Marjorie Dean College Junior Part 13

"We'll just have to depend on you, Les, to deal with Dulcie," Joan Myers said emphatically. "You can do it scientifically. Of course, we expect to stand by you. When the time comes you ought to do the talking."

"The firing, you mean," corrected Leslie, smiling in her most unpleasant fashion. "Leave it to me. It's our campus reputation against her feelings; if she has any. We all have a certain pride in ourselves as seniors. I'm not anxious to be looked down upon by the other cla.s.ses. It is only a few months until Commencement. We must hang on until then, and at the same time keep up an appearance of senior dignity."

An a.s.senting murmur arose. Allowed to do as they pleased by doting or careless parents, not one of the Sans would escape parental wrath were she to fail in her college course. Even more serious consequences would be attached to expellment.

"How are we to behave toward Dulcie?" was Eleanor Ray's question as the meeting broke up.

"As though nothing had happened," Leslie directed. "I shall take her by surprise. I wish her to be so completely broken up she won't have the nerve to fight back, either on the night of the fuss or afterward."

CHAPTER XV-PLANNING FOR OTHERS

While the Sans were experiencing the discomfort of internal friction, the Lookouts and their friends were traveling the pleasant ways of harmony and peace. The soph.o.m.ores had so thoroughly taken their freshman sisters under their genial wing that the juniors had little welfare work to do in that direction.

In the matter of basket ball they lost all active interest after the first game between the freshman and soph.o.m.ore teams which took place on the first Sat.u.r.day afternoon in November. The Sans still had friends enough among the seniors to make their influence felt in this respect.

With two Sans elected to the sports committee, Professor Leonard had thrown up his hands in disgust after a vain attempt to get along pleasantly with the arrogant committee. He refused to be present at the try-out. Afterward he made it a point to be away from the gymnasium during team practice.

Leslie Cairns kept her word to Elizabeth Walbert to the letter. She was chosen by the committee to play on the official soph.o.m.ore team. Phyllis Moore was also picked solely on account of her prowess. When she found herself on the same team with Elizabeth, she promptly resigned.

The freshman team was picked by the committee entirely according to Sans tactics. Therefore, the democratic element of Hamilton foresaw a series of uninteresting games ahead. Dutifully they attended the initial game of the season which the sophs won. Most of the applause came from the seniors present at the game. According to Muriel Harding, she had seen better games played by the grammar school children of Sanford.

Basket ball thus failing to arouse their marked enthusiasm, the former faithful fans and expert players turned their moments of recreation into channels which pleased them better. Incidental with the decline of basket ball, Marjorie and Robin took to looking earnestly about them for a motive for the entertainments they had discussed giving.

Marjorie scouted about diligently in an effort to locate students off the campus who needed financial help. She took Anna Towne into her confidence at last and found out something of interest.

"It isn't half so much that most of the girls living off the campus can't pull themselves through college. They manage to do it by working through the summer vacations. It is the way we have to live that is so nerve-racking at times. The food isn't always good, and there's so little variety if one boards. The girls who cook for themselves have to market. That's a strain. One is out of bread or b.u.t.ter or another staple and forgets all about it until supper time. Then the small stores nearby are closed. Perhaps one wishes to spend an hour or two in the library after recitations. There is the marketing to do, or else it has to be done early in the morning when one is hurrying to get ready for a first recitation. That's merely one of the difficulties attached to trying to lead the student life and doing light housekeeping at the same time.

"On the other hand," Anna had further explained, "if one boards one isn't always allowed to do one's own laundering. That's quite an item of expense. It costs more in money to board, and it is more of an expense of spirit to keep house on a small scale. It is a great irritation either way. That is the opinion of every girl off the campus I have talked with. You girls in your beautiful campus house are lucky. Many of these boarding and rooming houses are so cold in winter. For the amount of board or rental we pay the proprietors claim they can't afford to give adequate heat.

"You see, Marjorie, when girls like myself decide on enrolling at a certain college, they have only the prospectus to go by. They read in the Bulletin of Students' Aids and Bureaus of Self-help but they do not reckon on them. They go to college on their own resources. They wouldn't dream of asking help as freshmen; perhaps not at all during their whole course."

"I see," Marjorie had a.s.sented very soberly. It hurt her to hear of the struggles for an education going on so near her, while she had everything and more than heart could desire. "There ought to be one or two houses on the campus where students could live as cheaply as in boarding and rooming houses and still have their time entirely for study and recreation."

"That won't be in my time at Hamilton," Anna had declared with a tired little smile. "I hope it will happen some day."

When Marjorie had left Anna, it was with a certain generous resolve.

That night she made it known to Jerry.

"Do you know what I am going to do?" she asked, after recounting to her room-mate her conversation of the afternoon.

"I do not. I'll be pleased to hear your remarks, whatever they may be,"

encouraged Jerry with one of her wide smiles.

"You know what a lot of vacancies there will be here in June," Marjorie began. "Those vacancies ought to be filled by off-the-campus girls. Take Anna, for instance. She earns about one-third enough money summers to keep her at Wayland Hall. I shall furnish the other two-thirds for her.

I shall begin now and save something from my allowance toward it. I shall ask Captain not to buy me a lot of new clothes for next year, but to give me the money instead. I am going to do a little sacrificing. I shall cut out dinners and luncheons off the campus. I'll go only to Baretti's and not so very often."

"We are an extravagant set," Jerry confessed. "Our board is paid at the Hall; the very best board, too. Yet away we go every two or three days for a feed at our favorite tea-rooms. That's a good idea, Marvelous Manager. I shall presently adopt an off-the-campusite myself. Ronny will adopt a dozen."

"Ronny would finance them all, but I sha'n't let her. General would give me the money to see Anna through college, but I don't wish it to be that way. I want it to be self-denial money. I'd like to find a way to help the off-the-campus girls this year."

"Give shows. Make money. Turn it over to 'em," suggested Jerry, with an airy wave of the hand. "Nothing easier."

"Nothing harder, you mean," corrected Marjorie. "They wouldn't like to accept it as a private gift, I'm afraid. Besides, some of them board; others do light housekeeping. Those who keep house could use the money we offered to make things easier. Still they'd have the strain of housework on their minds. Those who board wouldn't be benefited much unless they changed boarding places. There is only that one collection of boarding houses near the campus. One is about the same as another.

Hamilton has been a rich girls' college for a long time. The fine equipment and super-excellent faculty have filled it up with well-to-do and moneyed students."

"I'd like to see every Hamilton student on the campus," declared Jerry heartily. "It would take three campus houses to do it. There must be close to seventy-five girls in that bunch of off-campus houses."

"We could start our fund for that purpose," was the hopeful response.

"Who'd take care of the plan after we were graduated? It would take a lot of money to build campus houses. Besides, how would we get the site?

Maybe the Board wouldn't hear to the project"

"Too true, too true, Jeremiah," Marjorie conceded gayly. "That plan is a little far-fetched just yet. Later it may seem feasible. The fact remains that Robin and I yearn to get up a show; object to give away the proceeds."

"You can do this. Arrange for the show. Advertise it as being given for the purpose of founding a students' beneficiary a.s.sociation. Take a third of the proceeds and start the society. Give the other two-thirds to Anna and let her distribute it privately among the girls who need it.

She knows them. She can get away with it better than you can. If anyone comes down on the treasury for our little lone third we can hand it out and keep it up by private contributions until some more money is earned.

I suppose you two marvelous managers will continue in the show business as long as it is profitable."

"Your head is level, Jeremiah," laughed Marjorie, her eyes sparkling.

"That's a good plan. I'll see Robin tomorrow, and Anna too. Robin can begin to gather up the performers. Anna can find out for me as to how her flock are situated. I shall call the girls in tomorrow evening and ask them if they each would like to finance a student next year. Leila, Vera and Helen will like to, even if they have been graduated from Hamilton. Kathie can't, but she will wish to help in some other way."

"Anna Towne was my freshie catch. You may have her. I'll scout around and find someone else," magnanimously accorded Jerry.

Marjorie spent her leisure hours during the ensuing few days in interviewing her friends and helping Robin plan the show. With Thanksgiving only ten days off, the show would not take place until after that holiday. The girls tackled the programme, however, and completed it within three days.

Ronny was to dance twice. Marjorie had written to Constance Stevens, who had promised to sing at the revue. These two numbers were to be the features. The Silverton Hall orchestra would contribute two numbers.

Leila and Vera had promised an ancient Irish contra dance in costume.

Phyllis would give a violin solo. Blanche Scott would offer a grand opera selection in her best baritone voice. Ronny agreed to train eight girls in a singing and dancing number. As a wind-up, four Acasia House girls were to put on a one-act French play.

Busy with her new project, Marjorie had not forgotten Miss Susanna. The day after her visit to Hamilton Arms she had written the old lady one of her sincere, friendly notes. She had not expected a reply. Nevertheless, Miss Hamilton had returned a few lines of acknowledgment. Since then the wires of communication between them had been idle.

Marjorie regretted this. She would have liked, during the beautiful autumn weather, to walk about the grounds of Hamilton Arms with its owner. With the last leaves off the trees and the earth frost-bitten, she began to feel that Miss Susanna had not desired her further acquaintance. In pa.s.sing Hamilton Arms she strained her eyes, invariably, for a sight of the old lady. She saw her but once, and at a distance.

She wondered as Thanksgiving approached what kind of Thanksgiving Miss Hamilton would have. She resolved, before leaving college for home, to write the last of the Hamiltons as cheerful a note as she could compose.

Three days before college closed for the holiday she found a letter in the Hall bulletin board in Miss Susanna's handwriting. This letter bore the address "Wayland Hall," and read:

"Dear Child:

"I have a curiosity to meet some of the young women you exalted to me when you took tea at the Arms. Will you bring them with you to five o'clock tea tomorrow afternoon? I had intended writing you before this date, but have been ill and out of sorts. I believe you mentioned eight young women as your particular friends. I can entertain you and the beloved eight, but no more. Do not trouble to answer this note. I shall expect to see you, even if the others can't come to tea.

"Yours sincerely, "Susanna Craig Hamilton."

Marjorie uttered a kind of exultant crow and performed a funny little dance of jubilation about the room. Jerry had not yet come from recitations, so she hurried out to find the other Lookouts. Ronny was the only one in. She rejoiced with Marjorie, her interest in Hamilton Arms and its owner being second only to that of her chum.

"She loves flowers. We must take her a big box of roses," was Marjorie's generous thought. "Pink, white and red ones; yellow roses, too, if we can find them. It is hard to find a certain kind of fragrant, very double yellow rose at the florist's now."