hadn'tgone six steps until two girls walked up to me and asked if I were afreshman. They said they were on the committee to meet and look afterthe girls who were entering college for the first time. I said that wasvery kind of them and asked them to show me the way to Ralston House.They picked up my suit cases and we started out. They asked me my nameand all sorts of questions and I told them a little about myself,"continued the stout girl pompously. "They seemed quite impressed, too.Then one of them said she thought I had better see the registrar beforegoing to Ralston House, for the registrar would be anxious to meet me.They both said I was quite different from the rest of the new girls, andmade such a lot of fuss over me that I invited them into that littleshop across from the station to have ice cream."
"And then?" asked Miriam.
"Then," said J. Elfreda impressively, "after they had had two sundaesapiece, at my expense, they played a mean trick on me. They took me intoa big building a little further down the street, down a long hall, andleft me sitting on a seat outside what I supposed was the registrar'soffice. They said I must wait there and the registrar's clerk would comeout and conduct me to the registrar. They said that it was against
therules to walk into the office and that it was the business of the clerkto come out every half hour and conduct any one who was waiting into theregistrar's private office.
"Well, I sat there and sat there. It made me think of when I was akiddie and used to watch the cuckoo clock to see the bird come out. Butthere wasn't even a bird came out of that door," continued Elfredagloomily. "People passed up and down the hall, and every once in a whilea man would walk right into the place without knocking, or seeing theclerk, or anything else.
"After I had sat there for at least two hours, I made up my mind to goin even if I were ordered out the next minute. I marched up to the doorand opened it and walked into the office. There was no one in sight buta young woman who was putting on her hat. 'Where's the registrar?' Iasked. 'He hasn't been here to-day,' she said. 'I thought the registrarwas a woman,' I said. She seemed surprised at that and asked what mademe think so. I said that two of the students had told me so. Then shelooked at me in the queerest way and began to smile. 'Do you want to seethe registrar of Overton College?' she asked. 'Of course I do,' I said,for I began to suspect that something was wrong. Then she stoppedsmiling and said it was too bad, but whoever had sent me there hadplayed a trick on me and brought me to the office of the Register ofDeeds. Instead of Overton Hall I was in the county court house. Now canyou beat it?" finished Elfreda slangily.
"I should say not," cried Grace indignantly. "I think it wascontemptible in them to accept your hospitality and then treat you inthat fashion. No really nice girl would do any such thing, even in fun."
"I should say not," sympathized Miriam, forgetting that she did notyearn for J. Elfreda as a roommate. "What did you do after youdiscovered your mistake?"
"I left the Register's office, his deeds, and all the rest of thatbuilding in pretty short order," continued Elfreda. "When I reached thestreet I went straight back to the station and hired a carriage to takeme to Ralston House. Mrs. Arnold gave me my supper even though it waslate, and the next day I saw the registrar in earnest. I told her thewhole story and described the girls. I didn't know their names, but shesaid she thought she knew who they were from the description. So Isuppose she'll send for me before long to identify them."
"But you're not going to?" questioned Grace in astonishment.
"Why not?" returned the stout girl calmly. "Do you think I'll let slip achance to get even with them? I guess not."
"But this will be carried to the dean and they will be severelyreprimanded and the whole college will know it," expostulated Grace.
"Well, the whole college should know it," stoutly contended Elfreda."I'll show those two smart young women that I'm not as green as I appearto be."
Grace was on the verge of saying that J. Elfreda would have shown morewisdom by keeping silent, but suddenly checked herself. She had no rightto criticize J. Elfreda's motives. To her the bare idea of telling taleswas abhorrent, while this girl gloried in the fact that she had exposedthose who annoyed her.
"I'm sorry you told the registrar," she said slowly. "Perhaps in therush of business she'll forget about it."
"She'd better not," threatened Elfreda, "or she'll hear it from me. Whenit comes to getting even, I never relent. I'm just like Pa in thatrespect. However, let's change the subject. Now that I'm here, show mewhere I can put my clothes," she added, addressing Miriam. "Do you keepyour things in order? I never do. The morning I left home Ma said shefelt sorry for my future roommate."
Elfreda kept up a brisk monologue as she opened one of her suit casesand began hauling out its contents. Miriam made a gesture of hopelessresignation behind the stout girl's back.
"I must go to my room and get ready for dinner," said Grace, her eyesdancing. "Coming, Anne?"
Anne nodded and the two girls beat a hasty retreat. Elfreda's calmmanner of appropriating things and Miriam's resigned air were too muchfor them. Once inside their room they gave way to uncontrolledmerriment.
"I knew I'd laugh if I stayed there another second," confessed Anne."Poor Miriam. I heartily agree with Ma, don't you?"
"Yes," smiled Grace. Then, her face sobering, she added, "I am afraidshe is laying up trouble for herself. I wish she hadn't told."