MANY THINGS HAPPEN
It was, of course, hard to tell by merely seeing them taken what the
pictures about the old Red Mill would be like; but Ruth and Helen both
acted in them as "extras" and were greatly excited over the film, one
may be sure.
The director, not the cross Mr. Grimes this time, assured Ruth that he
was confident "Crossed Wires" would make good on the screen. Hazel Gray
played the lead in the picture, as she had in "The Heart of a School
Girl," and Ruth and Helen were glad to meet the bright little screen
actress again.
Miss Gray seemed to have forgotten all about Tom Cameron and Ruth, for
some reason, felt glad. She ventured to ask Helen if her twin was still
as enamored of the young actress as he had seemed to be the year before.
"Why, no," Helen said thoughtfully. "You know how it is with boys; they
have one craze after another, Ruthie."
"No. Do they?" asked the other.
"Yes. Tom made a collection of the photographs of a slap-stick comedian
at first. Then he decorated his room at Seven Oaks with all the pictures
he could find of Miss Gray. Now, when I was over there with father the
other day, what do you suppose is his chief decoration on his room
walls?"
"I haven't the least idea," Ruth confessed.
"Great, ugly, brutal boxers! Prize-fighters! Awful pictures, Ruth! I
suppose next he will make a collection of the photographs of burglars!"
and Helen laughed.
The chums were whisked back to Ardmore, having been absent five days.
They were so well prepared in their recitations, however, that they did
not fall behind in any particular. Indeed, these two bright-minded girls
found it not difficult to keep up with their classes.
Even Jennie Stone, leisure loving as she naturally was, had no real
difficulty in being well to the front in her studies. And she had become
one of the most faithful of devotees of gymnastic practice.
Ardmore's second basket ball five pushed the first team hard; and Jennie
Stone was on the second five. As the spring training for the boats
opened she, as well as Ruth and Helen, tried for the freshmen
eight-oared shell. All three won places in that crew.
Jennie was still somewhat over-weight. But the instructor put her at bow
and her weight counted there. Ruth was stroke and Helen Number 2. As
practice went on it was proved that the freshman crew was a very well
balanced one.
They more than once "bumped" the sophomore shell in trial races, and
once came very near to catching the junior eight. The seniors and
juniors began now to pay more attention to the freshman class;
especially to those members who showed well in athletics.
Because of their characters and their class standing, several of the
instructors besides Miss Cullam, the mathematics teacher, were the
friends of the Briarwoods. Miss Cullam had shown a warm appreciation of
Ruth Fielding's character all through the year. Not that Ruth was a
prize pupil in Miss Cullam's study, for she was not. Mathematics was the
one study it was hard for Ruth to interest herself in. But when the girl
of the Red Mill had a hard thing to do, she always put her whole mind to
it; and, therefore, she made a good mark in mathematics in spite of her
distaste for the study.
"You are doing well, Miss Fielding," Miss Cullam declared. "Better than
I expected. I have no doubt that you will pass well in the year's
examinations."
"And you won't be afraid that I'll crib the answers, Miss Cullam?" Ruth
asked, laughing.
"Hush! don't repeat gossip," Miss Cullam said smiling, however, rather
ruefully. "Even when the gossip emanates from an old cross-patch of a
teacher who gets nervous and worries about improbabilities. No. I do not
believe any of my girls would take advantage of the examination papers.
Yet, I would give a good deal to know just where those papers and that
vase went."
"Has nothing ever been heard from Miss Rolff since she left Ardmore?"
Ruth asked.
"No. Not a word. And it is hard on the sororities, too. Heretofore, the
girls have enjoyed the benefits of the associations for three years.
_You_, I am sure, Ruth, would have been invited by this time to join one
of the sororities."
"And I should dearly love to," sighed Ruth. "The Kappa Alpha. It looks
good to me. But there are other things in college--and out of it, too.
Oh see, Miss Cullam! Here is what I wanted to show you," and the girl of
the Red Mill brought forth a large envelope from her handbag.
They were talking together in the library on this occasion, it being a
Saturday afternoon when there was nothing particular to take up either
the teacher's time or the pupil's. Ruth emptied the envelope on the
table.
"See these photographs? They are stills taken in connection with my new
scenario. I want you to see just how lovely a place the old Red Mill,
where I live, is."
Miss Cullam adjusted her eyeglasses with a smile, and picked up the
topmost picture which Mr. Hammond had sent to Ruth.
"That's dear old Aunt Alvirah herself feeding the chickens. She doesn't
know that we took that picture of her. If I had said 'photograph' to the
dear old creature, she would have been determined to put on her best bib
and tucker!"
"That's the back yard. Isn't it, dear? Who is that on the porch?"
asked Miss Cullam.
"On the porch? Why, _is_ anybody on the porch? I don't remember that."
Ruth stooped to peer closer at the unmounted photograph in the teacher's
hand.
"Why! there _is_ somebody standing there," she murmured. "You can see
the head and shoulders just as plain----"
"And the face," said Miss Cullam, with strange eagerness.
"Oh, I know!" cried Ruth, and she laughed heartily. "Of course. That's
Maggie."
"Maggie?"
"Yes. The girl who helps Aunt Alvirah. And she's quite an interesting
character, Miss Cullam. I'll tell you about her some day."
"Yes?" said Miss Cullam, reflectively.
"Now, here is the front of the old house----"
"Allow me to keep this picture for a little while, will you, Miss
Fielding?" broke in the teacher, still staring at the clearly exposed
face of Maggie on the porch.
"Why, yes, certainly," responded the girl, curiously.
"I wish to show this girl's face to somebody else. She seems very
familiar to me," the mathematics teacher said.