Mabel Cronise Jones

“ A sudden recollection struck Dolly. “No wonder that you did not care to have me introduce you to Professor Newton that first evening; do you remember? And of course she had saved a place at her table purposely for you. Mary Sutherland, if I supposed you repeated to her all the nonsense that you have heard me talk about her, I should never let you return to college alive.”
Mary smiled, not very much overcome by the threat. “You always say nice things about her; now, if it had been Professor Arnold–you really don’t like her at all.” ”

“ Elizabeth gave a soft whistle. “I pity you, my dear; you see you have a tender conscience, and you are going to bother yourself about Miss Sutherland all of the time. Now, if I were you, I should never give her another thought, especially as your room has returned to its normal condition.”
“You slander yourself,” Dolly retorted, “didn’t you act the part of a good Samaritan to me?”
“Oh, you–you are different! Don’t you know that you are going to be one of the most popular girls here? You are pretty and bright, and friendly with everyone.”
“Hush up, Beth.” ”

“ There was a moment’s pause while the fifteen uninvited guests took possession of the few chairs, window-seats and stools which the room afforded.
“Miss Alden, you may answer first. What is the chief duty of every Freshman?”
“To squelch the Sophomores,” returned Dolly promptly.
A deep groan sounded from all fifteen. “Wrong! Wrong! You have not the first idea of your fundamental duties. We shall be obliged to send you home, I fear. Miss Newby, answer!” ”

“ Another of the class was doing lyceum work as a public reader. Still another had opened a kindergarten, and many more, like Beth and Dolly, were filling quietly and efficiently the little niches at home which sadly needed them.
For the most part, college life had broadened all of the girls, so that none of them were entirely content to lead a perfectly useless life of fashion and gayety. Constance herself had gone into college settlement work, just as she had planned to do long before. ”

“ Her companions stared at her. “Don’t be a goose, Dolly. ’Tis very good of you to propose it, but your father and mother, to say nothing of that brother of yours, will want all of your time. They will not care to have strangers there whom they must entertain.”
“They will not entertain you, my dear. 50 I am taking you to entertain a couple of boys whom Fred proposes taking home. Don’t you see how useful you can make yourselves?” ”

“ She hoped not, too, for she knew Mary well enough to be sure that that young lady wasted no thoughts upon Fred, or upon any other young man.
“All Mary cares for,” she told herself half-angrily, “is biology, and her own family. She has her future mapped out, and she expects to teach forever and forever. Fred need not waste a single thought on her, and I do not believe that he does, either.”
But when commencement time approached, and Fred was so plainly cast down over Mary’s refusal to go to Harvard, Dolly began to think that she might be wrong in her conclusions. ”

“ Hear that awful gong? Dinner will be ready in five minutes now. Come down to the veranda, and I will tell you who some of the people are.”
Dolly was quite ready to go, and as they ran lightly down the steps, she confided in a whisper to Elizabeth her plan for the Sophomores’ discomfiture.
“You are a genius; I am sure that will work! Hurrah! Oh, Miss Randall, I want you to meet Miss Alden. Can’t we sit at your table tonight?” ”

“ Dolly said frankly.
“I have felt a little sorry for her lately. We have seen more or less of each other all our lives; we both live in New York, and as 190 children we went to the same kindergarten, and we have seen each other with some frequency during all the in-between years. Just now Margery is not having an easy time. Instead of being a junior, as she would have been in the ordinary course of events, she is only a freshman, but I have learned that she is doing extra work and has taken some extra examinations. She hopes to come into our class as a full sophomore after Christmas.” ”

“ Dolly’s bright eyes took in every detail, the thick hair drawn back so tightly and unbecomingly, the heavy brown dress, just the shade that the girl with such a dark, sallow complexion should never have worn, the cheap jewelry and the clumsy shoes. And she must room with this girl instead of with Elizabeth–it was too bad, it was–and Dolly’s whole soul rose up in rebellion.
“You are Miss Alden, aren’t you? I am Mary Sutherland. I just came, and I have been trying to get my things in order.”
“I see.” Dolly glanced dryly around the room. “Where are my belongings?” ”

“ She owned, now, that she had been jealous of Dolly’s open admiration for Constance. Then she had called Constance proud and unfeeling. Who had stood Margaret Hamilton’s friend? Who was helping Margery Ainsworth to regain her self-respect? Who had gone to Mrs. O’Flaherty on the first hint of sickness? And had not the doctor declared that the college girls were ignorant of the greater part of her charitable deeds?
“I believe that I have been a big snob,” Mary told herself. “We can only be measured by our inclinations and our deeds. ”

“ Mary Sutherland replied quietly, but with a certain wistfulness. “I would be no help at all. I never could talk to boys; then, I have no clothes to wear, and you would be ashamed of me.”
“If you cannot entertain boys, you must learn to do it before you are a week older. No one expects college girls to have many clothes, so that part of the question is disposed of. I am going to send an extra telegram to Mother now, so that she will be sure to get a large turkey. I don’t want you to go hungry when you eat your Thanksgiving dinner with me.” ”

“ But Professor Newton realized that a new dress may give a girl a certain self-possession and ease, so she was determined that her niece should have at least one gown that would be becoming and suitable. Mary grumbled, over the waste of money, as she termed it, but her aunt quietly silenced her, and sent her off to Harvard, hoping that, for once in her life, Mary would act like a young girl instead of an old woman, and would get as much pleasure out of the week as Beth and Dolly did. ”

“ Dolly glanced up in surprise, to see a merry face regarding her from the doorway. The newcomer was much below medium height, with a very freckled face, very red, curly hair, and a very good-natured expression.
“Didn’t you feel forlorn yourself last year?” retorted Dolly. “Or, if you are a dignified Junior or Senior, I suppose you have forgotten how poor little Freshmen feel, when they are 6 dumped in with a lot of strangers. I am just like a cat in a strange garret.”
“You are no stranger than I,” and the newcomer ensconced herself in the only rocking-chair that the room afforded. ”

“ Fred is such a good fellow that I supposed anyone would like him.”
“Mary likes him, but that is all. He certainly cannot vie in interest in her mind with biology.”
“Poor Fred.”
Dolly sprang up. “I am not going to worry about Fred. Mary and he are good friends, and Fred is far too young yet to think of anything else.”
Martin indulged in a long laugh. “Don’t let him hear you, or he will think that you do not appreciate his years and new dignities. As a matter of fact, more than fifty per cent. of the students here are engaged.” ”

“ Your room is stunning and we can certainly hold our own.”
“I thought we were going to make fudge.”
“So we shall, but we’ll hide it when they come. Don’t waste candy on Sophomores, my dear.”
Dolly looked up with a sparkle in her eye. “What will they do?”
“There’s no telling. Nothing dreadful. Make us sing for them or recite, or go through some absurdity.”
“If we refuse?”
“They will simply let us alone, not only tonight, but during the rest of the year. The best thing is to meet them good-naturedly, do what they require, and turn the tables on them, if we can.” ”

“ Professor Newton told me the other day that the faculty was perfectly satisfied with us. We have some actually brilliant students here. Look at Amy Norton, for instance! She is a phenomenon. Our choir is fine, and altogether,” Beth wound up emphatically, “we are just about as nice a class as you can find any place.”
“We are nice,” Dolly conceded, “but, Beth, let me tell you that our pride is going to have a fearful fall in one particular.” ”

“ All three of the girls knew that Margery Ainsworth had violated one of the strictest rules, and she could only have done it in order to achieve some end which the faculty would never have countenanced. It was not pleasant for Beth to room with a girl as utterly devoid of principle as Margery Ainsworth daily proved herself to be. It was inevitable that they should be thrown more or less together. Margery was no student at all, and she and Beth really had no ideas in common.
“This is the second secret that has come our way this vacation,” Dolly said. “Such secrets are not nice. ”

“ I tell you what, Miss Hamilton, those freshmen knew what they were doing when they elected you class president. If I’m not brilliant myself, I can recognize a good thing when I see it.”
“Miss Graves, I tell you what you must do in sheer gratitude to the freshmen–invite us all in and get out those delicious cakes and pickles of yours. You ought to treat.” ”

“ Just leave it all to time, and to Fred. If he is contented, you can afford to be.”
And to herself Dolly added: “Fred has the wisdom of the serpent; Mary cares more for him than she realizes, and he will win her in the end.” ”

“ There was a chorus of groans from the freshmen, and Charlotte’s voice was drowned in an outburst of animated retorts. Under cover of the fun, Abby Dunbar said to Dolly, who chanced to be sitting next to her on the window ledge; “One can see that Margaret is a true aristocrat. It shows in every move she makes, and every word she says.” ”

“ And Mary, true to her word, gave up all her time to gymnasium work. All of their friends came flocking to Westover for Commencement week. In fact, the closing ceremonies occupied nearly ten days.
All of the “diggers” had won their degrees, and also, rather to their astonishment, a place on the “honor” roll. Beth, as everyone expected, had taken the mathematical prize, Mary had been awarded the special prize given occasionally for exceptionally fine work along scientific lines, Margaret had won a year’s study abroad for the highest average throughout the entire course. ”

“ Fred brought a crowd of college chums again, and there was plenty of yachting and fishing. In the evenings there were lovely rows on the St. Lawrence, and music and singing.
The girls were provided with kodak cameras, and every week they sent a group of pictures to Mary. She had started for her home on the day that college closed, but she wrote regularly, and her letters, which seemed at first quite stiff and formal, grew toward the end of the vacation to be as chatty and bright as those sent her by Beth and Dolly. ”

“ Beth knew how much her stepmother and the children looked forward to the next year, and so, although she did wish at times that she might be back at Westover for some special work in mathematics, she did not entertain the thought seriously, for the boys really needed her, and her father said that they were lonesome at home without her. She would help to make her home as pleasant as she could, and she would do some earnest work with her music. ”

“ You can give your mornings to study, and have plenty of time for fun beside. What shall I tell him, Dolly, dear? I must write at once.”
“I believe, I actually believe, that I could do it in that way. Beth wanted to help me, but we do not have the same studies, and I knew how anxious she was to be at home, too. This plan will help Mr. Steele, and Fred will like that.”
“Yes, Fred will like that, for he is fond of Rob, but, most of all, he will like helping you, Dolly. Fred is proud of his sister. Can you do this without overtasking yourself? Health must come first.” ”

“ But on Christmas morning, Bob Steele found that his little gifts received much more attention than the handsome ones that Dick Martin had given. And even Mary Sutherland, with all her supersensitiveness, never thought of comparing the relative value of the inexpensive books she had given, with the very beautiful muff, handkerchiefs, ribbons and laces which she found in her Christmas corner. ”

“ That would spoil it all. If the girls prefer Miss Hamilton, she ought to be elected. She would make a much better presiding officer than I.”
“I don’t think so, do you, Miss Sutherland?” and Beth turned to Dolly’s room-mate who was the only other person present.
Dolly broke in impetuously. “Don’t ask Mary embarrassing questions. She doesn’t have to vote for me just because we chance to room together, and, of course, she knows that Miss Hamilton would make a better president than I. By the way, why don’t you two drop formality and say ‘Elizabeth’ and ‘Mary?’ It is quite time you did so.” ”