CHAPTER XV
THE PHI SIGMA TAUS MEET WITH A LOSS
After considerable coaxing, Eva finally wrung from Marian a promise tovisit her that evening. She arrived about eight o'clock, and Evatactfully producing a box of nut chocolates, a confection of whichMarian was very fond, the two girls seated themselves in the Allen'scozy sitting room, with the box on a taboret between them.
Marian became more like her old self again, and the two girls werelaughing merrily over the antics of Eva's Angora kitten when thedoorbell rang, and Eva, looking rather conscious, went to the door.
At the sound of girlish voices, Marian rose, a look of intense annoyanceon her face, which deepened as the Phi Sigma Tau trooped into the room,and laughingly surrounded her.
"How are you, Marian?" they cried. "You wouldn't come to us, so weplanned a little surprise."
"So I see," replied Marian stiffly. "I am sorry, but I really must go,Eva. You should have told me that the girls were coming."
"Why, Marian Barber, what are you talking about?" asked Nora O'Malley inpretended surprise. "Why should you run away from the members of yourown sorority?"
Marian did not answer, but half tried to free herself from the detaininghands of her friends. For a moment her expression softened, then shetossed her head and said, "Let me go, please."
"Marian," said Grace bluntly, "you have been acting very strangelytoward us since we came back from the house party, and we don'tunderstand it. You have stayed away from two sorority meetings and havedeliberately avoided all of us, with the exception of Eva. We feel badlyover it, because we have always liked you, and because you are a PhiSigma Tau."
"Yes, Marian," interrupted Jessica, "have you forgotten the solemninitiation rites that were conducted at my house last year?"
"No," Marian admitted, smiling a little.
"Then listen, while Anne, who speaks more impressive English than therest of us, tells you why we have thus entrapped you and used Eva for abait. Speechify, Anne, and we will put in the applause at the properintervals."
"Marian," began Anne, "Grace has already told you how kindly our feelingis for you, and the reason that we tried to see you to-night is becauseof something that I spoke of to Grace yesterday. I had noticed that youwere having trouble in your astronomy recitations, and, of course, weall know that you must pass in all your subjects, both now and in June,in order to graduate; so I suggested that as the other girls have allpassed in astronomy, we might take turns in coaching you. An hour or soof review every night from now until the exams, would put you in goodcondition."
"Yes, Marian," interrupted Nora. "Anne and Jessica did that for me lastyear in ancient history, and I never should have passed if they hadn'thelped me."
Marian stood silently looking from one girl to the other, then she saidwith a mixture of hurt pride, anger and obstinacy in her voice:
"I don't need your help. In fact, I think the less we see of each otherin future the better it will be for us all. The past three months havecaused me to have an entirely different opinion than I used to have ofyou girls. You are all very nice as long as things go your way, but ifone happens to make a friend or hold an opinion contrary to your views,then the Phi Sigma Taus feel bound to step in and interfere.
"Here is my sorority pin, and I sincerely hope you will elect anothergirl to my place. She is welcome to both the pin and your friendship. Iam thankful that this is my last year in High School."
"You are a foolish girl, Marian Barber," cried Nora, "and you'll wake upsome morning and find yourself awfully sorry for what you've just said.You are the last person I should have suspected of being so ridiculous.Why we've all played together since we were kiddies."
Marian tried to look dignified and unrelenting, but for an instant herlip quivered suspiciously.
Anne seeing that Marian showed signs of wavering, crossed over to herside, and slipping her arm around the obstinate girl, said gently:
"Better think it over before you do any thing rash, dear. We are nottrying in the least to interfere in your affairs. You know the primaryobject of the Phi Sigma Tau is to help one another. We thought that youwould be glad to have us coach you in astronomy. You know how thankfulGrace was for your help in trigonometry last year."
Marian hesitated as though at loss for an answer to this direct appealto her common sense. The girls watched her anxiously, hoping that Anne'swords had bridged the difficulty.
"Come on, Marian," said Nora O'Malley briskly. "Here's your sororitypin. Put it on and forget that you ever took it off. You are toosensible to nurse an imaginary grievance. Don't behave as EleanorSavelli did. You know--"
But Nora was not allowed to finish the sentence, for Marian whirled uponher with flashing eyes, her temporary softness disappearing entirely.
"I don't wish to hear one word against Eleanor Savelli," she criedwrathfully. "She is my friend, and I shall stand up for her."
"Your friend?" was the united exclamation.
"Yes, my friend," reiterated Marian stormily, "and she is a true friend,too. Last year she was initiated into your sorority, and thendeliberately slighted and left out of all your plans until in justice toherself she resigned.
"This year you are behaving in the same way with me. You began it bycriticizing my friend, Henry Hammond, and invited him to the judge'shouse party for the express purpose of humiliating and insulting him.The boys of your crowd gave him the cold shoulder when he tried to befriendly and Grace was insufferably rude to him on two differentoccasions.
"Then you criticized my gowns and made fun of me behind my back, when inreality I was the only one of you who was properly dressed. You left Mr.Hammond and I both out of the pantomime, and made us last in everything.
"I tried to forgive and forget it all, and be just the same to you, butthe first thing that Nora did when we reached Oakdale was to invite partof the crowd to her house and leave the rest of us out, and I amsurprised that neither Miriam nor Eva resented the slight."
Here Grace and Miriam could not refrain from exchanging amused glances,but to Marian, who intercepted their glances, this was the last straw.
Dashing the sorority pin which Nora had previously shoved into her handto the floor, with a sob of mingled anger and chagrin she exclaimed:
"How dare you ridicule me to my very face! I never want to speak to anyof you again, and I shall not stay here to be laughed at."
With these words she fairly ran out of the room, and before any onecould expostulate with her, she had for the second time in three monthsrushed out of the house and away from her real friends.
"She is hopeless," sighed Grace, as they heard the outer door of thehall close noisily.
"Can you blame her?" said Anne earnestly. "She has been influenced allalong by that Henry Hammond, and now she has fallen into Eleanor'shands. We know Eleanor's state of mind toward us, but why Henry Hammondshould encourage Marian to break with her sorority is harder tounderstand. Yet he has undoubtedly used his influence against us forsome purpose of his own. Marian's accusations are foolish and unjust.You all know that she was so engrossed with that miserable old troublemaker that she repeatedly refused to take part in the different thingswe planned."
"Of course, we know that," agreed Grace. "I don't even feel hurt at heroutburst to-night. I wouldn't think of accepting her resignation fromthe Phi Sigma Tau, either. We won't try to make up with her, but we'llall keep a starboard eye upon her, and see that she doesn't come togrief."
"I had almost reduced her to reason," remarked Anne, with a ruefulsmile, "when Nora unfortunately mentioned Eleanor."
"Wasn't I an idiot, though?" asked Nora. "I forgot for the moment abouthaving seen them together."
"I am going to turn detective," announced Grace.
"Are you going to detect or deduct?" asked Nora solemnly.
"Both," replied Grace confidently. "I am going to become a combinationof Nick Carter and Sherlock Holmes, and my first efforts will bedirected toward finding out who and what Mr. Henry Hammond r
eally is."