Read Ebook: Jane Allen Right Guard by Bancroft Edith
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Ebook has 1225 lines and 47499 words, and 25 pages
"What did she say to you?"
Marian had returned Maizie's glance with one of equal meaning.
"Not much of anything. I didn't give her a chance," boasted Elsie. "That little French girl snapped me up in a hurry. She's awfully pretty, isn't she?"
"She's a little cat," retorted Marian. "Look out for her. She's too clever for you. Her mother's Eloise Dupree, the dancer. She dances too. They're friends of President Blakesly's. She's awfully popular here and afraid of nobody. She's devoted to Jane Allen, though, so that settles her with me."
"Is Dorothy Martin at your table?" asked Maizie.
"Yes. I don't like her."
"She's a prig," shrugged Maizie.
"Edith Hammond used to sit there. Do you know her?" queried Marian of Elsie.
"She's not here any more. She's going to be married. I heard this Dorothy talking about her yesterday to Miss Dupree."
"Glad's she's gone. She was another turncoat. Hated Jane Allen and then started to be nice to her all of a sudden."
"This Jane Allen seems to have a lot of friends for all you girls say about her," Elsie asserted almost defiantly. "I detest her, but I notice she's never alone. The first night she came there was a crowd of girls in her room. I heard them laughing and singing."
"Jane Allen hasn't so many friends," broke in Maizie. "Dorothy Martin, Judith, Adrienne Dupree, Ethel Lacey, she's Adrienne's roommate, and Norma Bennett. That's all. Lots of girls in the sophomore class don't like her."
"Yes, and who's Norma Bennett," sneered Marian. "She used to be a kitchen maid; now she's a third-rate actress. She's a pet of Adrienne's and Jane Allen's. I think we ought to make a fuss about having her here at the Hall. If we could get most of the girls to sign a petition asking Mrs. Weatherbee to take it up it would be a good thing."
"But would she do it?" was Maizie's skeptical query.
"She might if we worked it cleverly," answered Marian. "Adrienne and her crowd would probably go to President Blakesly. We'd have to work it in such a way that Norma wouldn't let her. This Bennett girl is one of the sensitive sort. False pride, you know. Beggars are usually like that. Of course, I don't say positively that we can do it. We'll have to wait and see. Some good chance may come."
"It would be a splendid way to get even with Jane Allen and Adrienne Dupree, too," approved Maizie. "They would have spasms if their darling Norma had to leave Madison Hall and they couldn't help themselves."
"I think it would be rather hard on this Norma," declared Elsie bluntly.
She had pricked up her ears at the word "actress." Unbeknown to anyone save herself she was desperately stage struck. The idea of having a real actress at the Hall was decidedly alluring.
"You don't know what you're talking about," angrily rebuked Marian. "It's hard on the girls of really good families to have to countenance such a person. I've lived at Madison Hall a year longer than you have. Just remember that."
"What we ought to do is to get as many girls as we can on our side," suggested crafty Maizie. "There are forty-eight girls at the Hall, most of them sophs. Last year we let them alone, because they weren't of our class. This year we'll have to make a fuss over them. Lunch them and take them to ride in our cars and all that. It will be a bore, but it will pay in the end. Once we get a stand-in with them, we can run things here to suit ourselves."
"That's a good idea," lauded Marian. "We'll begin this very day."
So it was that while Jane Allen and her little coterie of loyal friends entered upon their college year with high aspirations to do well, under the same roof with them, three girls sat and plotted to overthrow Wellington's most sacred tradition: "And this is my command unto you that ye love one another."
A VAGUE REGRET
"WELL, Jane, it's our turn to do the inviting this year," announced Judith Stearns, as she pranced jubilantly into the room where Jane sat hard at work on her Horace for next day's recitation.
"When is it to be?"
Jane looked up eagerly from her book.
"A week from to-night. The notice just appeared on the bulletin board. You know my fond affection for the bulletin board."
Judith boyishly tossed up her soft blue walking hat and caught it on one finger, loudly expressing her opinion of her own dexterity.
"Sit down, oh, vainglorious hat-thrower, and tell me about it," commanded Jane, laughing.
Judith plumped down on her couch bed and beamed knowingly at Jane.
"Guess what comes after that," she finished.
"Basket-ball."
Jane gave a long sigh of pure satisfaction. There was a pleasant light in her eyes as she made the guess. She was anxiously looking forward to making the sophomore team.
Judith echoed the sigh. She also hoped to make the team.
"We'll have to get busy and invite our freshmen to the dance," she said wagging her brown head. "The freshman class is large this year; about a third larger than last year's class. That means some of the juniors and seniors will have to help out. I'm glad of it. It will give Norma a chance to go too."
"There are only four freshmen in this house," stated Jane. "One of them is out of the question for us."
"I get you," returned Judith slangily. "Undoubtedly you refer to the ignoble Miss Noble. Noble by name but not by nature," she added with a chuckle.
Jane smiled, then frowned.
"Honestly, Judy, I'd give almost anything if she weren't at our table. I don't mind her not speaking to any of us. But she always listens to every word we say and acts as if she was storing it up for future reference. Even Dorothy feels the strain."
"It's too bad," sympathized Judith. "There's only one consolation. When it gets too much on your nerves you can always fall back on Rutherford Inn."
"I'm going to fall back on it to-night," decided Jane suddenly. "Let's have a dinner party."
"Can't go. I am the proud possessor of one dollar and two cents," Judith ruefully admitted.
Jane had observed signs of objection on Judith's good-humored face.
"All right," yielded Judith. "Go ahead. I'll give a blow-out when my check comes. It'll be here next week."
"We'll invite Norma, Dorothy, Adrienne, Ethel, Mary, Christine Ellis, Barbara Temple, and oh, yes--Alicia Reynolds. We mustn't forget Alicia."
"Yes, she needs a little recreation," grinned Judith. "Chained to the ignoble Noble! What a fate for a good little soph! Some roommate!"
"You'd better be careful about the pet name you're so fond of giving that girl," warned Jane, laughing a little in spite of her admonition. "You know your failing. You'll say it some time to someone without thinking. Then little Judy will be sorry."
"Oh, I only say it to you and Imp," averred Judith cheerfully. "You're both to be trusted."
"If we're going to have the party to-night we'll have to hurry up about it. How are we going to get word to Alicia? I hate to go to her room on account of Miss Noble. And what about Christine and Barbara?"
Jane laid down her book and rose from her chair.
"I'll go over to Argyle Hall and invite them. Tell Ethel to go in and invite Alicia," suggested Judith. "She's almost as obliging as I am. She rooms next to Alicia and our noble friend. It will be only a step for her. She won't mind doing it."
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