CONCLUSION.
Miss Susanna Hamilton was not the only one to receive an overwhelming
surprise that night. Opening the door of her room Marjorie found it
dark. With a sharp exclamation she groped for the wall button and
flashed on the light. Sheer amazement held her in leash for a moment.
The first thing upon which her gaze became fixed was a huge white banner
tacked above her couch bed. It bore in large red lettering the legend,
"Merry May-day to Marjorie Dean, Marvelous Manager." On the bed,
covering it completely, was an array of May baskets that made her gasp.
There they were, the very ones she had admired most when her friends
were making them.
A trifle dazed at her sudden good fortune, Marjorie stood in rapt
contemplation of her friends' tributes. Before she had time to go nearer
to examine them, sounds of stifled laughter informed her that she was
not alone.
"You may just come out of those dress closets, everyone of you," she
called, a tiny catch in her voice. "I know perfectly well that's where
you are."
Silence followed her command. Suddenly a louder burst of laughter
greeted her ears. From the closets on both sides of the room her chums
emerged, fairly tumbling over one another.
"If you will go out by yourself on secret basket-hangings you must
expect things to happen while you're gone," Jerry playfully upbraided.
"I never dreamed of any such lovely surprise." Marjorie looked almost
distressed. "And I was so mean to my little pals. I wouldn't tell 'em
who my violet May basket was for. You shouldn't have taken all this
trouble for me, dear children. I'm not worth one little bit of it."
"Go tell that to the second cousin of your grandmother's great aunt,"
was Leila's refreshing response. "We all have good taste. Don't belittle
it. Since you feel a wee bit conscience-stricken over the violet basket,
you may square yourself by telling us who it was for."
"I can guess," boasted Muriel. "It was for Miss Humphrey."
"No." Marjorie shook her head.
"Then I don't know; unless it was for Doctor Matthews," Muriel essayed
with an innocent air. "You have a speaking acquaintance with him, I
believe."
A shout of mirth followed this ingenuous guess.
"Don't guess again," Marjorie implored.
"I won't. I've guessed wrongly both times. I don't know anyone else who
might be in line for that scrumptious basket."
"I know where it went, but I'll let Marjorie tell you," Jerry said
calmly. "I told the girls they would have time to fix up the surprise
before you came back. Vera did that lettering on one of her sheets in
about five minutes. Maybe we didn't hustle, though." She had now turned
to Marjorie. "Do you believe I know where you were?"
Marjorie looked into Jerry's eyes and smiled. "Yes, I think you know,"
she answered. "I'm going to tell you all." She swept her friends with
affectionate eyes. "That basket was for Miss Susanna. I ran all the way
to Hamilton Arms with it. I was a little afraid of getting caught by the
servants, but I didn't meet a soul inside the gate."
It was her friends' turn to be astonished. A round of exclamatory
remarks went up at the information, followed by eager questions.
"I can't explain why I did it," Marjorie began when the commotion had
subsided. "I thought of Miss Susanna when first we planned to hang May
baskets. I felt as though she needed one. She will never know who hung
it. I hope it makes her happy. What _I_ didn't expect was _this_."
She pointed to her own wealth.
"We felt sorry for you in your lonely old age," giggled Helen. "We
thought you needed something to cheer you up. But we're not going to
hang around here all evening. We are going to give Miss Remson a May
shower. Get the basket you made for her and come along. This is my
party. I've ordered Nesselrode pudding and French cakes from the
Colonial. Think of that!"
"Wonderful!" Marjorie's eyes were dancing. "She will be so delighted to
have a surprise party. _She_ really deserves one."
"So she does, and so did you, and you have had one." Helen dropped a
friendly arm over Marjorie's shoulder. Shyly she endeavored to convey an
affection she could not put into words. It was a warmth of regard which
Marjorie drew from those who had learned to know the fine sweetness of
her disposition.
"I think we are the only ones at Hamilton to hang May baskets," Vera
observed. "It's a custom that ought to be brought forward."
"It is a beautiful idea." Ronny patted lovingly the big blue bow on her
basket for Miss Remson. She was extremely fond of the good little
manager.
"We ought to go in for more of that sort of thing next year," asserted
Muriel. "Goodness knows we have had enough friction to entitle us to the
peaceful pursuit of pleasant things."
"'The pursuit of pleasant things.'" repeated Marjorie. "I like to think
of that as our outlook for next year. We have had two years of hard
fighting for democracy. I wish we might have peace next year and a
chance to invest our Alma Mater with new grace, by bringing back to her
some of these beautiful customs. As a junior I am going to think a good
deal about Hamilton traditions, too, and impress them on others, if I
can."
How truly Marjorie carried out her ardent resolution during her third
year at Hamilton will be told in "Marjorie Dean, College Junior."
THE END
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SAVE THE WRAPPER!
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MARJORIE DEAN COLLEGE SERIES
By Pauline Lester.
Author of the Famous Marjorie Dean High School Series
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MARJORIE DEAN HIGH SCHOOL SERIES
By Pauline Lester
Author of the Famous Marjorie Dean College Series
These are clean, wholesome stories that will be of great
interest to all girls of high school age.
All Cloth Bound Copyright Titles
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MARJORIE DEAN, HIGH SCHOOL SOPHOMORE
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MARJORIE DEAN POST-GRADUATE SERIES
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and College Series.
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End of Project Gutenberg's Marjorie Dean, College Sophomore, by Pauline Lester