CHAPTER XIV
GRACE MAKES A RESOLUTION
"What do you think has happened?" demanded J. Elfreda Briggs, burstinginto the room where Anne and Grace were busily making up for lost time.They had lingered at Vinton's until after eight o'clock. Then thethought of to-morrow with its eternal round of classes had driven themhome, reluctantly enough, to where their books awaited them. It wasalmost nine o'clock before they had actually settled themselves, andElfreda's sudden, tempestuous entrance caused Anne to lay down herHorace with an air of patient resignation. "We might as well beginsaying 'unprepared' now, and grow accustomed to the sound of our ownvoices," she announced.
"I think so, too," agreed Grace. "Well, Elfreda, why this thusness? Whathas happened? Have you been elected to the Pi Beta Gamma, or did you getan unusually large check from home?"
"Catch the P. B. Gammas troubling themselves about me," scoffed Elfreda."As for a check, I've written for it, but so far I've seen no signs ofit. When I do lay hands on it we'll celebrate the event with feastingand merrymaking."
"Then I can't guess," sighed Grace. "You'd better tell us."
"Well," began Elfreda, her eyes twinkling, "I have a dinner invitationfor to-morrow night at Martell's."
"That is nothing startling," scoffed Anne. "We've just come fromVinton's."
"But the rest of my news is remarkable," persisted the stout girl. "I aminvited to dine"--Elfreda paused, then finished impressively--"with theAnarchist."
"You don't mean it!" Grace looked her surprise.
"Of course I mean it," retorted Elfreda. "I wouldn't say so if I didn't.She delivered her invitation on the way over to chapel this morning. I'dgive you an imitation of the way she did it if I hadn't accepted."
Grace shot a quick, approving glance toward Elfreda which the latter sawand interpreted correctly. "I wouldn't have thought about that lastyear, would I, Grace?" she asked shyly.
Grace laughed rather confusedly. "How did you guess so much? The way youstumble upon things is positively uncanny."
"Observation, my dear, observation," returned Elfreda patronizingly."One can learn almost everything about everybody if one keeps one's eyesopen."
"You seem to carry out your own theory," admitted Grace smilingly. "Haveyou finished your work for to-night?"
"Years ago," declared Elfreda extravagantly. "Miriam hasn't, at leastshe was still studying when I left the room. I'll tell you what I'll do.I'll make some fudge. Mrs. Elwood will let me have some milk and we havethe rest of the stuff in our room. I'll send Miriam in here. Then I canhave the whole room to myself. When it's done, I'll call you."
With a joyful skip that fairly jarred the furniture in the room Elfredabounded through the doorway and vanished. Two minutes later Miriamappeared, an amused look on her dark face, several books tucked underone arm. "Driven from home," she declaimed, posing on the threshold, herfree hand appealingly extended. "Will no one help me?"
"I will." Grace reached forth her hand, dragging Miriam into the room."Hurry through your lessons and we'll have a spread. I'm sorry youweren't with us to-night, but Anne and I weren't sure as to just howsuccessfully our plan would work. Everything went smoothly, though."Grace related briefly what had taken place at the dinner.
"I am glad Ruth and Arline settled their differences," commented Miriam."We all knew that Arline was at fault. She is such a dear little thing,one hesitates to say so."
"She was very sweet to-night," interposed Anne. "She asked Ruth'sforgiveness and took the blame for their little coolness on her ownshoulders."
"I don't wish to cause dissension in this happy band, but we really muststop talking and study," warned Grace. "I haven't made a satisfactoryrecitation this week, and I vote for reform."
"All right, my dear Miss Harlowe," flung back Miriam. "'Work, for theNight is Coming.'"
"You mean going," giggled Anne.
After this interchange of flippant remarks silence reigned, broken onlyby the sound of turning leaves or an occasional sigh over the appallinglength of a lesson. The three girls were fully absorbed in their workwhen Elfreda poked her head in the room to announce that the fudge wasmade. "I've a bottle of cunning little pickles, and a box of cheesewafers. I made some tea, too. Hurry, or it will be half-past ten beforewe have time to eat a single thing."
"I can't possibly finish studying my Latin to-night," sighed Miriam."Every day the lessons seem to get longer. Miss Arthur hasn't a spark ofcompassion."
"Don't stop to grumble," commanded Elfreda. "Come along."
The half-past ten o'clock bell rang before the fudge was half gone. Infact, it was after eleven before the quartette prepared for sleep.During the evening all thought of the troublesome theme had left Grace'smind. It was not until after she had turned out the light and gone tobed that it came back to her with such disagreeable force that for thetime being all idea of sleep fled. For the first time since her entranceinto Overton College she had incurred the displeasure of one inauthority over her, and through no fault of her own.
As Grace lay staring into the darkness the recollection of that bittertime during her junior year at high school, when Miss Thompson hadaccused her of shielding the girl who had destroyed the principal'spersonal papers, came back, vivid and complete. Eleanor Savelli, nownumbered among her dearest friends and a member of the Phi Sigma Tau,had been the transgressor, and Grace had refused to voice hersuspicions. It had all come right in the end, although Miss Thompson'sdispleasure had been hard to bear.
Perhaps this affair would end happily, too. Suppose the other girl hadchosen the same subject? Grace gave vent to a soft exclamation ofimpatience at her own supposition. She wished she dared believe that itwere so, but common sense told her that she could not hope to deceiveherself by any such delusion.
"Who could the girl be?" Grace asked herself over and over. Surely, noone of her intimate friends. Nor any girl at Wayne Hall, either. Whoeverwas guilty would be severely punished, perhaps sent home. Overton prideditself on its honor. Its children must be above reproach at all times.Mabel's evidence would clear her. But what of the other girl?
"Whoever she is," speculated Grace, "by this time she is probably sorryfor what she did. I suppose she is frightened, too. I'm going to makeMiss Duncan let her off this once, and if I can find out who she is, I'mgoing to stand by her so faithfully that she'll never again care to do adishonest thing as long as she lives."
It was a long time before Grace fell asleep that night. Her perturbedstate of mind over the stolen theme had served to make her wakeful, andher thoughts flitted from one subject to another, as she lay waiting forthe sleep that refused to come, always returning, however, to that ofthe unlucky theme.
When, at last, it came, it brought disturbing dreams, in which shefigured as the transgressor. The theme did not belong to her, but to J.Elfreda Briggs. She had stolen it from the pocket of Elfreda's brownserge coat, and Miss Duncan had seen her take it. During the morningexercises in the chapel, Miss Duncan had mounted the steps of theplatform, and, standing beside Dr. Morton, had shouted forth her guiltto the whole college, while she had endeavored to creep out of thechapel unnoticed.