“To the boldest bandit belongs the spoils.” Leila lifted Marjorie’s
traveling bag from the walk, took hold of her arm and began steering her
across the grassy station yard to where a smart grey car stood on the
drive.
“I’ll let you tug it along to punish you for being a desperado. It’s a
heavy old thing. Fifteen minutes ago I didn’t know where it and I would
stop for the night. Now, thank goodness, and you girls, we can all go to
Wayland Hall.” Marjorie smiled over her shoulder at Robin and Vera who
were walking behind them.
“What a love of a car!” she exclaimed as they neared the trim gray
roadster. “I’ll make a guess. It’s Vera’s. Somehow it suggests her.”
“Yes, it’s Vera’s. Have you noticed? My eyes are turning green with envy
of Midget,” Leila declared darkly, then showed her strong white teeth in
a roguish smile. “Her father sent her this dream of a car from Paris.
He’s been painting at his Paris studio since early last spring. The
roadster came the week after we left Hamilton. I was with Vera in their
New York house. We were trying to decide what we should do to amuse
ourselves until time for our trip here. Then the car came. We were so
proud of it! We wanted the world to see it and us in it. We went on a
motor trip to the Adirondacks. We stayed for two weeks with Vera’s aunt
at her camp. She was horrified because we came in the car without a
chaperon. And I must tell you the truth! Neither of us remembered there
was any such person to be considered when we started out with the car.”
Leila threw back her head and laughed.
“We didn’t have one going back, either.” Vera had caught what Leila was
saying. “Luckily for us, my father thinks Leila and I can be trusted to
take care of ourselves. We motored back to New York City and from there
to Hamilton.”
“So we did. And it’s here we are stopping again, like a set of statues
in the sun, when we might be on our way to the Ivy.” By common consent
the four had again grouped themselves on the walk opposite the roadster.
“Come with me. Don’t be dwadling here when there’s news to be told and
news to be heard,” Leila rallied. She motioned Marjorie to the car and
ceremoniously opened a rear door for her.
“Right-o!” Robin exclaimed, preparing to take the front seat of the
roadster beside Vera. “I’m simply perishing for a real opportunity to
talk. It seems ages and ages since college closed. Yet it is only a
month. I have scads of things to tell you girls. Phil wanted to come
with me. We had the trip all planned and her trunk was partly packed.
Then three girl cousins descended upon the Moores for a visit. Poor Phil
had to stay home and help entertain them. I’ll tell you more about her
when we are at the Ivy.” Robin turned in the seat to say this much as
Vera started the car.
As the roadster sped away from the station drive and swung into Herndon
Avenue, Hamilton’s main thoroughfare, Marjorie glanced slowly from one
side of the street to the other. A happy little smile played upon her
lips. Next to Sanford, her home town, she loved the staid college town
of Hamilton. She loved it for its wide ornamental streets and stately
green-lawned residences. Like all else which bore the name of Hamilton
it seemed in some strange elusive way to partake of the fine character
of its founder, Brooke Hamilton.
Presently she reached up and removed the white straw hat she wore. She
gave a satisfied little intake of breath as the cool afternoon breeze
blew gently in her face, lifting the thick clustering curls which framed
it and blowing them back from her forehead. Her lovely features wore the
untroubled, child-like expression which had ever made them so beautiful.
Behind that beautiful untroubled face, however, was the resolute,
indomitable spirit of a pioneer. It was that very spirit of endeavor
which had made her a force for good at Hamilton College since her
enrollment as a student of that institution.
After four years at Sanford High School, Marjorie Dean and four of her
intimate girl friends had chosen Hamilton College as their Alma Mater.
What happened to them as students at Sanford High School has been
recorded in the “Marjorie Dean High School Series,” comprising:
“Marjorie Dean, High School Freshman,” “Marjorie Dean, High School
Sophomore,” “Marjorie Dean, High School Junior” and “Marjorie Dean, High
School Senior.”
The account of their doings at Hamilton College may be found in the
“Marjorie Dean College Series,” comprising: “Marjorie Dean, College
Freshman,” “Marjorie Dean, College Sophomore,” “Marjorie Dean, College
Junior,” “Marjorie Dean, College Senior.”
During Marjorie’s senior year at Hamilton College she and her particular
friends became interested in a plan to provide Hamilton students in less
fortunate financial circumstances than themselves with suitable quarters
in which to live. The fact that such students were making great personal
sacrifices in order to obtain a college education had aroused the
sympathy of Marjorie and her associates.
What began as the raising of a fund by which to make the way easier for
the strugglers gradually led to a more ambitious plan on the part of
Marjorie and her allies. They dreamed of a free dormitory for needy
students which they determined by steady conscientious effort should
some day be realized.
With the coming of Commencement which had seen Marjorie and her loyal
supporters graduated from Hamilton College had come also the unexpected
gift of a valuable piece of property as a site for the new dormitory.
The donor, Miss Susanna Hamilton, was the great-niece of the founder of
Hamilton College, Brooke Hamilton. While the eccentric old lady had been
prejudiced for many years against the college board, she was, on the
other hand, a warm friend of Marjorie Dean. During Marjorie’s sophomore
year she and Miss Susanna had met by accident. Later, Miss Hamilton had
learned to love the sunny, gracious lieutenant. As a result of that love
had come Miss Susanna’s amazing concession.
During their senior year in college Marjorie and Robin had turned their
attention to the giving of plays, concerts and other pleasing
entertainments. These amusements had been welcomed by the Hamilton
students and the two successful promoters had reaped a goodly sum of
money for the dormitory project. The Nineteen Travelers, a confidential
little band which included Marjorie and Robin, had also contributed
several hundred dollars to the dormitory fund by the curtailing of
personal expenses, elimination of all but a few luxuries and the
practicing of self-denial in the matter of dinners and spreads.
The presentation by Miss Susanna Hamilton of the site for the dormitory
had made the way clear for the erection of the building in the not far
distant future.
At the time of her graduation Marjorie had been fully aware that hers
and Robin’s beloved enterprise would require their presence on the
campus the following autumn. The real work of their project was yet to
come. Robin was free to return to Hamilton. Marjorie had not been
certain that her general and her captain would be willing that she
should remain away from home another winter. She had left college for
Sanford unable to assure her classmates who were to return the next
autumn as post graduates that she would be then among them.
“So my prophetic Celtic bones did not lie,” Leila said with teasing good
humor. “Ah, Beauty, but was not Leila the wise Irish woman? Did I not
prophesy that your general and your captain would be sending you back to
college?”
“Of course you did. Your prophetic Celtic bones told you how utterly
unselfish they were,” Marjorie returned warmly. “We didn’t exchange a
word about my coming back as a P. G. while they were on the campus
during Commencement week. One evening soon after we were home Jerry and
Lucy came over and General said he had very important orders for the
Army. He read us a ridiculous notice, ordering us to report at Hamilton
College for post graduate duty, not later than October first, by order
of General and Captain Dean. Jerry and Lucy made such a racket over it
that General threatened to lock them in the guard house for boisterous
conduct.”
Leila listened, immensely tickled by Mr. Dean’s army tactics. Marjorie
continued to tell her of Jerry and her doings. She said nothing,
however, of Jerry’s brother. Entirely fancy free, Marjorie had never
spoken confidentially of Hal to any girl save Constance. Jerry would not
have ventured to ask Marjorie a personal question concerning him,
intimate as the two girls were.
“Why, Leila,” Marjorie said presently, going back to her superior
officers, “after the girls went home that night I had a long talk with
General and Captain. I found they considered it my first duty to come
back to college. General pretended to be very threatening. He dared me
to try to stay at home and see what would happen. I don’t like to be
away from them, Leila, but I love my work. And it’s only begun on the
campus. It will take us a long time to pay for the dormitory. I may be
old as the hills by the time it is paid for,” was her jocular
prediction. “If I’m a tottering last leaf when that happens, at least I
will have grown old in a good cause.”