A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
“Yes, Bean, there is nothing like efficiency. And I am _so_ efficient. I
didn’t hear you say a thing.” Jerry cupped a hand to an ear and eyed
Marjorie hopefully. Marjorie was frowningly occupied with a page of
maddeningly abstruse French. “I certainly have worked hard at this
schedule.” Jerry continued her self-laudatory remarks. “But the results
are _celostrous_, Bean; _simply celostrous_! Ha! I thought my new word
would prove irresistible!” she exclaimed in triumph as Marjorie looked
up in mild surprise at Jerry’s latest coining.
“Something sounded new and queer,” Marjorie averred with the gurgling
little laugh Jerry liked to hear.
“Now that I have your attention, never mind about my new descriptive
adjective. I’ve been frisking gaily about the room, dropping things on
the floor, growling as I picked them up. And why? On purpose to be
noticed by you. Seeing you’re now seeing me, may I venture to ask if you
know the reason for my nice new adjective?” Jerry pursued blandly.
“I never heard you frisk a single frisk, Jeremiah, or drop a single
drop, or growl a single growl. This page of French is awful! It’s an odd
old religious argument between two Norman priests. I’d say it couldn’t
be lucidly translated into English, but it can, or we wouldn’t be stuck
with it for a study.”
“Go and ask her frozenness, the Ice Queen, to give you a lift,”
innocently proposed Jerry. “Muriel says she is a wonder in French. Due
to having had a French governess ever since she could hot-foot it around
the nursery.”
“I’d like to ask her about this very thing,” sighed Marjorie. “If I
wanted to know about it for someone else I suppose I might. I don’t feel
inclined to go to her on my own account.”
“I get you, Bean. Don’t take my advice. I wouldn’t take it myself. You
could ask Muriel to ask her about it. That ain’t no way to do, either.”
She shook a reproving head at herself in her dressing table mirror in
front of which she had paused to fluff and pat her hair.
“This translation would really be a good excuse for going to see Miss
Monroe,” Marjorie reflected aloud. “I wonder what she will do during the
holidays? She told Muriel she had no friends in the United States
besides the Hamilton girls she knows.”
“I suppose she includes Leslie Hob-goblin Cairns among the Hamilton
aggregation.” Jerry swung disdainfully around from the mirror.
“Um-m; probably.” Marjorie sat chin in hand, staring ruminatively at
Jerry. “Leslie Cairns may ask Miss Monroe to spend Christmas with her,”
she advanced after a moment’s silence. “I don’t mean in the town of
Hamilton, at the Hamilton Hotel. I mean away from there; New York or
Philadelphia, or even Chicago.”
“She may have asked her long before this.” Jerry spoke rather
impatiently. “Suppose she hasn’t, Marvelous Manager?”
“Then some of us should take her home with us,” Marjorie said with
conviction.
“Uh-h-h-h. I knew it,” Jerry groaned. “But it can’t be you, and it won’t
be me. At least I hope it won’t. You ought not attempt to entertain Miss
Susanna at Castle Dean and run a welfare bureau there at the same time.”
“You’re positively outrageous, Jeremiah, but there’s fatal truth in what
you say,” Marjorie smiled at Jerry’s humorous injunction. “It would
complicate things to have Miss Monroe visit me while Miss Susanna is at
the castle. I am so anxious, for Miss Susanna’s sake, to have the
perfect spirit of Christmas in the house. Leila, Vera and Robin will
help it along, but Miss Monroe wouldn’t. There’d be a strain on
everything that would spoil all the joy and dearness of Yuletide. It
would worry General and Captain. I—I couldn’t do it and be fair to
them.” The laughter had died out of her face.
“How do you know she’d come if you asked her?” quizzed Jerry. “It’s only
recently that she’s discovered you are on the college map. She hasn’t
discovered me yet. Can you blame me for not being crazy to welcome her
to the Macy’s humble hut? Suppose I did, and she fell in love with Hal?
I’d have put myself in line for the lasting reproach of an injured
brother.”
“You’re a nonsensical goose.” Marjorie felt her face grow rosy at
mention of Hal Macy. She was provoked with herself for blushing.
“I suspect it, but you’ve said it. Nothing can be done about it either.”
Jerry drew a chair up to the study table. She sat down opposite
Marjorie, leaned her elbows on it in imitation of her chum and stared at
Marjorie with a refulgent smile. She drew from a pocket of her serge
dress a little blue book. “Every blessed thing we have to do, person we
have to see, or place we have to go on the campus within the next ten
days is down in this book,” she said with satisfaction.
“Oh, let me see it!” Marjorie reached out eagerly for the book. She
examined it with growing enthusiasm. “It’s a treasure, Jerry. How did
you happen to think of doing it?”
“Past sad experience, my child. I’m growing old.” Jerry gave a muffled
sob. “I can’t rush around and do ten days pre-Christmas celebrating,
shopping, calling, and get away with it, all within three hours before
train time. This lovely schedule includes everything and everybody who
it is up to us to include on the campus.”
“It’s—” Marjorie paused: “celostrous,” she said with a laugh. “There,
Jeremiah, I remembered your new adjective. If we stick to that program
we’ll be wonders. If we half stick to it we’ll avoid a rush at the last
minute. I’m so glad the dormitory girls are beautifully taken care of.
That was another of your inspirations.”
On the evening following Miss Susanna’s visit to Wayland Hall the
original Travelers had held a meeting in Leila’s and Vera’s room. Its
purpose was to discuss what should be done in the way of Christmas
entertainment on the campus for the students who expected to remain in
college during holidays. Persistent scouting for two weeks previous
among the students, by both chapters of the Travelers, had established
the fact that not more than a dozen girls on the campus would spend the
holidays at Hamilton College. Again the dormitory girls became the main
problem for consideration.
Jerry had solved the problem by proposing that each Traveler should make
herself responsible for the holiday amusement of two dormitory girls.
“Find out what they’d like to do over the holidays and then help them do
it,” she had advised. “Some will want to spend Christmas in the city.
Others would probably love to be invited to spend the holidays in the
kind of homes we have, where there is lots of Christmas cheer. I’ll take
four dorms home with me. Let me hear from the rest of you.”
Hailing Jerry’s suggestion with the good will attending the season, Page
and Dean, the dormitory girls’ main stand-bys, called a meeting of the
“dorms” in Greek Hall and electrified the off-campus girls with their
unexpected proposal. Before the favored company of students left Greek
Hall each had confided either to Robin or Marjorie her choice in regard
to how she would prefer to spend the Christmas vacation. Fifteen of the
dormitory girls had already made plans to spend the holidays at their
own homes or those of friends. Forty of them wistfully declared for the
joy of a family Christmas, but demurred in the same breath as being
“afraid of causing too much work and trouble for others.” The
comparatively small remainder consisted of the more independent and
adventurous contingent of “dorms” who welcomed the experience of seeing
New York, Philadelphia or Washington, D. C., the three cities among
which they were given choice.
Leila, Vera, Kathie, Helen, Robin, Phil Moore and Barbara Severn were
among the Travelers Sanford bound. Leila, Vera and Robin were to be
Marjorie’s guests as well as Miss Susanna. Kathie was to be Lucy’s
company. Helen fell to Jerry, who would also entertain the four dorms.
Ronny had arranged to go to Miss Archer. Phil and Barbara would share
her hospitality. So would two of the dormitory girls. Lucy had also
invited Anna Towne and Verna Burkett. She was highly edified at the
prospect of entertaining three girls instead of one.
Jerry’s whole-souled proposal had now been successfully carried out so
far as the preliminaries of choice went. It now remained to the
Travelers, original and of the new branch of the sorority, to look out
for the off-campus girls who longed for a home-like Christmas. As seven
of the Travelers themselves were to be guests of the Sanford girls they
could not be counted upon, therefore, to furnish the holiday pleasures
of home to the dormitory girls. They did their part by taking upon
themselves the financing of the modest city expeditions planned by the
off-campus girls. Nor would they allow their chums to contribute a penny
toward it.
“You heard what I said, Jerry Macy.” Marjorie suddenly bounced up from
her chair and made one of her funny, little-girl rushes at Jerry. “Don’t
pretend you didn’t.” She pounced upon Jerry, threatening: “I’m going to
muss up your hair, since you took so much trouble to fix it. The only
way you can save your nice fluffy coiffure is to say: ‘Yes, Marjorie, it
was another of my inspirations.’ You may notice I don’t refer to my
precious self as ‘Bean,’ either.”
“Sorry, but I never could talk like you, Bean.” To complete her defiance
up went Jerry’s hands in a backward reach. She caught Marjorie wrists.
The two girls were engaged in a friendly grapple when the door opened
and Muriel Harding came in, her arms piled high with packages, her smart
little hat set far back on her head, two or three loosened curling locks
of hair hanging over her face.
“What have we here?” Jerry demanded pleasantly. “Just what one might
expect would drift in without knocking.”
“You’re doing the knocking now; why worry,” chuckled Muriel. She walked
over to Jerry’s couch bed; dumped her packages upon it with a great sigh
of relief. “I made port at the front door with my cargo beautifully, but
I fell up two steps of the stairs. You can see what a wreck it made of
me.” She sat down on the couch beside her bundles, whipped off her hat
and began tucking up her unruly locks of bright hair. “Every last
present that I intend to buy for campus dwellers is in this heap,” she
declared with stress.
“Is there anything for me there?” Jerry showed sudden flattering
interest in Muriel. “If so, let me see it.”
“No, there’s nothing for you,” mimicked Muriel. “I’m going to buy your
Christmas present at home, in the Sanford ten-cent store.”
“Perhaps we’ll meet there.” Jerry arched significant brows. “I had
thought of some nice little ten-cent token for—” She made an effective
pause.
“I didn’t come here to talk to you.” Muriel tossed her head. “I came to
see Marjorie. I’ve had bad luck about my two Christmas dorms, Marvelous
Manager. The same nice thing has happened to them both. Their families
have sent them the money to go home for the holidays. Neither of them
had expected any such good fortune. The rest of the dorms have their
plans all made. Not a single, double, triple or quadruple dorm will
grace the would-be hospitable hearth of Harding. I’ll bet you couldn’t
make up a sentiment as effective as that, Jeremiah.”
“A double dorm would be twins. A triple dorm would be a freak. A
quadruple dorm would constitute material for a side-show,” was Jerry’s
reflectively satirical observation. “Oh, I forgot. Kindly confine your
conversation to Bean.”
“Go away, Jeremiah,” Muriel firmly requested. “Go and see Ronny. A big
box for her from California is downstairs in the hall. Tell her I saw it
first and politely sent you to hand her the news. It will show Ronny how
helpful my disposition is. You can square yourself with me at the same
time.” Muriel opened her eyes, showed her teeth and bobbed her head at
Jerry in what she termed her “delighted” expression.
“Tell her yourself; I’m no news herald.” Jerry made no move to perform
the squaring act Muriel had suggested. In the next two minutes she
changed her mind and hustled to tell Ronny of the box.
“I happen to remember that you are just the person I want to talk to,
Muriel,” Marjorie said. “Jerry and I have been wondering what Miss
Monroe is going to do over the holidays. Last time I asked you about her
you hadn’t been able to find out her plans. What do you know about them
now?”
“Not a blessed thing except this. She said yesterday she might spend
Christmas in New York. I had asked her outright what she was going to do
over the holidays. It was inquisitive; maybe.” Muriel shrugged her
shoulders. “I knew you were anxious to know.”
“If she is going to New York, it means Leslie Cairns has invited her.
That’s too bad; after the encouraging signs she’s shown lately of
thawing toward us.” Marjorie’s tone was rather gloomy. “It will quash
everything we’ve tried to do to draw her away from Leslie Cairns. I’d
invite her to go home with me for the holidays, but I have Miss Susanna
to consider first of all. If I hadn’t, Miss Monroe wouldn’t accept a
Christmas invitation from me,” Marjorie ended with a trace of
self-mockery.
“To hear you talk one might think you were a tabooed character.”
Muriel’s gurgle of laughter brought a smile to Marjorie’s troubled
features.
“I feel so cross sometimes when I think about that aggravating girl.”
Marjorie’s answer rang with vexation. “I’ve not been in your room since
you came back to Hamilton. Neither has Ronny, Jerry nor Lucy. She
snubbed the four of us thoroughly in the beginning. Now proper pride
won’t allow us to put ourselves in direct line for further snubs. She’s
been fairly nice to Robin. Yet Robin hasn’t cared to try calling on Miss
Monroe yet. She doesn’t wish to risk a snubbing, now that she’s made a
little headway with our enchanted princess.”
“I could like her if she’d let me,” Muriel said bluntly. “We don’t meet
often in the room except just before old ten-thirty, and in the morning.
We’re both out a good deal. She is brilliant or she couldn’t cut study
the way she does and not be conditioned.” There was a hint of admiration
in Muriel’s observation.
“Oh-h!” Marjorie swung round in her chair until she was facing Muriel.
“Why couldn’t—I wonder if you—It doesn’t seem fair to ask you, Muriel,
but, since both the dorms have gone back on you, would you care to ask
Miss Monroe to go home with you for Christmas?”
Marjorie fairly held her breath as she finished asking the question.
This splendid way of helping the strange, beautiful girl in whom she had
become so thoroughly interested she was inclined to regard as a positive
dispensation of a kindly Providence.
“I might.” Muriel stared contemplatively at the anxious questioner. “I
was so disappointed when my two dorms flivvered and renounced me I never
thought of my old friend the Ice Queen.” She looked rather sheepish then
smirked at Marjorie and said: “‘Charity begins at home.’ If I mentioned
Charity in my invitation to the Ice Queen, br-r-r, she’d freeze
Matchless Muriel solid at one glance. Then I couldn’t go home for
Christmas. Neither could she go with me. Think how sad it would be! Two
cold, shiny, slippery, glittery Ice Queens, friz solid over the
holidays.”
Giggling at her own weird fancy, Muriel rose and began gathering up her
packages. “I’ll ask her directly, if she’s home, dear Bean. I’ll let you
know as soon as I can escape from her royal presence to tell you.”
“You’re a darling, and the most obliging person in the universe. If
you’d said you’d rather not ask her, I shouldn’t have blamed you in the
least. I thought, after the idea popped into my head, that I ought to
ask you for Miss Monroe’s sake,” was Marjorie’s honest avowal. “Let me
give you a basket to put your stuff in. Here’s the laundry basket.”
Marjorie proceeded to stack the piles of clean laundry on the couch and
place Muriel’s packages in the basket instead. The two girls performed
the little task with the usual amount of light talk and laughter. After
Muriel had gone Marjorie sat down again at the table to indulge in a
kindly little daydream which had to do with helping Muriel entertain
Doris Monroe should she become Muriel’s Christmas guest.
Jerry presently drifted into the room to announce that Ronny had cruelly
refused to unpack the box from California before her and Lucy. “She made
us help her upstairs with it, then she coldly turned us out.” Jerry
complained plaintively. “I’d have raged like a gale at such treatment
only she gave me some Mexican candied fruit. It was very celostrous. My
new adjective just describes the candied banana I had. What became of
Matchless Muriel? I see she’s beaten it.”
“She’ll return presently,” Marjorie made mysterious answer.
But it was fully an hour afterward before Muriel suddenly popped into
the room, closing the door quickly but soundlessly after her.
“Excuse my conspirator entrance,” she began just above a whisper. “I
didn’t care to have the Ice Queen know where I went. I ducked out of our
room without saying a word. I promised to tell you what she said,
Marjorie, to our plan.” Muriel’s eyes were bright with the importance of
her information. “Don’t turn all colors with surprise. She says she’ll
go to Sanford with me for Christmas.”
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