Following Jerry's ominous prophecy, nothing of any special moment
occurred to mar the Five Travelers' peace of mind during their first
week at Hamilton. So occupied were they in choosing their subjects,
arranging their recitation periods and adapting themselves to the new
life that they paid small attention to the comings and goings of the
coterie of millionaire's purse-proud daughters which Wayland Hall
housed.
The Sans Soucians were deep in a round of sociabilities, to which it
appeared that only a few juniors and seniors were eligible. To the other
girls of the sophomore class, they accorded a cool shoulder. A handful
of moneyed freshmen found favor with them and were therefore made much
of. The Lookouts, however, were not among these. They had been privately
rated by their quondam callers as plebians and dropped.
While Marjorie and Muriel had chosen the classical course, Lucy and
Jerry had decided on the scientific and Ronny on the philosophical. As
they had arrived at Hamilton three days before the official opening of
the college, they had plenty of time to discuss together the respective
merits of their chosen courses and arrange satisfactorily their
recitation periods.
The making of these necessary arrangements, together with unpacking
their trunks and attention to the countless details relative to their
physical comfort, left them little time during those first busy days for
social amenities outside their own intimate circle.
With Helen Trent, Martha Merrick and Rosalind Black they had become
fairly friendly. Helen, in particular, had already become a welcome
visitor to their rooms. She had a habit of dropping in on one or another
of them with a bit of lively, but harmless, college gossip, that was
infinitely diverting. She never prolonged her visits to the wearisome
point. She was never in the way. In fact, she was usually in a hurry.
The difficulty lay in trying to hold her, never in wishing for her to
depart.
Thanks to Miss Remson, the five girls had been given places at one table
in the dining room. At meal time they were, therefore, a close
corporation. Muriel's acquaintance with the two freshmen, Mary Cornell
and Eva Ingram, both from New York City, had flourished to the extent
that they had made her one evening call which she had returned. Like
herself, they had made no acquaintances outside the Hall since their
arrival and relied on each other for company.
Toward the end of the Sanford girls' second week at Hamilton a number of
things happened. First of all, Muriel acquired a room-mate as a result
of persistent "buzzing" on the part of the manager. When first asked to
share her room with the dissatisfied junior, Miss Barlow, Muriel had
thought it over and decided in the negative. Miss Barlow was not to be
thus easily balked of her desire. She persisted with Miss Remson and
Miss Remson persisted with Muriel until the latter finally revoked her
earlier refusal.
"Anything to have the subject off my mind," she confided to her chums.
"I'm tired of being waylaid by Miss Remson. I don't blame Jeremiah for
calling her Busy Buzzy. Just wait until you see my room-mate! Her name
is Hortense. It ought to be Moretense. She is the stiffest person I ever
saw. She walks as though she were wired and then starched for the
occasion. I had a lovely conversation with her last night. She moved in
after classes yesterday. I talked quite a lot. All she said was 'Yes,'
'Do you?' and 'I believe not.'"
The name "Moretense" found instant favor with Jerry, while the other
three Lookouts had hard work to keep their faces straight when they
chanced to encounter dignified Miss Barlow about the Hall. Very tall and
straight to rigidity, her set features never seemed to relax. Even an
abundant head of blue black hair, loosely coiffed, did not serve to
soften the wax-like immobility of her rather broad face. Whether her
disposition and temperament matched her peculiar physical presence was
something Muriel had not had time to fathom.
Muriel's room-mate, nevertheless, was of more interest to the Five
Travelers than the notice of the class election which was to take place
at the beginning of their third week at Hamilton. They had long since
learned that the majority of the freshmen had made harbor at Acasia
House and Silverton Hall, both noted as freshmen domiciles. Recitations
had familiarized them with the other members of their class, which was a
small one for Hamilton, numbering only eighty-two students. Still they
had not become much acquainted with their classmates and they had not
yet reached a stage of active interest in their class.
Summoned to election one windy Tuesday afternoon, following recitations,
the Lookouts began to experience the beginning of class enthusiasm. The
majority of 19-- were bright-faced, bright-eyed girls who reminded
Marjorie of her class at Sanford High. It was seeing them together that
brought to her a tardy realization that she had been too entirely
wrapped up in her own affairs to cultivate a proper class spirit. Had
she entered Hamilton College alone, she would have made acquaintances in
her class more quickly. Surrounded by four of her intimate friends, her
hours of leisure were always spent with them. Of the five girls, she had
the peculiar personality which invites friendship. Muriel came next in
this, Ronny was not interested in acquiring new friends. Jerry was hard
to please, and Lucy was too reserved. A large number of freshmen at
Wayland Hall would have also made a difference. As this was not the
case, the Lookouts were obliged to admit among themselves that they had
been lacking in class spirit.
The freshmen from Silverton Hall, about thirty in number, were, to all
appearances, taking the lead in the class election. Three of the
candidates nominated for office who won, respectively, the presidency,
vice-presidency and secretaryship were from there. As the candidates
were obliged to come up to the front of Science Hall where the meeting
was held, the Lookouts had at least the opportunity to see the nominees
and judge their fitness, as nearly as they could, from their personal
appearance. All five approved in particular the new president, Miss
Graham, a fair-haired, pink-cheeked young woman with sparkling brown
eyes and a ready, sunshiny smile.
The treasurer-elect was an Acasia House girl, while the various
committees were about equally divided between the two houses. While the
Lookouts were entirely satisfied with the result of the election, they
felt, nevertheless, a trifle out of things. They had had no part in the
merry electioneering which had evidently gone on under their very noses.
More, it appeared that another class meeting had been held before this,
of which they had seen no notice on the Hall bulletin board, neither had
they received a written or verbal summons to it.
During a recess after the election granted for the purpose of shaking
hands with the officers, Marjorie found the golden brown eyes of the
president fixed very kindly on her.
"You are at Wayland Hall, aren't you? I know you are Miss Dean, for I
saw you on the campus over two weeks ago and made inquiry about you. It
is too bad we don't have any of the same recitation periods. I would
have met you before this. I thought you would be at our other class
meeting, but neither you nor your four friends came. I haven't time to
talk any more now. Observe that line of congratulators. After the
meeting, if you will wait for me, several of the Silverton girls would
like to meet you and your friends."
"Of course we will wait, and feel highly honored." Marjorie flashed the
president a winsome smile, albeit she was nonplussed as to why pretty
Miss Graham had been so anxious to meet her, in particular. She was also
bent on learning more of the other class meeting from which they had in
some strange manner been cut out.
The meeting over, the Sanford quintette stood off to one side, waiting
for Miss Graham. She presently came up to them, accompanied by half a
dozen freshmen, evidently close friends of hers. An introducing session
ensued, punctuated by laughter and gay pleasantries. It produced a more
comforting effect on the Five Travelers than had anything since the day
when Helen Trent, by her kindly manner, had taken the strain off their
arrival.
"What do you think of that, girls? Miss Dean and her friends did not
know a _thing_ about the other class meeting we held here! We sent
notices to all the campus houses, requesting them bulletined. There was
a notice on the big bulletin board, too. The one outside Hamilton Hall,
you know."
"Why, Portia, don't you remember? It was awfully windy that day and some
one came into the Hall and said that there wasn't a sign of our notice
on the large board. It must have blown away. That was at noon. We were
to put out another and I believe it was forgotten." This information
came from a small girl with very wide-open gray eyes and brown hair,
cropped close to her head. She had the face of a mischievous, small boy.
"Yes, Robin, I do recall it, now that you have reminded me. Much
obliged. That explains, perhaps, why you did not see it on the main
bulletin board. It seems strange that the notice we sent to Wayland Hall
was not posted there. Miss Remson, I understand, is always particularly
careful to post the notices sent her."
"If Miss Remson received it, she would not fail to post it," asserted
Marjorie. "Was it mailed or delivered by a freshman messenger?"
"I took it to Wayland Hall." It was the girl Miss Graham addressed as
Robin who answered. "I handed it to a maid in a sealed envelope,
addressed to Miss Remson."
"Perhaps some of the sophs saw it on the bulletin board and nabbed it
for a joke," suggested a tall, handsome brunette who had been introduced
to the Lookouts as Miss Scott.
"A poor sort of joke, I should say," Robin Page said, a trifle
contemptuously.
"Well, we were told we might expect----" Blanche Scott broke off short,
with a significant twitch of compressed lips.
"It was unfortunate, of course," Portia Graham hastily remarked, "but
we'll hope no more notices go astray. You freshmen at the Hall had
better keep in closer touch with us. That means come over to our house
and be sociable. How many more freshmen besides yourselves live at
Wayland Hall?"
"Two; Miss Cornell and Miss Ingram." Muriel supplied this information.
"They were sitting toward the back of the hall when the meeting began.
There they are!" She located the two at a short distance from them,
talking earnestly to the student who had been elected to the
vice-presidency. She bore a slight resemblance to Irma Linton. The
Lookouts often saw her on the campus and during recitation periods, but
did not know her name.
"Oh; I see them. They are in good hands." Miss Graham looked relieved.
"Elaine Hunter is the sweetest girl in the whole world, I believe. Just
to be in the same house with her is to love her."
"She reminds us of a friend of ours at home." Jerry glanced very
approvingly toward the pretty freshman. "We have noticed her on the
campus. If she is as fine as Irma Linton, our friend, she is worth
knowing. We were sorry that Irma didn't choose Hamilton, but her mother
was a Wellesley graduate and anxious for Irma to enter Wellesley."
"I know how that goes," nodded Miss Graham. "My dearest friend was
packed off to Smith College to please her family. She didn't care to
enter Smith, but went as a matter of duty."
At this juncture, Elaine Hunter, accompanied by Miss Cornell and Miss
Ingram, joined the group around the president and more introducing
followed. Presently the whole party trooped out of Science Hall and
across the wide campus together, making the still autumn dusk ring with
their clear young voices.
From the Silverton Hall girls the Lookouts learned that the regular
freshman dance, which the sophomores gave each year to their younger
sisters, was soon to take place. The date had not yet been given out. It
was the autumn event at Hamilton. The juniors and seniors could come to
it if they chose. On St. Valentine's night the juniors always gave a
masquerade to all three of the other classes. Washington's birthday the
seniors claimed as theirs and gave either a play or a costume dance. To
the freshmen belonged the Apple Blossom hop, a dance given by them each
spring in the time of apple blossoms.
When the seven freshmen bade their congenial classmates good-bye, and
struck off across the campus for Wayland Hall, it was with a new and
delightful sense of fellowship and cheer. Like the Lookouts, the two
girls from New York City had been disappointed at the lack of cordiality
they had met with at Hamilton. Neither had known of the first class
meeting until after it had been held, and both were a trifle hurt at
having been ignored. As the Lookouts had known nothing at all about it,
they at least could not be blamed for not having passed word of it
along.
"Well, we are at last beginning to meet the folks," Jerry said with a
certain touch of grim satisfaction, as the five girls settled themselves
in Ronny's and Lucy's room for a few moment's private chat before the
dinner bell sounded.
"If we were living at Silverton Hall or Acasia House we would be far
more in touch with college matters," commented Ronny reflectively.
"You may blame me for choosing Wayland Hall," Marjorie reminded. "I
liked the picture of it better than the others."
"Yes; you picked this stately old lemon and we followed your lead."
Jerry favored her room-mate with a genial grin which the latter returned
in kind. "We forgive you for it. How could you guess who else beside
Busy Buzzy lived here? I like the Hall. The rooms are good, the meals
are gooder, and the conveniences are goodest of all. It has the
prettiest lawn and veranda of them all, too."
"It's a blue-ribbon place or Moretense wouldn't have besieged Miss
Remson to let her in here. I decline to say Busy Buzzy for fear of
getting the habit. I am too careless to apply it to her only in privacy.
I'm likely to come to grief," Muriel said lightly.
"It's no worse than 'Moretense,'" argued Jerry. "You say that all the
time. I hope, for your sake, you won't get caught saying _that_."
"It sounds so much like 'Hortense' that I could get away with it,"
retorted Muriel. "Anyway, I like to name people according to their
lights and so do you. Long may we wave with no embarrassing accidents."
Whereupon Jerry and Muriel solemnly shook hands.
"Isn't it time we had a meeting of the Five Travelers?" Lucy Warner
broke in irrelevantly. "On the train we said we would have one once a
week. This is our third week here and we haven't had even one."
"Quite true, Lucificus Warneriferous, sage and philosopher," agreed
Jerry, with a gravity which would have been admirable on any other
occasion.
"Jeremiah is all taken up with the naming habit," put in Ronny slyly.
"Ain't I jist," chuckled Jerry. "Our cook always says that when I ask
her if she is going to the movies on Saturday night."
"We are away off the subject." Marjorie had done little but laugh since
the five had sat down to talk.
"Certainly, we are." Lucy regarded Jerry with pretended severity. "We
never keep to a subject when Geraldine Macy is present." Though she
spoke in jest there was a curious light in Lucy's green eyes which no
one present except Marjorie understood. It always appeared when Lucy was
anxious to impart a confidence.
"You have something special to tell us, haven't you, Lucy?" Marjorie
quietly asked.
"Yes, I have, but I wish it to be a confidence made to the Five
Travelers," Lucy said with stiff positiveness. "While what I have to
tell you is not anything which touches us personally, it is something
which should be brought to your attention. I don't wish to tell you
until we have a meeting. I think we had better have that meeting no
later than tomorrow night."