LET WELL ENOUGH ALONE
“At last I’ve discovered what I’ve been dying to find out!” Julia Peyton
burst into the room occupied by herself and Clara Carter, her black,
moon-like eyes full of excitement.
“Have you?” Clara made an elaborate pretense of indifference. She kept
her eyes fastened on the book before her on the study table. She was
thoroughly peeved with Julia for having gone across the hall to see
Mildred Ferguson at least an hour before.
Julia had returned to Hamilton on the previous afternoon. Clara had not
returned, however, until that afternoon. She thought Julia might have
shown more interest in seeing her. Instead, she had hurried to Mildred
Ferguson’s room directly after dinner on the plea of consulting with
Mildred about the Orchid Club’s next luncheon.
“Oh, drop your book, and listen to me.” Julia sat down on the edge of
her couch bed with an impatient bounce.
“Why should I? You haven’t stopped to consider me?” Clara retorted,
frost in her tones. “But it doesn’t matter. Please say what you wish. I
am interested in this story. I began it on the train and I’m anxious to
finish it tonight. I shan’t have time to-morrow.”
“Oh, bother your old story!” Julia exclaimed. “You are simply peeved.
The story I have to tell you is a good deal more interesting than the
one you’re reading. I have just heard the true story of Leslie Cairns.
What do you think of that?” Julia was full of malicious elation.
“True story?” Clara returned interrogatively. She refused to let
curiosity interfere with her miffed assumption of dignity.
“Yes, the true story of how she led the girls she chummed with into a
hazing party and then tried to lay the whole thing to them so as to save
herself from being expelled. That’s the sort of person _she_ is.”
“I suppose Mildred Ferguson told you all this,” Clara said coolly.
“Where did she find out so much? How do you know what she says is true?”
“She found out about Miss Cairns from a cousin. The cousin was one of
the girls who chummed with Miss Cairns, and who was with the hazing
party. I believe every word of what she told me.” Julia crested her head
in displeased defiance of Clara.
“Mm-m.” Clara unbent a trifle. “Who is her cousin? When did she hear
about Miss Cairns? Off the campus, I believe. I’ve never found anyone on
the campus who knew the rights of that hazing business. They say Miss
Dean knows. She ought to, since she was the student those girls hazed.
She’d never tell anyone a word about it, though.”
“She may keep her information,” shrugged Julia scornfully. “I know more
about it now, perhaps, than she does. I mean, I know the Cairns side of
it. You see Mildred’s cousin is a very rich girl named Dulcie Vale. She
is a society favorite, but she was a senior at Hamilton when it all
happened.”
“Then she must have been expelled from Hamilton, too.” Clara put in half
contemptuously. “All those San Soucians were expelled.”
“She was not,” Julia emphasized, frowning. “She left Hamilton before it
happened because she knew that Leslie Cairns had betrayed the whole
crowd of girls by being too confidential with another student named Miss
Walbert, who was noted on the campus as a tale-bearer and gossip.”
“I thought they were _all_ expelled,” Clara persisted obstinately.
“Miss Vale was _not_.” Julia showed signs of becoming exasperated.
“Please listen to me, Clara. This is very important for you to know.
That is, if you care to do your part toward making Wayland Hall a house
free from such derogatory influences as Miss Cairns is bound sooner or
later to exert.”
“That’s one way of putting it.” Clara laid aside her book. Her pale blue
eyes shot sparks of resentment at Julia. “I happen to know you a little
better than anyone else here knows you.”
“Of course you do.” Julia controlled her temper with an effort. She was
more anxious to tell Clara what she had heard about Leslie than she was
to squabble with Clara. “That’s precisely why I am trying to give you my
confidence,” she explained, with pretended warmth.
“Hm-m. Go ahead, then.” Somewhat mollified, Clara gave in. She had
defeated her curiosity several times. Now she decided to gratify it.
“Mildred’s mother is Dulcie Vale’s aunt,” Julia began with impressive
alacrity. “The Vale family held a re-union in New York this year over
New Year’s. Dulcie’s father is the president of the L., T. and M.
Railroad, and is worth a lot of money. But not as much as Miss Cairns’
father is worth. Dulcie and Mildred met at the re-union. They hadn’t
seen each other for almost four years. Mildred thought Dulcie was a
Vassar graduate. She was surprised to hear that Dulcie had attended
Hamilton. Dulcie was surprised to know that Mildred was a Hamilton
freshman. She began asking Mildred all sorts of questions about the
campus and Wayland Hall.”
Julia paused to take breath, then continued with relish: “Mildred said
Dulcie positively went up in the air when she heard that Leslie Cairns
was back at Hamilton. Then she started in and told Mildred the whole
story of the whole time she and Miss Cairns were at Hamilton together.
Mildred said she couldn’t begin to remember all Dulcie told her against
Miss Cairns. For one thing Miss Cairns hired a coach to teach her team a
lot of dishonest basket ball tricks. Then she tried to make the other
girls on the team, who were all Sans, learn them. Dulcie was on the
team. She absolutely refused to do a thing that was unfair in the game.
That made Leslie Cairns angry with her. After that they were never
friendly again, but Dulcie stood a good many things because she wanted
to be loyal to the Sans.
“Then Miss Cairns ran Miss Langly down, speeding on Hamilton Pike. She
tried to pretend it was another motorist who had done it. She had to own
up to it, though. She had to go before Prexy, and was nearly expelled
that time.”
“How did they haze Miss Dean? Did Miss Vale say?” Clara was in hopes of
hearing what she longed to discover.
“Oh, they dressed up in dominos and masks and walked Miss Dean around
the campus two or three times. It was on Valentine’s night. That’s the
junior masquerade night, you know. Then they were going to let her go,
but Leslie Cairns said they shouldn’t. She and three or four of the Sans
took Miss Dean to an empty house and locked her in it. Dulcie and most
of the others went straight back to the gym to the dance.”
“Then they shouldn’t have been expelled,” Clara declared stolidly. “They
should have been able to clear themselves.”
“None of the Sans would have been expelled if Miss Cairns had been loyal
to them. She told this Miss Walbert about it, and that Dulcie was to
blame for the whole thing. Miss Walbert told every girl she knew on the
campus. The story went on till the faculty got hold of it. Somehow it
was reported to Prexy. Dulcie found out from his secretary, who was her
friend, that Prexy was going to bring the Sans on the carpet for hazing.
She went to Leslie and warned her to be on her guard. Leslie said she
had been telling tales. She set the other Sans against Dulcie, and they
treated her so outrageously she had a nervous collapse, and had to leave
college. She wrote President Matthews a lovely letter before she left,
saying how sorry she was to have to leave Hamilton. It must have
impressed him greatly.” Julia rolled her moon-like eyes. “He sent for
Leslie Cairns soon afterward. Then she turned against her chums and the
upshot was that they were all expelled. Only she didn’t expect that she
would be. Do you consider such a girl a good influence at the Hall? I
don’t.” She replied to her own question with vindictive stress.
“But suppose this Dulcie Vale hadn’t told the truth?” Clara did not like
Mildred. She was therefore ready to doubt the integrity of Mildred’s
cousin.
“She’s told it nearly enough so that we know what happened,” Julia
maintained in a slightly sullen tone. “Besides we aren’t going to put
everything I’ve just told you in the petition. We shall simply base the
petition upon what we know.”
“Hm-m.” Clara vented her favorite satiric ejaculation. “You’ll have to
show the girls in the club, or else they will refuse to sign it. You
can’t simply state in it that Leslie Cairns is an undesirable person to
have at the Hall. You’ll have to substantiate your accusations.”
“You must think we are infants. What makes you so snippy, Clara Carter?
We have arranged for everything. The girls in the Orchid Club will sign
the petition after Mildred goes before them at a special meeting. Dulcie
Vale is going to send Mildred a tabulated account of Leslie Cairns’
doings here. She will read it out to the club. Then I think they will be
ready to sign the petition. After that—” Julia curled a confident lip.
“The majority rules, you know. We are twenty-six against twenty. At
least half a dozen of that twenty will not take sides. That makes it a
matter of only fourteen against twenty-six.”
“Miss Remson will fight against making Miss Cairns leave the Hall. She
seems to like her. It seems queer to me that Miss Remson would take her
back again, and be so sweet to her. And Miss Dean and her crowd! Miss
Cairns is awfully chummy with them.” Deep within Clara a stubborn doubt
had risen as to the feasibility of Julia’s vengeful scheme.
It had begun to form before Christmas as a result of Julia’s crush on
Mildred. Clara had sulked matters out alone. As a result she had freed
herself to a certain extent from Julia’s spiteful influence. And the
beneficial result of frequent hours spent alone was a general pulling-up
in her classes and a lack of impulse to gossip, since she had not Julia
to gossip with. She was beginning to lean toward a more charitable state
of mind though she had not yet discovered it.
“Miss Remson may fuss all she pleases about the petition. We shall
appeal to Prexy and demand justice.”
“How do you suppose Miss Cairns got back on the campus?” Clara laughed a
trifle scornfully. “By Prexy’s permission, of course. Of what use then
to appeal to him? You’d best let well enough alone. You’ll never win. I
am saying it to you for your own good, Julia.”
“Much obliged, I’m sure.” Julia was now thoroughly incensed. “I don’t in
the least understand you, Clara. I do know this. We shall win. We are
prepared to take it even above Prexy’s head, and to the College Board.
We shall have our parents take up the matter, if necessary. You were in
sympathy with us at first. Now—” She sprang up from the couch and walked
to the door, her black eyes smouldering with anger. “All I’ll ask of you
is not to repeat what I’ve just said. You must do as you think wise
about signing the petition.” She went out the door, closing it after her
with a sharp little bang.
“Julia had best let well enough alone,” Clara repeated aloud as she
resumed her book. “She’ll never win.”
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