Marjorie Dean, College Sophomore Part 16

"Please come in. I will tell the doctor." The maid disappeared into a room at the right of the colonial hall. Quickly returning, she said: "In there, Miss." She pointed to the door which she had left partially open.

The president was seated at a flat-topped mahogany desk. He rose as Marjorie entered and came forward to meet her.

"Good afternoon," he greeted, in the deep, pleasant voice which made his addresses a delight to the ear. "Norah tells me you have a note for me from Miss Humphrey."

"Good afternoon," Marjorie returned. "Here is the note. Miss Humphrey said there would be no answer." She half turned as though to depart.

"Just a moment." The doctor was regarding her with keen but friendly eyes. "You are not of the clerical force at Hamilton Hall. Let me think.

You are a soph.o.m.ore, are you not?" He asked the question triumphantly, smiling as he spoke.

"Yes; I am a soph.o.m.ore." Marjorie's brown eyes held polite amazement.

"I am very proud of my memory for faces," Doctor Matthews continued. "I rarely forget a face, though I do not always remember names. You were one of the freshman ushers at Commencement last June. Now you have come into soph.o.m.ore estate. How do you like it?"

"Better than being a freshman." It was Marjorie's turn to smile. "I am so much better acquainted with Hamilton College now. I am sure there isn't another college in the world half so fine." She blossomed into involuntary enthusiasm. "Mr. Brooke Hamilton must have been a wonderful man. He planned everything here so n.o.bly."

"He was, indeed, a man of n.o.ble character and true spirituality. I would rather be president of Hamilton College than any other college I have ever visited or been connected with. I revere the memory of Brooke Hamilton. It is unfortunate we know so little of him. His great-niece, Miss Susanna Hamilton, lives at Hamilton Arms. She is the last of the Hamilton family. Unfortunately for the college, she became incensed at the churlish behavior toward her of a member of the Board whose estate adjoined hers. This was many years ago. She had been on the verge of turning over to the college a great deal of interesting data regarding Brooke Hamilton which was private family history. Doctor Burns, then president of Hamilton, was to write the biography of the lovable founder of our college. After the falling-out with the Board member she refused to give up the data. Since then she has ignored the college. Brooke Hamilton's biography yet remains to be written."

"A case of the innocent having to suffer with the guilty," Marjorie said, her eyes very bright. She was privately exultant to have learned this bit of news of the Hamiltons. She had heard that the last of the Hamiltons, a woman, lived at Hamilton Arms. Leila had told her a little concerning the present owner of the Hamilton estate.

After a few further remarks on the subject of Hamilton College, she gracefully took her leave. As she stepped from the hall to the veranda, she encountered the same young woman she had met on her way into the house. This time the girl was seated in one of the porch rockers. Her eyes, as they fixed themselves on Marjorie, looked more unfriendly than ever. Marjorie caught the hostile import of this second prolonged stare.

"What a hateful face that girl had," she thought, as she continued down the walk. "I don't recall ever having seen _her_ before. I'd certainly have remembered that face. Perhaps she's a relative of Doctor Matthews.

She seems to be quite at home."

Returned to Wayland Hall, Marjorie's first act was to go to Lucy's room to give her Miss Humphrey's message. This time she found Lucy in but alone.

"Where's Ronny?" she inquired, after she had explained to Lucy the registrar's present difficulty, "I haven't seen her except at meals for two days."

"She's out with Leila and Vera waiting for the election returns. They are anxious to find out if Phil won."

"Hope she did," was Marjorie's fervent wish. "You can never guess in a thousand years to whom I was talking this afternoon."

"I'm a poor guesser. You'd better tell me," Lucy said in her concise fashion.

"All right, I will. It was President Matthews." Lucy's greenish eyes turning themselves on her in astonishment, Marjorie laughed, then went on to relate the circ.u.mstances.

Lucy listened with the profound interest of a wise young owl. "What do you think of him?" she asked reflectively, when Marjorie had finished.

"Does he seem the kind of man that would do a person an injustice? I'm thinking of Miss Remson now."

"I thought of her, too, while I was in his office," Marjorie responded.

"No; he doesn't appear to be anything but broad-minded and just. Still, we mustn't forget that his name was signed to that letter."

"Did you see his secretary?" Lucy quizzed. "She is over at his house some of the time. He is usually at Hamilton Hall until one o'clock in the afternoon, then he goes home. I understand he transacts a good deal of college business at his home office."

"I didn't see anyone but the maid who answered the door and the president. Oh, I'll take that back. I saw a girl coming out of the house as I was going up the steps. When I came out I saw her again. She was sitting on the veranda. She had such a disagreeable expression. I noticed it particularly the second time I saw her."

"Describe her," Lucy tersely commanded.

Marjorie complied, giving a fairly good description of the stranger.

"That girl----" Lucy paused impressively, "is the president's secretary."

"Really?" Marjorie's brown eyes opened to their widest extent.

"Yes; really. I told Miss Remson the morning we were in her office that I intended to find out all I could about Doctor Matthews' secretary. I have not found out anything much about her except that she is not a student. But I have seen her. Kathie knows her by sight. She pointed her out to me one afternoon. We pa.s.sed her on the campus. She was going toward Doctor Matthews' house. I did not like her looks. I feel that she was at the bottom of Miss Remson's trouble and it would not surprise me to learn that she is in with the Sans. Unfortunately I have no way of proving it. I believe it, just the same."

"There was something queer about that whole affair," Marjorie agreed.

"You remember Helen said that, if the Sans were insolent and supercilious when they came back to the Hall, it would mean they had had information beforehand and were sure of their ground. Well, they were very much like that. They acted as though they owned the Hall.

"I noticed that, for I watched them particularly. I think Miss Sayres, that's the secretary's name, is the one who helped them. I hope some day to be able to prove it."

CHAPTER XV.

THE RENDEZVOUS.

The noisy entrance into the room of Muriel, Jerry, Leila, Vera and Ronny, with the disappointing news that Phyllis had lost the freshman presidency by only nine votes, broke up the confidential session.

"We went to our room first but you were not to be seen. Thought you'd be here. Last I saw of you you had started on a hunt for Lucy. Isn't it a shame about the election? To think that Walbert snip won!" Jerry elevated her nose in utter disapproval. "Won't the Sans crow? They will blow her off to dinners and spreads for a week to come. I hope she gets an awful case of indigestion."

"How very cruel you are, Jeremiah." Nevertheless, Ronny laughed with the others. Jerry's hopes for the downfall of her enemies were usually energetic and sweeping.

"I can be a lot more cruel than that," she boasted. "It made me tired to hear those sillies had elected that girl to the cla.s.s presidency. Glad I'm not a freshie. They will rue it before the year is up. Phil's supporters are as mad as hops."

Many of the upper-cla.s.s girls shared Jerry's opinion. The Sans' open championship of Elizabeth Walbert had excited unfavorable comment on the campus. While the upper-cla.s.s students aimed to be helpful elder sisters to the freshmen, college etiquette forbade a too-marked interest in freshman affairs. The Sans had over-reached themselves and were bound to come in for adverse criticism in college circles where tradition was still respected.

The Sans, however, were oblivious to everything save the fact that they had gained their point. Leslie Cairns was radiant over the victory and gave an elaborate dinner that evening at the Colonial in honor of Elizabeth. Besides the Sans, Alida Burton and Lola Elster, twenty-two freshmen were invited. She engaged the restaurant for the evening and spared no pains and expense to make the dinner what she termed "a howler."

Following on the heels of her triumph strode calamity. The mail next morning brought her a letter which lashed her into a furious rage. It was a terse summons to appear at Doctor Matthews' office at eleven o'clock that morning. More, the four lines comprising it had been penned, not typed. Her instant surmise was that the summons had to do with the recent accident of Katherine Langly. She could think of no other reason for it, unless--Leslie turned pale. There was another reason, but she preferred not to give it mind room. She boldly decided that she would ignore the letter that morning. She would receive a second summons. It would be easy enough to a.s.sert that she had not received a first. This would give her time to see a certain person and perhaps gain an inkling of what was in the wind.

An interview with the "certain person" yielded nothing. That person was unable to throw light upon the reason for the summons. Two days elapsed, then Leslie received a second communication too austere to be disregarded. She went to the president's office in considerable trepidation and emerged from it an hour later, her heavy features set in anger. Undertaking to a.s.sume her usual nonchalant pose, she had been brought with alarming suddenness to a wholesome respect for Doctor Matthews' dignity. She had also received a lecture on reckless driving which she was not likely to forget.

"While it seems unfair to deprive students who are careful drivers of the privilege of using their automobiles at college, simply because careless young women like you will not conform to the traffic conditions, it will come to that." Doctor Matthews was a study in cold severity as he made this threatening statement. "I shall take drastic measures if another accident occurs as a result of speeding or reckless driving on the part of a student. I have been informed, Miss Cairns, that you are in the habit of exceeding the speed limit. It is a particularly dangerous proceeding on the highways adjacent to the college on account of the number of students who make a practice of walking. Referring to the accident to Miss Langly. What rest.i.tution could you have made if her back had been permanently injured? There is nothing more pitiful than a helpless invalid. Remember that and see that you are not the one to cause lifelong unhappiness or death by an act of sheer lawlessness. Let this be the last offense of this kind on your part."

Thus the president concluded his arraignment. Leslie left Hamilton Hall with but one flaming purpose. She would be even with the person or persons who had reported her to the president. Suspicion instantly pointed out "that Sanford crowd." She gave Katherine clearance of it, strange to say. She preferred to lay the blame at either the door of Marjorie or Jerry. Yet she had dark suspicions of Leila and Vera. Then there were the freshmen who had been in Harriet Stephens' car. Harriet had told her that they were in sympathy with Katherine's crowd. Whoever was to blame would suffer for it. On that point she was determined.

Shortly after her return to Wayland Hall, she resolved to cut her cla.s.ses that day. Leslie received a telephone call. It was not unexpected. She had notified the maid that she would be in her room in case she should be called on the 'phone. Her sullen features cleared a trifle as she listened to the voice at the other end of the wire.

"All right," she said in guarded tones. The students had already begun to drop in from the last recitations of the morning. "Nine o'clock sharp. I'll walk. I'm not going to take chances of attracting attention.

Yes, I know where you mean. It's not far from Baretti's. Don't fail me.

Goodbye."

On her way to her room she encountered Natalie. "Come with me," she said shortly.

"Where were you this morning?" Natalie asked. "Professor Futelle was awfully fussed about absentees. Eight girls cut French today."