CHAPTER XXI
A GIFT TO SEMPER FIDELIS
When the news was whispered about through Overton College that theattractive young woman who was frequently seen in company with GraceHarlowe and her friends was the daughter of Guido Savelli, the renownedvirtuoso, it created a wide ripple of excitement among the four classes.Curious juniors and dignified seniors grew interested, and Mabel Asheand Frances Marlton, who were Eleanor's sworn cavaliers, were besiegedwith requests for introductions. Far from being spoiled by so muchadulation, Eleanor laughingly attributed it to her father's genius, andflouted the idea that her own delightful personality had made her areigning favorite during her stay in Overton.
It took Grace some time to recover from the surprise occasioned byEleanor's unexpected arrival. During the month in which she had receivedno letter from Eleanor, Guido Savelli had reconsidered his decision notto appear in America and instead of canceling his contract had sailed atthe eleventh hour to fulfill it, taking Eleanor with him.
"You arrived just in time for our show!" exclaimed Grace gleefully toEleanor. The two girls sat opposite each other at the library table inthe living room at Wayne Hall, making up the programme for thevaudeville performance which was to be held in Music Hall, on thefollowing Friday evening. "Oh, Eleanor, don't you think you can go homewith me for Easter? Never mind if 'Heartsease' is closed. You can havejust as much fun at our house. We have only one more week here, youknow, and your father's concert tour doesn't end for another month,"pleaded Grace.
"I think I can arrange it," reflected Eleanor. "It is only that Fathermisses me so. In some ways he is like an overgrown child. All greatmusicians are like that, I believe."
"It is a pity to take you away from him," admitted Grace, "but we wouldlike to have you with us. Besides, Tom Gray is going to bring DonaldEarle to Oakdale with him for the Easter. Donald will be so disappointedif he doesn't see you, Eleanor."
"I'd like to see him, too," returned Eleanor frankly. "He is one of thenicest young men I know. Father is coming down here for our show, unlesssomething unforeseen happens. I shall coax him to play. I imagine hewill be willing. He will play if you ask him, Grace."
"I wish we might feature him on the bulletin board," reflected Grace,with a managerial eye to business, "but he wouldn't like that. We couldhave him for a surprise, though."
"I'll tell you what I will do," volunteered Eleanor. "I will telephoneto his hotel in New York and ask him. If he says yes, we can go aheadand count on him to furnish Overton with a surprise."
"Oh, Eleanor, could you, would you do it?" asked Grace, a note ofexcitement in her voice.
"I'll telephone at once," nodded Eleanor, rising. "Suppose we go over tothe 'Tourraine' to do it."
Within the next hour Eleanor and Grace had talked with Guido Savelli. Ithad taken very little coaxing to secure his promise to play at Overtonon Friday night, as he gave his last performance in New York on Thursdayevening, and was free until the following Monday, when he would appearin Boston.
"It seems almost providential, doesn't it?" asked Eleanor, as she hungup the receiver. "He could not have come here at any other time."
"I'm so happy over it I could hurrah," declared Grace jubilantly.
"I knew Father would not refuse us," smiled Eleanor. "Now hadn't webetter hurry home and make up the rest of the programme?"
By eight o'clock Friday evening every available foot of space in MusicHall was crowded with Overton students. The front rows of the hall hadbeen reserved for the faculty, who were quite in sympathy with the ideaof the new club. In order to obtain permission to use this hall, Gracehad gone to the dean with the story of the organization of SemperFidelis and its purpose. The dean had sympathized heartily with themovement, and had at once laid the matter before the president of thecollege, who willingly gave the desired permission.
As the Semper Fidelis Club was composed entirely of sophomores, twelveyoung women of the sophomore class had been detailed as ushers andticket takers. The majority of the club members were down on theprogramme, therefore these duties had been turned over to theirclassmates. Grace, besides appearing in the Spanish dance with Miriam,had taken upon herself the duties of stage manager. The two smallestsophomores in the class, dressed as pages, had been chosen to place theposters announcing the various numbers on the standards at each side ofthe stage. These posters had been designed and painted by Beatrice Aldenand Frances Marlton, who, with Mabel Ashe, Constance Fuller and severalother public-spirited seniors, had generously offered their services. Asboth Beatrice and Frances possessed considerable skill with the brushthey turned out extremely decorative posters, which were afterward soldto various admiring students for souvenirs of the club's firstentertainment.
"I am so tired," declared Grace to Eleanor as they stood at one side ofthe stage while the Glee Club, composed of juniors and seniors, arrangedthemselves preparatory to filing on to the stage. "Everything seems tobe going beautifully though. Not a single performer has disappointed us.How pretty the Glee Club girls look to-night."
"Lovely," agreed Eleanor. "The audience is out in its best bib andtucker, too. Nearly every girl in the house is in evening dress."
"Consider the occasion," laughed Grace. "Our show would not haveamounted to much if it had not been for you and your distinguishedfather. Anne could not have recited 'Enoch Arden,' without youraccompaniment, and the crowning glory of having the great Savelli playwould have been missing. It reminds me of our concert, Eleanor," sheadded softly.
Eleanor's blue eyes met Grace's gray ones with ineffable tenderness."The concert that brought me my father," she murmured. "It seems agessince that night, Grace. I can't realize that I have ever been away fromFather."
"It does seem a long time since our senior year in high school," agreedGrace musingly. "Good gracious, Eleanor, the Glee Club are waiting forthe signal to go on while we stand here reminiscing!" Grace hurried tothe wing where one of the pages stood patiently holding the Glee Clubposter, and signaled to the page on the opposite side. An instant laterthe singers had filed on the stage for their opening song.
As the show progressed the audience became more enthusiastic andclamored loudly for encores. Elfreda's imitations provoked continuouslaughter, and dainty Arline Thayer, looking not more than seven yearsold, was a delightful success from her first babyish lisp. Her song ofthe goblin man who stole little children to work for him in hisunderground cellar, with its catchy chorus of "Run away, you littlechildren," was immediately adopted by Overton, and when later it wasnoised about that Ruth had written the words while Arline had composedthe music, both girls were later rushed by the Dramatic Club and mademembers, an honor to which unassuming Ruth had some difficulty inbecoming accustomed.
Anne's "Enoch Arden," to Eleanor's piano accompaniment, met with anovation. Guido Savelli had been purposely placed last on the programme."No one will care for anything else after he plays. The audience willhave the memory of his music to take away with them," Grace had saidwisely. Knowing the musician's horror of being lionized, Grace hadconfided the secret to no one except Miriam, Anne, Mabel Ashe andElfreda, who, in company with her and Eleanor, had met him at the trainand dined with him at the "Tourraine." It had been arranged that athalf-past nine o'clock Anne and Elfreda should go for him and escort himto Music Hall.
At precisely ten minutes past ten o'clock he was escorted through theside entrance to the hall by his two smiling guides, and into the littleroom just off the stage that did duty for a green room. Eleanor's quickexclamation of, "You have plenty of time, Father, there are two morenumbers before yours," caused the various performers to open their eyes,and when Eleanor turned to those in the room, saying sweetly, "Girls,this is my father. He is going to play for us," astonishment looked outfrom every face.
In order that the surprise might be complete, Grace had purposelywithheld until the last moment the posters bearing Guido Savelli's name.When the two pages placed them up on their respective standards, apositive sigh of astonishment went up from
the audience that changed tovociferous applause as Eleanor appeared and took her place at the piano.A second later the great Savelli walked on the stage, violin in hand.Eleanor, having frequently accompanied him on the piano in private, hadbegged to be allowed for once to accompany him in public.
As the delighted audience listened to the music of the man whose playinghad won for him the homage of two continents, they realized that theyhad been granted an unusual privilege.
"How did he happen to stray into Overton?" "I supposed great artistslike him never condescended to play outside of the large cities," werethe whispered comments.
One stately old gentleman in particular, who had been the guest of thepresident at dinner, and who sat beside him during the performance, grewenthusiastically curious, asking all sorts of questions. Who had plannedand managed the entertainment? What was the object of the "SemperFidelis Club"? How long had it been in existence? Who had been onfamiliar enough terms with Savelli to induce him to play at the "show"?The president answered his questions with becoming patience, promisingto introduce him to Grace Harlowe and Arline Thayer, who, he stated, hadbeen responsible for the organization of the club.
Later, the curious old gentleman was presented to Grace and Arline, whoanswered his flow of inquiries so courteously and with such apparentgood will that he left the hall, smiling to himself as though he hadgained possession of some wonderful bit of information.
The vaudeville show netted the Semper Fidelis Club two hundred dollars,which Arline deposited in the bank the following morning.
"'Every little bit helps'" chuckled Arline as she opened the bank bookand pointed to the new entry. She and Grace were on their way from thebank.
"I should say it did," returned Grace warmly. "I only wish we couldalways make money as easily and pleasantly as we made that two hundreddollars."
"It was lots of fun, wasn't it?" declared Arline happily. "When we comeback next fall as juniors we can give another show and add to our fund.We won't have time this year. We are all going home next week and afterEaster it will be too late in the year to bother with entertainments."
"We might give a carnival in the gymnasium next fall," suggested Grace."We had a bazaar at home and made over five hundred dollars. If we gaveit early in the fall we would have as much as a thousand dollars on handto lend where it was needed. I imagine we can find plenty of places forit."
"We can be thinking about it through the summer," planned Arline.
That night when Grace reached Wayne Hall she found a letter bearing heraddress in the bulletin board at the foot of the stairs. After glancingcuriously at the superscription, Grace tore it open and read:
"To MISS GRACE HARLOWE, "Wayne Hall, "Overton.
"MY DEAR MISS HARLOWE:
"I am enclosing a check made payable to you, which I should like you to accept in behalf of the Semper Fidelis Club. I am greatly interested in your association and wish to say that at this time each year as long as the club exists I pledge myself to contribute the same amount of money. Trusting that the club will continue to thrive and prosper,
"Yours very truly,
"THOMAS REDFIELD."
Grace lay down the letter and stared at the check with incredulous eyes.It was for one thousand dollars.
It took but an instant to dart down the hall to Miriam's room, whereAnne had just gone to borrow Miriam's Thesaurus.
"Look, look!" cried Grace, holding the check before Anne's astonishedeyes.
Miriam rose from her chair and peered over Anne's shoulder. "Threecheers for Mr. Redfield!" she exclaimed. Three cheers for the fairygodfather of Semper Fidelis!