THE LAST STRAW
It had been Mary Raymond's firm intention when she closed her door that
Christmas night to resume hostilities the next day. But when she met
Marjorie at breakfast the following morning, her desire for continued
warfare had vanished. Some tense chord within her stubborn soul had
snapped. Looking back on yesterday she realized that it had not been
worth while. Now her proud spirit cried for peace. She wished she had
not been so ready to doubt her chum's loyalty and with a curious
revulsion of feeling she began to long for a reinstatement into her
affections.
But her perfunctory "good night" had cost her more than she dreamed. It
had awakened a tardy resentment in Marjorie's hitherto forgiving heart
that she could not readily efface. Outwardly Marjorie seemed the same.
She returned Mary's greeting pleasantly enough, showing nothing of the
surprise it had given her. Mary was not destined to learn for some time
to come that a reaction had taken place.
Mr. and Mrs. Dean were relieved to find that Marjorie's prediction was
not verified. To all appearances the two girls had definitely resumed
their old, friendly footing. Only Marjorie knew differently, but she did
not intend then or on any future occasion to betray herself, even to her
Captain.
As the winter days glided swiftly along the road to Spring, it was
circulated about among Marjorie's intimate friends that she and Mary had
settled their differences. Keen-eyed Jerry Macy, however, had seen
deeper than her classmates. Although Mary now occasionally walked home
with them or accompanied them to Sargent's, spending considerably less
time with Mignon, Jerry was quick to feel rather than note the slight
reserve Marjorie exhibited toward Mary. "Don't you believe they've made
up," she declared to Irma Linton. "Mary may think they have, but they
haven't. I guess Marjorie's grown tired of Mary's nonsense. I'm glad of
it. She's a silly little goose, I mean Mary, and she's lost more than
she thinks."
It was on a sunny afternoon in late March, however, before Mary was
rudely jolted into the same conclusion. Mignon La Salle was also
possessed of "the seeing eye." Mary was no longer her devoted satellite,
although she still kept up an indifferent kind of friendship with the
French girl. Mignon soon divined the cause of her lagging allegiance.
"You are a little idiot, Mary Raymond, to follow Marjorie Dean about as
you do. She doesn't care a snap for you. She may treat you nicely, but
that's as far as it goes. She cares more for that miserable Stevens girl
in a minute than she cares for _you_ in a whole year. Why can't you let
her alone and chum with some one who appreciates you."
"I don't follow Marjorie about," contested Mary hotly. "I never go
anywhere with her unless she asks me."
"She merely does that through courtesy," shrugged Mignon. "I suppose she
thinks it her duty. She's a prig and I despise her."
Mary's face flamed at the obnoxious word "duty." In a flash her mind
reviewed all that had passed since that memorable Christmas day. Her
cheeks grew hotter at the brutal truth of Mignon's words.
"If you think I care anything about her, you have made a mistake," she
retorted, stung to untruthfulness by the taunt. "I'll soon prove to you
that I don't."
"Stop running around with her and her wonderful friends and I'll believe
you," sneered Mignon.
"I will, if only to show you that I don't care," flung back the angry
girl.
"That's the way to talk," approved Mignon. She had kept but few friends
among the sophomores since that fatal practice game and she did not
intend to lose Mary from her diminished circle. Besides, she was certain
that the Deans, one and all, did not approve of Mary's friendship with
her and it accorded her supreme pleasure to annoy them.
"I'm going to give a fancy dress party two weeks from Friday night," she
went on, with an abrupt change of subject. "Nearly all the girls I'm
intending to invite are juniors and seniors. We'll have a glorious time.
I don't have to strip our living room of furniture for a place to dance.
I have a _real_ ballroom in my home. I'll send you an invitation in a
day or two."
Surely enough, three days after Mignon's announcement the invitation was
duly delivered to Mary through the mail. She read it listlessly. She was
not keen about attending the party. Marjorie merely smiled when Mary
showed her the invitation and briefly announced her intention of going.
She graciously offered the Snow White costume she had worn at the
masquerade of the previous Spring. Mary declined it coldly. She had not
forgotten Mignon's taunts. Since then she had kept strictly to herself,
steadily refusing Marjorie's polite invitations to accompany her here
and there. Earlier in the year Marjorie would have grieved in secret
over this frostiness, but Marjorie had hardened her gentle heart and now
fancied that Mary's movements were of small concern to her. And so the
wall of misunderstanding towered higher and higher.
Mrs. Dean willingly helped Mary plan a cunning little girl costume, and
when on the night of the party she entered the living room in obedience
to her Captain's call, "Come here and let us see how you look, Mary," a
lump rose in Marjorie's throat. In her short, white, embroidered frock,
with its Dutch neck and wide, blue ribbon sash, she looked precisely
like the pretty child that she had been when she and Marjorie played
"house" together in the Raymonds' backyard. The blue silk stockings and
heelless, blue kid slippers emphasized the babyish effect of her
costume, and Marjorie had hard work to keep back her tears. But Mary
could not read that sudden rush of emotion in the calm, uncritical face
which Marjorie turned to her.
Mignon had sent her runabout for Mary and it was a trifle after eight
o'clock when the La Salle's chauffeur drove up the wide, handsome
driveway to Mignon's home. It was an unusually mild evening in April and
as they neared the port-cochere, a slim figure in gypsy dress ran down
the steps. "I've been watching for you," called Mignon, as Mary stepped
from the runabout. "The musicians are here and so are most of the girls.
I can't imagine why the boys don't come. Only six have appeared, so far.
We've had one dance," she went on crossly. "Some of the girls had to
dance together. Wasn't that horrid? Take off your cloak and let me see
your costume. It's sweet."
The chauffeur had disappeared and the two girls stood for an instant at
the foot of the steps.
Advancing suddenly out of the darkness marched a sturdy little figure.
Under its arm was thrust a diminutive violin case. "How do you do?" it
greeted with a quaint, bobbing bow. "I comed to play in the band."
With a quick exclamation of surprise, Mary Raymond darted toward the
tiny youngster. "Charlie Stevens!" she gasped. "What are you doing away
over here after dark?"
"I comed to play in the band," repeated Charlie with a jubilant wave of
his violin case that almost sent it hurtling from his baby fingers.
"Uncle John comed and so I comed, too."
Mary knelt on the driveway and gathered him into her round, young arms.
"Listen to Mary, dear little boy. Did Charlie run away?" She had heard
from Marjorie of Charlie's frequent attempts to sally forth to conquer
the world with his violin.
The child's sensitive face clouded. His lip quivered. "Connie says I
have to always tell the truth," he wailed. "I runned away because I have
to play in the big band. A man comed to see Uncle John this afternoon. I
heard him talk about the band. Uncle John comed to play in it, so I
comed, too. Only he didn't see me. I kept behind him till he got to the
gate. Then after a while I comed, too!"
Mignon La Salle stood watching the wailing aspirant for the "big band"
with frowning eyes. "I suppose this ridiculous child belongs to those
Stevens," she sneered.
"Ain't a 'diclus child," contradicted Charlie with dignity. "I'm a
mesishun. I can play the fiddle. I like Mary. I don't like you."
"I have heard that this Stevens boy was an idiot. Now I believe it,"
snapped Mignon. "I suppose I'll have to take him in until some one comes
after him. I didn't know his uncle was to be one of the musicians. If I
had, I would have made the leader hire some other man. I sha'n't tell
his uncle that he's here. He's hired to play for my dance, not to waste
his time taking a simpleton home. It's a perfect nuisance."
Her long hoop ear-rings swung and shook with the vehemence of her
displeasure.
Mary Raymond's face changed from red to white as she listened to the
French girl's callous speech. A lover of all children, she could not
endure the slight put upon this tiny boy. She straightened up with an
alacrity that nearly threw Charlie off his balance. Her blue eyes
flashed with righteous wrath. "How can you be so harsh with this cunning
boy?" she cried. "He isn't an idiot or a simpleton! He's as bright
as--as----" (courtesy conquered) "as any child of his age. Why, he's
only a baby. He's not going into your house, either, to wait for his
family to find him. He's going home now, and I'm going to take him."
"You can't go very far in that short dress and those thin slippers,"
mocked Mignon. "Don't be a silly. Bring him in, I say, and hurry. I must
go back to my guests."
"Please go to them," Mary spoke in icily dignified tones. "As for me, I
have my cloak." She held forth one bare arm on which swung her long,
gray evening cape. "I should never forgive myself if I neglected this
little tot. I'm sorry to be so rude, but I can't help it. I'm going now.
Good night. Come, Charlie." Wrapping her cloak about her, Mary gently
disengaged the violin case from Charlie's clutch, tucked it under one
arm and took firm hold of the youngster's hand. Charlie was still
regarding Mignon's swaying ear-rings with childish fascination.
"You are a orful naughty girl," he pouted reproachfully.
"If you leave me now to take that impudent child home, I'll never speak
to you again," threatened Mignon, her black eyes snapping.
"Very well. You may do as you please," was Mary's laconic response over
her shoulder. She had already started down the driveway with her
venturesome charge. The little boy had been momentarily awed into
silence at Mignon's menacing features.
"She's a cross girl," he observed calmly, as he marched along beside
Mary, "but we don't care, do we?"
"_No_, we _don't_," came emphatically from Mary's lips. And she meant
it.