CHAPTER III
AN ACCIDENT AND A SURPRISE
"Well, what do you think of her?" inquired Elfreda Briggs the followingmorning, poking her head in at Grace's door, a quizzical smile on herround face. Grace and Anne had left the breakfast table a few minutesbefore Elfreda, who had foregone finishing her breakfast and rushedupstairs to hear her friends' opinion of the tall freshman, who hadseemed taller than ever as she stalked uncompromisingly into the diningroom that morning in Kathleen West's wake. The newspaper girl lookedanything but in a happy frame of mind, and after several covert glancesin her direction, Grace decided that the new arrival had not been metwith open arms on the part of Kathleen.
"What do I think of her?" repeated Grace. "A good many things, I shouldsay. What do you think?"
"I think she is the most interesting and entertaining person I've seenin years," declared Elfreda exaggeratingly.
"Then her entertaining powers do not lie in speech," laughed Anne. "Iheard her say three things this morning at the table. They were, 'yes,''thank you' and 'I believe so.'"
"She didn't talk, that's a fact," admitted Elfreda, "but she looked asthough she was keeping up an awful thinking. Does any one know fromwhence she came, and why?"
"I don't know anything about her," said Grace, shaking her head, "but Iam sure that you will find out everything worth knowing before night.You will be able to see a great deal, you know."
"Don't flatter me," grinned Elfreda. "That's no joke, though," she addedhastily. "I'll find out, never fear, and then I'll tell you girls."
"What a comfort it is to have the latest news brought to one's doorevery morning," jeered Anne.
"You'll find yourself without that comfort if you are not morerespectful," threatened Elfreda. "I'll carry my news to other doorswhere it will be more highly appreciated."
"Your threats fail to impress me," retorted Anne. "You know that youcouldn't bear to ignore us."
"I know I shall be late to chapel, and that you will be later," repliedElfreda significantly. "Tardiness is unbecoming in a senior. I am sorryto be obliged to remind you of it."
"Save your sorrow and come along," called Miriam Nesbit from thedoorway. "Aren't you going to chapel this morning, Grace?"
"Not this morning," replied Grace, not raising her eyes from the bookover which she was poring. "This is psychology morning and I'm veryshaky on the lesson. I feel in my bones that I'll be called upon torecite, so please go away, all of you, and don't bother me," shefinished with an affectionate smile that did not accord with her bluntwords.
"Going, going, gone!" flung back Elfreda over her shoulder as she leftthe room, followed by Miriam and Anne.
Grace glanced anxiously at the clock, then concentrated her mind anewupon her reading. The sound of hurried feet on the stairs and throughthe halls, accompanied by an occasional murmur of voices as the studentsleft Wayne Hall, was borne to her ears as she read and tried tofamiliarize herself with the main points of the lesson. Gradually thehouse settled down to quiet, and Grace, becoming thoroughly interestedin her work, lost all track of time.
The sound of a terrific crash, apparently just outside the half-openeddoor, brought her to her feet in alarm. "What was that?" she exclaimed.Stepping to the door she looked up and down the hall. From the room atthe end, the door of which was ajar, came a jingling sound as of dishesbeing piled together. For a moment Grace hesitated, then walked towardthe sound. At the doorway she paused again; then the sight that met hereyes caused her to spring forward with an impulsive, "What a dreadfulsmash! Do let me help you."
The extremely tall young woman who sat on the edge of her bed surveyingthe wreck of her washbowl, pitcher and every other piece of china thatfive minutes before had reposed confidently on the top of her washstandregarded Grace ruefully. There was a twinkle in her eyes, however, thatbelied her regret. "It did make considerable noise, I imagine," she saidcrisply. "Strange the rest of the students here haven't appeared on thescene."
Grace involuntarily retreated a step or two, her face flushing. Shecould not endure the idea of being thought an intruder.
"Don't go," said the tall young woman, in the same crisp tone. "I didn'tmean that you were an intruder. I only wonder that no one else came. Thewreck of the Hesperus wasn't serious compared with this," she saiddryly, indicating the littered floor. "I tried to move my wash stand. Itstuck. Then all of a sudden it gave way and I fell back, dragging itwith me. I had hold of one end of it with both hands, and I was strongerthan I thought, for I just missed sitting on the floor and receiving allthat china in my lap. I was horrified for a second, but all of a suddenthe funny side of it struck me, and I sat down on my couch and laugheduntil I cried. I was just wiping my eyes and preparing to pick up thepieces when you came in. Perhaps you thought I was crying over it. Canyou imagine me in tears?" she added humorously.
"Hardly," said Grace with a frank smile that was reflected on the tallyoung woman's face.
"No, I am not one of the weeping kind," she declared sturdily. "I comeof good, old, undaunted New England stock. My name is Patience Eliot andI live just outside Boston. I might as well tell you all about myself inthe first place, because I decided at breakfast that I liked you. I knowyour Christian name because I heard your friends addressing you as"Grace" this morning, but I don't know your surname."
"I am Grace Harlowe, at your service," replied Grace lightly, "and it isalways gratifying to be liked. I saw you last night when you arrived. Iwas entertaining a crowd of girls, and, of course, we couldn't resistrunning to the window when one of the girls happened to see the busstopping in front of the house."
"Were you at the window?" asked Miss Eliot unconcernedly. "I didn't seeyou. In fact, I wasn't thinking of anything but getting into my room andto bed. I had been on the train long enough to become thoroughly tiredof it. It was two hours late, too. We should have arrived at Overton athalf-past seven, but it was half-past nine when the train pulled intothe Overton station."
"You must have been very tired," sympathized Grace. "I hope you restedwell last night. If there is anything I can do for you in the way ofshowing you to the registrar's office or wherever you may wish to go, Ishall be only too glad to do so. My first recitation happens to be atten o'clock this morning, so I have plenty of time."
"My first duty lies before me," returned Miss Eliot grimly, pointing tothe floor. "I think you had better direct me to a store where I canreplace this. If I ask Mrs. Elwood to set a price on it, she will cheatherself."
"Why, how did you know that?" asked Grace in surprise. "You only saw herfor a few minutes last night."
"That was long enough to discover several things concerning her greatlyto her credit," was the calm answer. "However, as you have been so kindas to offer to direct me, I think I will ask you to take me to theregistrar's office. She has been expecting me ever since college opened.I imagine she has given me up by this time." Stepping over the wreck ofbroken china to the closet, she took her hat from its hook on the innerside of the door, and, putting it on without glancing into the mirror,announced herself in readiness to depart. "I'll lock the door on thiswreck and have it removed when I return," she said.
The registrar was writing busily, her head bent intently over her work,when Grace led the way into her office. "Good morning, Miss Sheldon,"she began. "This is Miss Eliot of the----" Grace was about to sayfreshman class when the registrar rose and came toward them withoutstretched hand.
"My dear Patience!" she exclaimed cordially, "I am so glad you arrivedat last. How is your father?"
"Much better, thank you," replied the tall girl. "We still have twonurses, but I think he is out of danger now. I hated to leave him, buthe was so worried because I had missed the first two weeks of college,that he insisted I should come on here at once. I arrived last night andwent directly to Holland House, but the matron there thought I had givenup coming, and the room I engaged by letter had been given to some oneelse only yesterday morning. She directed me to Wayne Hall, where, bythe merest luck, I m
anaged to secure half a room."
During this flow of explanations, delivered in Miss Eliot's crisp,business-like tones, Grace had listened in open amazement. This tallfreshman's manner of addressing Miss Sheldon, the dignified registrar,betokened long acquaintance, while the registrar looked as delighted asthough she had found a long-lost relative.
"I see you have fallen into good hands," said the registrar, a pleasantsmile lighting her rather austere face as she glanced at Grace.
"I am quite sure of that," responded Miss Eliot heartily. "I alsobrought disaster upon myself." An account of the morning's accidentfollowed.
"I believe you were born to disaster, Patience Eliot," laughed MissSheldon.
"I shouldn't be at all surprised," was the dry response.
"Miss Harlowe, I have known Miss Eliot since she was a little girl,"explained Miss Sheldon. "I am pleased to know that she is to live atWayne Hall. I am sure she will be happy there. I understand that theWayne Hall girls make a very congenial household."
"We try to," said Grace with a frank smile. "My three friends and I havenever lived in any other house since our freshman days. Perhaps MissEliot will find her freshman year there as delightful as we found ours."
"My freshman year!" exclaimed Miss Eliot in evident surprise.
"Yes," returned Grace rather blankly. "Aren't you a freshman? I don'tknow why I thought so, but I supposed, of course, that----" She pausedirresolutely.
Miss Sheldon and the tall girl exchanged openly smiling glances, thenthe latter turned toward Grace almost apologetically. "I am a freshmanin one sense," she said. "I have never before been to college, but asfar as work goes I studied with my father and was lucky enough to passup the freshman year. I ran down here last June to talk things over andfind where I stood. I'm a sophomore, if you please."
Grace burst into merry laughter. "Won't the girls be surprised!" sheexclaimed. "We all thought you were a freshman."
"I hadn't stopped to think of what any one else thought of me," saidPatience, "or I might have enlightened the girls at the breakfast tableas to my superior sophomore estate. They'll find out soon enough. I havea great mind to let them stumble upon the truth gradually."
"Oh, do," begged Grace gleefully. "It will be great fun to let matterstake their own course."
Miss Sheldon smiled indulgently, but made no comment. She was versed inthe ways of college girls. She, too, had been a student at Overton.
"I should like to stay longer, Miss Sheldon, but I know you are verybusy." Patience rose at last to go, Grace following her example. "Nowthat I have come to headquarters, been identified, had my thumb marksregistered and become a unit in this great and glorious organization,"went on the tall girl calmly, "I shall feel free to go forth and replaceMrs. Elwood's demolished china. I should like to put the new set on thewashstand before I tell her of the accident. Good-bye, Miss Sheldon."She held out her hand. "May I come to see you soon?"
"You know you will always be welcome, my dear."
"I wish you wouldn't tell even your roommate that I am a sophomore,"said Patience Eliot as they left the campus and turned into CollegeStreet.
"I won't," promised Grace. "I'll be a positive clam. But what about yourroommate? She will be sure to find out first, and then----" RememberingPatience Eliot's roommate Grace broke off suddenly.
"And then what?" asked the tall girl with disconcerting directness.
"Nothing," murmured Grace.
"Then we don't need to become alarmed, do we?" was the next question.
"No, not in the least," said Grace, smiling faintly. She was trying todecide whether or not she ought even to intimate to the tall,matter-of-fact girl, whom she already liked, that Kathleen West waslikely to prove a disappointment in the way of a roommate.
But the decision was not left to her, for Patience Eliot said with calmamusement in her tones: "I have a better idea of what you are thinkingthan you know. All I have to say is, don't waste a minute worrying overme. Patience Eliot will take care of herself regardless of who herroommate may be."