Grace Harlowe's First Year at Overton College Page 5

  CHAPTER V

  AN INTERRUPTED STUDY HOUR

  The first two weeks at Overton glided by with amazing swiftness. Therewas so much to be done in the way of arranging one's recitations, buyingor renting one's books and accustoming one's self to the routine ofcollege life that Grace and her friends could scarcely spare the time towrite their home letters. There were twenty-four girls at Wayne Hall.With the exception of four sophomores the house was given up tofreshmen. Grace thought them all delightful, and in her whole-souled,generous fashion made capital of their virtues and remained blind totheir shortcomings. There had been a number of jolly gatherings in Mrs.Elwood's living room, at which quantities of fudge and penuchi were madeand eaten and mere acquaintances became fast friends.

  The week following their arrival a dance had been given in the gymnasiumin honor of the freshmen. The whole college had turned out at thisstrictly informal affair, and the upper class girls had taken particularpains to see that the freshmen were provided with partners and had agood time generally. At this dance the three Oakdale friends had feltmore at home than at any other time since entering Overton. In the firstplace, Mabel Ashe, Frances Marlton and Constance King had come over toWayne Hall in a body on the evening before the dance and offeredthemselves as escorts. Furthermore, the scores of happy, laughing girlsgliding over the gymnasium floor to the music of a three-piece orchestrareminded Grace of the school dances in her own home town. J. Elfreda hadalso been escorted to the hop by Virginia Gaines, one of the sophomoresat Wayne Hall, who had a great respect for the stout girl's money, andit was a secret relief to Grace that she had not been left out.

  Now the dance was a thing of the past, and nothing was in sight in theway of entertainment except the reception and dance given by thesophomores to the freshmen. This was a yearly event, and meant more tothe freshmen than almost any other class celebration, for thesophomores, having thrown off freshman shackles, took a lively hand inthe affairs of the members of the entering class. It was sophomores whounder pretense of sympathetic interest wormed out of unsuspectingfreshmen their inmost secrets and gleefully spread them abroad among theupper classes. It was also the sophomores who were the most active inenforcing the standard that erring freshmen were supposed to live up to.The junior and senior classes as a rule allowed their sophomore sistersto regulate the conduct of the newcomers at Overton, only stepping in tointerfere in extreme cases.

  Grace and her friends had met nearly all the members of the sophomoreclass at the freshman dance, but in reality they had very fewacquaintances among them that bade fair to become their friends.

  "I don't suppose we'll have the honor of being escorted to the receptionby sophomores," remarked Grace several evenings before the event, as sheand Miriam strolled out of the dining room. "We'll have to go in a crowdby ourselves and look as though we enjoyed it."

  "Why not stay at home?" yawned Miriam. "I'm not as over-awed at the ideaof this affair as I might be."

  "No," replied Grace, shaking her head. "It wouldn't do. We ought to go.The dance is to be given in honor of the freshmen, and it's their dutyto turn out and make it a success. Are you going to study your Livyto-night, Miriam?"

  "If I can," replied Miriam grimly. "It depends on what my talkativeroommate does. If she elects to give me another instalment of the storyof her life before she came here, Livy won't stand much chance. We haveprogressed as far as her twelfth year, and I was just on the point oflearning how she survived scarlet fever when the doctor didn't expecther to live, last night, when she happened to remember that she hadn'tlooked at her history lesson and I was mercifully spared furthertorture."

  "Poor Miriam," laughed Grace. "But you could have said you didn't wanther the day Mrs. Elwood brought her here. What made you decide to lether stay? I saw by your face something interesting was going on in yourmind."

  Miriam looked reflectively at Grace. "I don't know I'm sure just why Ilet her stay. It wasn't because I wished to please Mrs. Elwood, thoughshe is so nice with all of us. I had a curious feeling that I ought totake J. Elfreda in hand. If it had been you whose room she invaded youwouldn't have hesitated even for a second. Ever since you and I settledour differences back in our high school days I've always held you up tomyself as an example. Now, honestly, Grace, you would have taken her inwithout a murmur, wouldn't you?"

  "Ye-e-s," said Grace slowly, her face flushing. "I would have said shemight stay, I think. But, Miriam, you mustn't hold me up as an example.I couldn't be more generous and loyal and broadminded than you."

  "In the words of J. Elfreda, 'let's change the subject,'" said Miriamhastily. "Where's Anne?"

  "Anne is out visiting the humblest freshman of them all," replied Grace."Her name is Ruth Denton. Anne singled her out in English the other day,scraped acquaintance with her, and found that she has a room in an oldhouse in the suburbs of the town. She takes care of her own room, boardsherself and does any kind of mending she can get to do from the girls tohelp her pay her way through college. Anne only found her last week, butI have promised to go to see her, too, and I want you to go with me."

  They had paused at the door of Miriam's room. Her hand on the door, shesaid earnestly, "I'd love to go, Grace. I might know that you and Annecouldn't rest without championing some one's cause."

  "What about you and J. Elfreda?" questioned Grace slyly.

  "Oh, that's different," retorted Miriam. Opening the door she glancedabout the room. Her own side was in perfect order, but J. Elfreda's halflooked as though it had been visited by a cyclone. The cover of hercouch bed was pulled askew and the sofa pillows ornamented the floor.Shoes and stockings were scattered about in wild disorder. Her dressingtable looked as though the contents had been stirred up and deposited ina heap in the center. From the top drawer of the chiffonier protruded ahand-embroidered collar, and a long black silk tie hung down the middleof the piece of furniture, giving it the effect of being draped inmourning.

  Catching sight of this Grace pointed to it, laughing. "It looks asthough she were in mourning, doesn't it?"

  "For her sins, yes," replied Miriam grimly. "Isn't this room a mess,though? I've picked up her things ever so many times, but I'm tired ofit. Come in here to-night, Grace. I want to see how it seems to have mydearest friend in my room, all to myself."

  "All right," laughed Grace. "I'll get my books."

  Five minutes later she reappeared and, cosily establishing herself inthe Morris chair that Miriam insisted she should occupy, the girls begantheir work. For the time being silence reigned, broken only by the soundof turning leaves or an occasional question on the part of one or theother of the two. Finally Miriam closed her book triumphantly. "That'sdone," she exulted. "Now for my English."

  "I wish I was through with this," sighed Grace, eyeing her Livy withdisfavor. "I never do learn my lessons quickly. I have to study ever somuch harder than you and Anne. Now, if it were basketball, theneverything would be lovely. Still, you're a champion player, too,Miriam, so you've more than your share of accomplishments. Anne, too,excites my envy and admiration. She can act and stand first in herclasses, too, while I have to work like mad to keep up in my classes andam not a star in anything. Perhaps during this year I shall develop somenew talent of which no one suspects me. It won't be for study, that'ssure."

  Miriam smiled to herself, but said nothing. She knew that Grace alreadypossessed a talent for making friends and an ability to see not only herown way clearly, but to smooth the pathway of those weaker than herselfthat was little short of marvelous. She knew, too, that before the endof the school year Grace's remarkable personality was sure to makeitself felt among her fellow students.

  "What are you smiling to yourself about, Miriam?" demanded Grace.

  But at this juncture the door was burst violently open and J. ElfredaBriggs dashed into the room, threw herself face downward on herdisordered bed and gave way to a long, anguished wail.