CHAPTER XVI
THE JUNIORS FOREVER
When the four classes assembled Thursday morning, every girl, with theexception of Eleanor, was in her seat. Her absence created considerablecomment, and it was a matter of speculation as to whether she hadpurposely absented herself or really had been suspended.
After conducting opening exercises, Miss Thompson pronounced sentence onthe culprits. They were to forfeit their recess, library and all otherprivileges until the end of the term. They must turn in two themes everyweek of not less than six hundred words on certain subjects to beassigned to them. If, during this time, any one of them should bereported for a misdemeanor, they were to be suspended without delay.
Their penalty was far from light, but they had not been suspended, andso they resolved to endure it as best they might.
Grace Harlowe felt a load lifted from her mind when Miss Thompsonpublicly announced that she had not received any information from eitherMabel Allison or the Phi Sigma Tau.
"Thank goodness, none of us were concerned in that affair," she told themembers of her basketball team at recess. "There are two girls on thesophomore and three on the freshman team whose basketball ardor willhave to cool until after the mid-year exams."
"You might know that some of those silly freshmen would get intotrouble," said Nora scornfully.
"'Twas many and many a year ago, In an age beyond recall, That Nora, the freshman, lowly sat At one end of the study hall."
recited Anne Pierson in dramatic tones.
There was a burst of laughter from the girls at this effusion, in whichNora herself joined.
"What a delicate way of reminding me that I once was a freshman!" sheexclaimed.
"Anne has a new accomplishment," said Grace. "She can spout poetrywithout trying."
"Small credit is due me," said Anne, smiling. "Anyone can twist 'AnnabelLee' to suit the occasion."
"By the way, Anne," said Grace, "as you are a poet, you must compose abasketball song to-day, and I'll see that the juniors all have copies.It's time we had one. Let me see what would be a good tune?"
"'Rally Round the Flag,'" suggested Miriam Nesbit. "That has a dandyswing to it."
Grace hummed a few bars.
"The very thing," she exclaimed. "Now, Anne, get busy at once. You'dbetter sing the tune to yourself all the time you're writing it, thenyou'll be sure to put more dash and spirit into it."
"I wish the day of the game were here," said Jessica plaintively."I have been practising a most encouraging howl. Hippy, David andReddy have a new one, too. Reddy says it's 'marvelously extraordinaryand appallingly great.'"
"I can imagine it to be all that and more if Hippy had anything to dowith its origin," said Nora.
"Wasn't it nice of Miss Thompson to exonerate us publicly?" asked Anne.
"She is always just," replied Grace. "I can't understand how Eleanorcould be so rude and disagreeable to her. She has disliked Miss Thompsonfrom the first."
"I wonder whether she apologized to Miss Thompson last night," musedGrace.
"I feel sure that she didn't, and I am just as sure that she won't getback until she does."
"We shall manage to exist if she doesn't," said Jessica dryly. She felta personal grudge against Eleanor for her accusation against Mabel, whohad grown very dear to her and whom she mothered like a hen with onechicken.
"She'll probably appear at the game in all her glory," said MiriamNesbit. "She can go to that, even though she is on bad terms with theschool."
The recess bell cut short the conversation and the girls returned totheir desks with far better ideas of the coming game than of theafternoon's lessons.
Saturday, December 12, dawned cold and clear, and the girls on bothteams were in high spirits as they hustled into their respectivelocker-rooms and rapidly donned their gymnasium suits. The spectatorshad not yet begun to arrive, as it was still early, so the girlsindulged in a little warming-up practice, did a few stunts and skippedabout, overflowing with animal spirits.
Julia Crosby and Grace took turns sprinting around the gymnasium threetimes in succession, while Miriam Nesbit timed them, Grace finishingjust two seconds ahead of Julia.
By a quarter of two the gallery was fairly well filled and by fiveminutes of two it was crowded. The juniors, with the exception ofEleanor Savell's faction, arrived in a body, gave the High School yellthe moment they spied their team, and then burst forth with thebasketball song, led by Ruth Deane, a tall junior, who stood up and beattime with both hands. Anne had composed the song the week before. Thejuniors had all received copies of the words and had learned them byheart. They now sang with the utmost glee, and came out particularlystrong on the chorus, which ran:
"The juniors forever, hurrah, fans, hurrah! Our team is a winner, our captain's a star. And we'll drive the senior foe, from the basket every time. Shouting the war cry of the juniors."
There was a great clapping of hands from the admirers of the juniors atthis effort, but the seniors promptly responded from the other end ofthe gallery to the tune of Dixie, with:
"The seniors are the real thing. Hurrah! Hurrah! Our gallant team now takes its stand, And all the baskets soon will land. We shout, we sing, the praises of the seniors."
Hardly had the last notes died away, when the referee blew the whistleand the teams hustled to their positions. Grace and Julia Crosby facedeach other, beamed amiably and shook hands, then stood vigilant, eyes onthe ball that the referee balanced in her hands. Up it went, the whistlesounded and the two captains sprang straight for it. Grace captured it,however, and sent it flying toward Miriam, who was so carefully guardedthat she dared not attempt to make the basket, and after a feint managedto throw it to Nora, who tried for the basket at long range and missed.
There was a general scramble for the ball, and for five minutes neitherteam scored; then Marian Barber dropped a neat field goal, and soonafter Grace scored on a foul. The junior fans howled joyfully at thegood work of their team. The seniors did not intend to allow them toscore again in a hurry. They played such a close guarding game that, tryas they might, the juniors made no headway. Then Julia Crosby scored ona field goal, making the score 3 to 2. This spurred the junior team onto greater effort, and Miriam made a brilliant throw to basket thatbrought forth an ovation from the gallery. This ended the first half,with the score 5 to 2 in favor of the juniors.
"They'll have to work to catch up with us now," said Nora O'Malleytriumphantly to the members of the team, who sat resting in the littleside room off the gymnasium.
"We have the lead, but we can't afford to boast yet," replied Grace."The seniors played a fine game last half, and they'll strain everynerve to pile up their score next half."
"We shall win," said Miriam Nesbit confidently. "I feel it in my bones."
"Let's hope that your bones are true prophets," laughed Marian Barber.
"O girls!" exclaimed Eva Allen from the open door, in which she had beenstanding looking up at the gallery. "Eleanor is here. She and hersatellites are sitting away up on the back seat of the gallery."
"Where?" asked Nora, going to the door. "Oh, yes, I see her. She looksas haughty as ever. It's a wonder she'd condescend to come and watch hermortal enemies play."
"I suppose she hopes we'll lose," said Marian Barber. "That would fillher with joy."
"Then we'll see that she goes away in a gloomy frame of mind," saidNora, "for we're going to win, and don't you forget to remember it."
Just then the whistle blew, and there was a scramble for places. Thistime Julia Crosby won the toss-up, and followed it up with a field goal.Then the seniors scored twice on fouls, tying the score. The juniorsset their teeth and waded in with all their might and main, setting awhirlwind pace that caused their fans to shout with wild enthusiasm andfairly dazed their opponents. Grace alone netted four foul goals, andthe sensational playing of Nora and M
iriam was a matter of wonder to thespectators, who conceded it to be the fastest, most brilliant half everplayed by an Oakdale team. The game ended with the score 15 to 6 infavor of the juniors, whose loyal supporters swooped down upon them themoment the whistle blew and pranced about, whooping like savages.
"That was the greatest game I ever saw played under this roof," criedDavid, wringing Grace's hand, while Hippy hopped about, uttering littleyelps of joy. Reddy circled about the victors almost too delighted forwords. He was filled with profound admiration for them.
"The boys' crack team couldn't have played a better game," he saidsolemnly, and the girls knew that he could pay them no highercompliment, for this team was considered invincible by the High Schoolboys.
"Perhaps we'll challenge you some day, Reddy," said Grace mischievously.
"I believe you'd win at that," he said so earnestly that every onelaughed.
"It was a great triumph," said Jessica proudly, as she stood with Mabeland Anne in the locker-room while the girls resumed street clothing."And my new howl was a success, too."
"Glad to know that," said Grace. "There were so many different kinds ofnoises I couldn't distinguish it."
"There was one noise that started that was promptly hushed," said Anne."You heard it, too, didn't you Jessica?"
"Oh, yes, girls, I intended telling you before this," replied Jessica."Just before the last half started, Miss Thompson and Miss Kane came inand walked to the other end of the gallery. Well, Eleanor and her crowdsaw them, and what do you suppose they did?"
"Hard to tell," said Nora.
"They hissed Miss Thompson. Very softly, you may be sure," continuedJessica, "but it was hissing, just the same. For a wonder, she didn'thear it, but every girl in the junior class did. They were sitting downfront on the same side as Eleanor's crowd. You know what a temper RuthDeane has and how ferocious she can look? Well, the minute she heard itshe went back there like a flash, looking for all the world like athunder cloud. She talked for a moment to Edna and Eleanor. They tossedtheir heads, but they didn't hiss any more."
"What did Ruth say to them?" asked Grace curiously. "It must have beensomething remarkable, or they wouldn't have subsided so suddenly."
"It was," giggled Jessica. "She told them that if they didn't stop itinstantly, the juniors would pick them up bodily, carry them downstairsto the classroom and lock them in until the game was over."
"How absurd!" exclaimed Grace. "They would never have dared to go thatfar."
"I don't know about that," said Nora O'Malley. "Ruth Deane is a terrorwhen she gets fairly started. Besides, she would have had both HighSchools on her side. Even the boys like Miss Thompson."
"It was an effectual threat at any rate," said Jessica. "They leftbefore the game was over. Perhaps they were afraid of being waylaid."
"I suppose they couldn't bear to see us win," said Grace. "But,O girls, I am so proud of our invincible team. It was a great gameand a well-earned victory."
"We ought to celebrate," said Miriam. "Come on. Here we are atStillman's."
Without waiting for a second invitation, the Phi Sigma Tau troopedjoyfully into the drug store.