THE CAMP GETS A SURPRISE
"Let me thee that towel," demanded Tommy, rising and stepping over to
Cora's side of the tent.
Miss Kidder quickly thrust the towel in her laundry bag and turned an
angry face to Grace.
"Will you please let me alone?" she said trembling with anger.
"Yeth, I think I will," nodded Tommy, after gazing briefly into the
storm-swept face of Cora Kidder. Harriet motioned to Tommy to go to bed.
Tommy decided that she had gone far enough with her quizzing and that she
would do as Harriet suggested.
That night after the lights had been extinguished, Harriet lay for a long,
long time, thinking over the events of the evening, beginning with the
Council Fire and ending with the little scene that had taken place in
their tent. What should she do? What was the honest course to pursue? The
girl was unable to decide. She did make up her mind, however, to consult
with Miss Elting on the following morning.
After breakfast at the first opportunity she went in search of Miss
Elting, but learned that the guardian in company with another of the camp
officials had started out with Jasper to go to "The Pines," a summer
watering place in the woods, some ten miles from Camp Wau-Wau. This summer
resort was reached by a state road entering the woods from another
direction, but the two young women had taken the log road as being the
most direct.
Another incident that interested the camp greatly that day was the visit
of a friend of Cora Kidder. He was a young man named Charlie Collier who
was stopping at "The Pines" and who had driven over to the camp in his
automobile to call on Cora. With him was his sister, a rather pretty girl
whose elaborate coiffure and extreme style of dressing made her look out
of place among the sensibly attired Camp Girls.
Cora was considerably elated that day at receiving a call from visitors
who drove their own motor car and who were possibly more fashionable
friends than many of the other girls could boast. Cora introduced her
friends to several of the girls and to many of the guardians, but to none
of the Meadow-Brook Girls. Tommy was interested, however. She managed to
get close enough to the car to examine the gown of Miss Collier with
critical eyes, and Tommy was something of a judge of clothes, for her
parents entertained smartly-dressed friends from the city quite
frequently. The little girl looked disdainfully at the newcomers, but made
no comment.
Miss Elting and the guardian who accompanied her to "The Pines" returned
about four o'clock that afternoon, having passed the automobile on the
way. Harriet obtained an interview with the teacher shortly afterwards
during the period of relaxation and rest before the dinner hour. The two
women wandered off a short distance into the forest, Harriet having
suggested a walk, and Miss Elting shrewdly suspecting that her little
friend had something on her mind of which she wished to unburden herself.
"Now we will sit down here and be nice and comfy, and you will entertain
me," smiled Miss Elting. "How are you enjoying yourself?"
"Oh, so much!" exclaimed Harriet. Then her face clouded a little.
"But----" laughed Miss Elting.
"Yes, I suppose that does express it. However, I don't want you to think I
am not happy on my own account. It is on some one else's account."
"Tell me all about it, Harriet, dear."
"I am afraid that I cannot do that," replied the girl after a brief
reflection.
"Then tell me as much as you wish me to know," urged Miss Elting.
"In the first place," began Harriet, "I wish to ask your advice on a
matter that is troubling me."
Miss Elting smiled encouragingly.
"I am listening."
"It is about that hazing affair. Suppose a girl had been asked if she knew
anything about it and she had declared that she did not. What then?"
"You mean that she did know something about it but pretended that she did
not?"
Harriet nodded.
"Then she would be an unfit associate for this body of fine girls.
Harriet, what do you mean? You don't, you can't mean----"
"Oh, no, no!" protested Harriet, flushing to the roots of her hair.
"Of course not. Forgive me for even suggesting it, my dear. Please go on."
"But suppose that another girl did not know who were the guilty ones at
the time she was questioned, and that afterwards she had a strong
suspicion as to their identity? What then?"
"You have given me a difficult question to answer, Harriet, I should not
like to answer it without knowing more about the circumstances relating to
it. Tell me who the girl is that is suspected?"
"But you are a guardian," rejoined Harriet. "Were I to tell you it would
be your duty to inform the Chief Guardian of what you had heard. Would it
not?"
"My dear, I fear it would," was the reply.
"Then I shall not answer your question. I want to talk with you as I would
to a friend, not as a guardian in Camp Wau-Wau. Suppose some girl had made
this discovery after she had denied knowing anything about the affair,
would it then be her duty to inform the Chief Guardian?"
"Perhaps it would."
"She would be a talebearer. I should not like to have any friend of mine
carry tales, would you, Miss Elting?"
"No, Harriet, I would not. Much would depend upon circumstances though. I
fear such a case as you suggest must be one for the girl to decide for
herself."
"Would she be acting dishonorably if she did not tell what she had
learned?"
"Most decidedly not."
"And if she were asked about it by a guardian later on and refused to
answer, she still would not be acting unfairly to herself or her
superior?"
"Wait, wait. You hurl your questions at me so rapidly that you do not give
me time to think. As I have said before, you must be your own judge in
your own case."
"I did not say that it was my case."
"No, that is true. However, I do not believe that Harriet Burrell could do
a dishonorable act if she tried ever so hard," smiled Miss Elting. "Put
your head down here on my lap, Harriet, and be comfortable. Does any one
else know?"
Harriet shook her head that lay in Miss Elting's lap.
"Then let matters rest as they are for the present," replied the teacher.
"Let us hope that the girl's conscience may trouble her so much that she
will confess her part in the affair to Mrs. Livingston. That will relieve
you of all responsibility."
"She never will," muttered Harriet.
The guardian and Harriet strolled slowly back toward the camp. On the way
there just at the edge of the camp they passed Patricia Scott. The latter
gave Harriet a contemptuous glance, then coolly ignored her nod which was
more friendly than Patricia could have hoped for. Miss Elting saw the
hostile glance and the ignoring of Harriet's nod.
"If that young woman were in my division I certainly should call her to
account for that. Doesn't she like you?" questioned Miss Elting bending a
keen look on her companion.
"She doesn't seem to like me very well," answered Harriet, then changing
the subject she began discussing a tall tree that stood just in front of
the tent occupied by the Chief Guardian. It was one of those spindling
pines that seem to pierce the sky. Harriet asked the guardian if there
were not great danger of its being struck by lightning.
Before Miss Elting could answer, the honk honk, honk of a motor car was
heard nearing the camp.
Among the tall spruce trees they made out an automobile, that had left the
log road and was being recklessly driven through the forest toward the
camp. It did not seem possible that the driver of the car could pursue
such a perilous course without wrecking the automobile which was going far
more rapidly than safety warranted. There would be a brief hesitation as
the front tires came in contact with a log, then the car would go over it
with a bump and a bounce, and a triumphant honk, honk!
"Who can it be, Harriet?" cried Margery, who with Hazel had strolled out
to meet Harriet and her guardian friend.
Just then the car lurched into the camp. The driver put on more speed, the
car circled about the camp a couple of times, then came to a halt in front
of the row of tents. There were a man and a young woman in the car. The
young woman jumped out and seeing Grace Thompson stared at her for a
moment then throwing up her hands, uttered an Indian war whoop that
brought out from their tents all those who had not been aroused by the
honk of the motor car.
"It's Crazy Jane," cried Harriet. "Look! She has found Tommy."
Jane had lifted little Tommy off her feet and was kissing her delightedly
while Tommy lisped "Thave me, oh, thave me!" causing the other girls near
at hand to laugh amusedly at the funny scene.
At that moment Crazy Jane catching sight of Harriet and her companions,
bounded toward them. Jane was bare-headed. Her blonde hair was flying
about her face and neck; her dress unprotected by a dust coat was covered
with the gray dust of the highways, over which she had driven, and her
whole appearance was disheveled and travel-stained.
Jane fairly flung herself into the arms of Harriet Burrell, giving her a
hearty hug, then treating Margery, Hazel and Miss Elting to the same sort
of greeting.
"Dad's over there. Come on and shake hands with him. He's going back
shortly. You can help me unload the car. Oh, we're going to have a great
time, aren't we darlin's!"
"You don't mean that you have come to join the camp, do you!" questioned
Miss Elting.
"Of course, I have," retorted Crazy Jane. "What did you think I had come
for? Meadow-Brook is like a graveyard since you girls went away. Oh this
is great, isn't it? We'll rattle the bones of this old camp, won't we?"
Harriet laughed merrily. Miss Elting looked grave.
"Does Mrs. Livingston know--did she know you were coming?"
"Of course, she did. Dad looked after that. Where is she. She'll be
delighted to see me, I'll wager."
"Yeth," nodded Tommy who had joined them. "The'll be tho glad that thhe'll
cry her eyeth out. How long are you going to thtay?"
"As long as you do. Now let's get that car unloaded and start something.
This place is so quiet it gives me the blues."
Margery threw up her hands in despair, Harriet smiled amusedly, Miss
Elting shook her head hopelessly. Jane darted off with long strides. She
had grabbed a hand of the protesting Tommy and was fairly dragging the
little girl along with her. It was a strange figure that Mrs. Livingston,
who stood talking with Jane's father, saw approaching her, and during the
weeks that followed she was to understand quite fully why Jane McCarthy's
friends had named her "Crazy Jane."