CHAPTER XXII
DANGER AHEAD
MY DEAR GRACE:
Will you come and see me at my office after school to-day? I have something very important to discuss.
Sincerely yours,
EMMA THOMPSON.
Grace read the letter over twice. What in the world could Miss Thompsonwant to discuss with her? Perhaps she had not been doing well enough inher classes. But Grace rejected the idea. She always kept up to theaverage, and it was only those who fell below who ever received warningsfrom the principal.
Perhaps it was--well, never mind, she would wait and see. As soon asschool was over she hurried to the principal's office and tapped on thedoor.
"Well, Grace, my dear," said Miss Thompson, as the young girl entered,"did my note frighten you?"
"No, indeed," replied Grace; "I had a clear conscience and I don'texpect to fail in exams to-morrow, although I am not so studious as AnnePierson or Miriam."
"Of course you don't expect to fail, my dear," said the principal,kindly, for, of all the girls in the school, Grace was her favorite. "Ididn't bring you here to scold you. But I have something very serious totalk about. While I have threshed out the matter with myself, I believeI might do better by talking things over with one of my safest andsanest freshman."
"Why, what has happened, Miss Thompson?" asked Grace curiously.
"First, let me ask you a few questions," answered the principal. "Tellme something about the competition for the freshman prize. Which girl doyou think has the best chance of winning it?"
"I know whom I want to win," replied Grace innocently. "Anne, of course,and I believe she will, too. While Miriam is more showy in herrecitations, Anne is much more thorough, and she studies a great dealharder. The fact is, I am afraid she is making herself ill withstudying. But she is determined to win not the little prize, but the bigone, which is more than even Anne can do, I believe. Whoever heard ofhaving every examination paper perfect?"
"It has not been done so far," admitted Miss Thompson, "but why is Anneso bent on winning the prize? Is it all for glory, do you think?"
"Anne is very poor, you know, Miss Thompson," said Grace simply.
"So she is," replied the principal, "and the child needs the money."Miss Thompson paused a moment, looking thoughtfully out over the smoothgreen lawn. "Grace," she resumed, finally, "I have something veryserious to tell you. Two days ago I made a discovery that may change thefate of the freshman prize this year considerably. You know I keep theexamination questions here in my desk. That is, the originals. A copy isnow at the printers. So, you see, I have only one set of originals. Ihad occasion to come back to my office quite late the day of thediscovery, and, as I let myself in at that door," she pointed to thedoor leading into the corridor, "what I thought was a gust of windslammed the door leading into the next room which I usually keep shutand bolted on this side. My desk was open and the freshman examinationpapers undoubtedly had been tampered with. I could tell because they areusually the last in the pile and they were all on top and quitedisarranged. Whoever had been here, had heard my key in the lock, andwithout waiting to close the desk had fled by the other door. I feeldeeply grieved over this matter. I should never think of suspecting anyof my fine girls of such trickery; and, yet, who else could it have beenexcept one of the freshmen?"
"Oh, Miss Thompson, this is dreadful," exclaimed Grace, distressed andshocked over the story. "I don't believe there's a girl in the class whowould have done it. There must be some mistake."
"That is why I sent for you, Grace," said the principal. "I want youradvice. Now Anne----"
"_Anne?_" interrupted Grace horrified. "You don't suppose, for a minute,Anne would be dishonest? Never! I won't stay and listen any longer," andshe rushed to the door.
Miss Thompson followed, placing a detaining hand on her arm.
"You are right, Grace, to be loyal to your friend," said the principal,always just and kind under the most trying circumstances; "but Anne, Imust tell you, is under suspicion."
"Why?" demanded Grace, almost sobbing in her anger and unhappiness.
"The afternoon of the discovery Anne was here long after school hours.She was seen by two people wandering about the building."
"Who were the people?" demanded Grace incredulously.
"The janitress, who saw her from the window of another room, and--MissLeece."
"I thought so," exclaimed Grace, with a note of triumph in her voice."It is Miss Leece, is it, who is trumping up all this business? I tellyou, I don't believe a word of it, Miss Thompson. Anne would no more dosuch a thing than I would, and I am going to fight to save her if ittakes my last breath. Do you know how hard she has worked to win thisprize? Simply all the time. I believe, if she knew what you suspected,it would kill her. I believe it's some tale Miss Leece has made up. Andbesides, why shouldn't she have come back to the building? Perhaps sheforgot a book or something. I'd just like to know what Miss Leece wasdoing here at that time of day."
"She came here to meet me on business," answered Miss Thompson. "That iswhy she knows something of the unfortunate affair. She was with me whenI found my desk had been broken open and the papers disturbed. She alsoheard the other door slam and it was then she told me of having seenAnne wandering about the building for which, as you say, there mighthave been a dozen reasons; I believe, as firmly as you do, that thechild is incapable of cheating, and I intend to leave no stone unturnedto get at the truth. But there is still another fact against Anne thatis very black." The speaker took from a drawer a slip of folded paper."This was found in the building," she continued, "and since it was anopen letter, without address and under the circumstances, so important,it was read and the contents reported to me. I have since read it myselfand I now ask you to read it."
DEAR ANNE:
I must have one hundred dollars at once, or go somewhere for a long time. I foolishly signed a friend's name to a slip of paper. I didn't know he would be so hard, but he threatens to prosecute unless I pay up before the end of next week. I know you have rich friends. I have been hearing of your successes. Perhaps the old lady, Mrs. G., will oblige you. I trust to your good sense to see that the hundred must be forthcoming, or it will mean disgrace for us all.
Your father,
J. P.
Grace limply held the letter in one hand.
"Oh, poor, poor Anne!" she groaned, wiping away the tears that hadwelled up into her eyes and were running down her cheeks.
"I feel just as you do, my child," went on Miss Thompson. "I am deeply,bitterly sorry for this unfortunate child. But you will agree with methat she has had a very strong motive for winning the prize."
Grace nodded mutely.
"By the way," she asked presently, when she had calmed herself, "who wasit that found the letter?"
"Miss Leece again," replied Miss Thompson, hesitatingly.
"There, you see," exclaimed Grace excitedly, "that woman is determinedto ruin Anne before the close of school. I tell you, I won't believeAnne is guilty. It has taken just this much to make me certain that sheis entirely innocent. Is there no clue whatever to the person who copiedthe papers?"
"Yes," answered Miss Thompson, "there is. This had been shoved back inthe desk under the papers. It does not belong to me, and it could nothave gotten into my desk by any other means. I suppose, in her hurry tocopy the freshmen sheets, whoever she was, laid it down and forgot it."
Miss Thompson produced a crumpled pocket handkerchief. Grace took it andheld it to the light. There were no marks or initials upon it whatever;it was simply a cambric handkerchief with a narrow hemstitched border, ahandkerchief such as anyone might use. It was neither large nor small,neither of thin nor thick material.
"There's nothing on it," said Grace. "I suppose the stores sell hundredsof these."
"That's very true," answered the principal, "but I hoped you would befamiliar enough with your friends' handkerchiefs to recognize t
his one."
"No," replied Grace, "I haven't the least idea whose it is. Wait amoment," she added quickly, smelling the handkerchief; "there is aperfume on it of some sort. Did you notice that?"
"I did," replied Miss Thompson. "It was one of the first things I didnotice. I am very sensitive to perfumes; perhaps because I dislike themon clothing. But I waited for you to find it out for yourself. In fact,my dear, this will be the only means of trapping the person. Now, whatperfume is it, and who in the class uses it? I am not familiar withperfumes, but I thought perhaps you were. And now, I will tell you thatthis is the reason I sent for you. The reason I showed you this letter,which has only been seen by one other person besides myself--Miss Leece,of course. I do not wish to tell anyone else about this matter. I do notcare to put the subject before the School Board for discussion. I do notbelieve, any more than you, that Anne is guilty and I have taken youinto my confidence because I believe you are the one person in the worldwho can help me in this predicament. Miss Leece, of course, intends todo everything in her power to bring the child 'to justice.' But, until Igive her permission, she will hardly dare to speak of it. So far, wethree are the only people who know what has happened. In the meantime, Ishall turn over this handkerchief to you. Keep it carefully and be veryguarded about what you do and say. You are a young girl," she continued,taking Grace's hand and gazing full into her honest eyes, "but I have agreat respect for your judgment and discretion, and that is the reason Iam asking for your help in this very delicate matter. You may restassured that I shall do nothing whatever; at least, not until afterexaminations. I have an idea that we may get a clue through them. Wemust save Anne, whose life would be utterly ruined by such a falseaccusation as this. And I feel convinced that it is false."
"Well, I can tell you one thing, Miss Thompson," returned Grace as sheopened the door, "and that is Anne Pierson never used any perfume in herlife. She hasn't any to use."
Miss Thompson nodded and smiled.
"I was sure of that," she called.
Grace had little time to lose. The examinations, which took place thenext day and the day after, would undoubtedly bring matters to a crisis.
She took the handkerchief from her pocket and sniffed at it. Neither wasshe familiar with perfumes, and this odor was new to her. Suddenly anidea occurred to her and she made straight for the nearest drugstore.
"Mr. Gleason," she demanded of the clerk in charge, "could you tell mewhat perfume this is?"
The druggist sniffed thoughtfully at the handkerchief for some seconds.
"It's sandalwood," he said at last. "We received some in stock a weekago."