CHAPTER XII
THE VIGILANTES
The weeks immediately following the Christmas holidays were alwayshard ones at St. Helen's. This year was no exception to the experienceof every other year. The weather was cold and snowy, the girls werehomesick, or, as was too often the case, half ill and listless fromtoo many sweets and too much gayety during the vacation. Lessons wereoften poorly learned or not learned at all. In short, the St. Helen'sfaculty dreaded January, and the St. Helen's girls hated it.
"It's the worst month in the whole year," remarked Priscilla, standingby her window one Saturday afternoon, and watching a cold northeaststorm whirl the snow-flakes from a gray, forbidding sky. "January'sthe out-of-sorts month, and every one in this whole school isout-of-sorts, too. I wish it were Christmas over again!"
"So do I," said Virginia from the other window.
Virginia had just caught the out-of-sorts epidemic. For a week atleast after her return from Vermont, the memory of her own joyousChristmas had kept her happy. It had been such a lovely two weeks! Sheand her grandmother had grown to be such good friends. Virginiaactually dared believe that her grandmother did not now disapprove ofher in the least. She and Aunt Nan had had such a happy, jollyvacation; and even the Rev. Samuel Baxter had been most gracious, notonce mentioning Korean missions or the sale of Bibles. But evenmemories were not proof against a general atmosphere of discontent,and she was beginning to be infected.
"There goes Dorothy in all this snow," announced Priscilla a momentlater. "She's carrying books, too. Where's she going, I wonder?"
She rapped on the window. Dorothy either did not hear or did notchoose to. The latter would be more thoroughly in keeping with herJanuary disposition.
"I know. She's failed in geometry every day since we came back, andhas to take private lessons with Miss Wells. Of course she didn't tellme, but I know she's failed because she's in my division. Bess Shepardtold me yesterday that Dorothy was going to take lessons with her ofMiss Wells in the afternoon. Bess was sick, you know, and she's makingup lost time. That's how I know."
Priscilla turned suddenly from the window and sat down on the couch.
"Virginia," she said, "I'm desperately worried about Dorothy. It isn'tbeing untrue to her to talk with you about her, because you are herfriend, too. She isn't a bit the way she was last year. She doesn'tseem to care about lots of things the way she did then and when shewas at our house this summer. Don't you think she's different fromwhat she was even in September?"
Virginia left the window and sat beside her roommate.
"Yes," she said, "she is different. She laughs at things now that shedidn't then; and she seems to be afraid of taking sides about things.I mean, whether anything's fair or not. She never likes to say whatshe thinks any more, like she used to."
"That's Imogene. I think it's almost all Imogene." Priscilla's voicewas lowered to a whisper. "Dorothy likes Imogene because she has sucha don't-care way about things, and because she has so much money, anddresses better than any girl in school, though _I_ think her clothesare a sight! Mother thought Dorothy was different when she was hereThanksgiving. She noticed it. I wish Imogene Meredith had never comehere!"
Virginia's voice was also lowered. "She doesn't give Vivian a chanceeither. I think Vivian's dear and sweet; but Imogene makes her doeverything she says, and poor Vivian's so easily influenced, she doesit. You know what I'm thinking about especially?"
Priscilla nodded. She knew. They were both thinking of the "Flood," asSt. Helen's now termed it, and of how Imogene had tried to shift theblame from her own shoulders on those of poor Vivian and unconsciousVirginia.
"Of course I know. I told you then 'twas just like her. And Dorothyknew about that, too. I'm sure she did! She's so quiet whenever it'smentioned, and looks ashamed. And lately Dorothy's even been teasingVivian, just as Imogene does, about that silly Leslie, who alwaysgives Vivian extra large cakes at the 'Forget-me-not.' Oh, dear! Idon't suppose there's anything I can do, but it worries me. Dorothy'smy best friend along with you, and I don't want her to grow likeImogene. Can you keep a secret if I tell you one?"
"Of course, I can."
"Well, Dorothy visited Imogene at Christmas time. Not the wholevacation, because she spent most of it with her aunt in New York. Youknow, her mother is dead, and her father is in California most of thetime, so she spends vacations with her aunt. She was there for a weekand a half, and then she went to Albany and visited Imogene, and thatis why they came back together. They were late, too, because theystayed for a party Imogene gave. And the thing I mind most is thatDorothy never told she'd been there at all, just as though it were asecret. Only Vivian was at the party, and she mentioned it just asthough I knew. Mother asked Dorothy to come home with me--mother feelssorry that she hasn't really any family like ours--but Dorothy said heraunt wasn't going to let her go anywhere this vacation. It isn't thatI minded her not coming to us, you know, but I don't like to have herso much with Imogene, and, besides, I can't see why they keep it sosecret."
Priscilla finished, troubled. Virginia was troubled, too, for sheloved Dorothy, even though of late Dorothy had not seemed to care somuch for her. She remembered the day she had first seen Priscilla andDorothy at the station, and Dorothy's resolutions in regard to grades.
"Dorothy hasn't gotten all _A's_ the way she planned in September, hasshe?"
"I think she had _B's_ on her fall card, because she was ashamed ofit, and wouldn't show it to mother at Thanksgiving. I know she hasn'tdone so well in class as she did last year. Miss Wallace and MissAllan have reproved her more than once. And you know the house-meetingwe had when Mary said The Hermitage couldn't win the scholarship cupaway from Hathaway unless some of us who were getting _B's_, got _A's_for a change? Well, Dorothy just cut Mary for two days after that, andshe isn't nice to her now. It does seem too bad when we've decided totry extra hard for the cup that Imogene and Dorothy pull us down. EvenVivian's been getting _A's_, and Lucile's doing better all the time,isn't she?"
"Yes, she is. Even in English she's really trying; and she's fine inFrench and Latin and geometry. Do you think Dorothy likes Miss Wallaceas much as she used?"
"That's Imogene again. She called Miss Wallace Dorothy's 'idol' allthe fall in that sneering way she has, and now Dorothy acts ashamed toshow she loves Miss Wallace. She doesn't go to see her the way she didlast year. Last year, if she were troubled about anything, she wentright to Miss Wallace. Oh, dear, what shall we do?"
Virginia did not answer for a moment. She was thinking.
"Isn't life queer?" she said at last thoughtfully. "It all goescrooked when you most want it to go straight. But I have an idea,Priscilla. Let's be Vigilantes!"
"Vi-gi-lan-tes! What's that?"
"Why, don't you know about the Vigilantes? No, I don't suppose you do.Even Miss Wallace didn't till I told her. Why, the Vigilantes werebrave men in the early days when the Pioneers were just going intoMontana and Wyoming and the other States out there. You see, when theydiscovered that those States had such rich lands for wheat, and hillsfor cattle, and gold mines--especially the gold--people just flockedthere by thousands. And, of course, there were many thieves andcutthroats and lawless men who went, too, and they just became theterror of the country.
"They rode swift horses, and they knew all the passes in themountains. When they heard a train of men and horses was coming fromthe mines, they would lie in wait in the mountains and come down uponthem, steal their gold and horses and murder any who resisted. Itwasn't safe to take any journeys in those days."
"Well, but why did the people allow it? Why weren't they arrested?"Priscilla in her interest had forgotten all about being out-of-sorts.
"Why, you see the people couldn't help it at first. The country was sovery new that law hadn't been made. The government did send judges outthere; but there were so many lawless men that they threatened eventhe judges; and, besides, these robbers were perfectly wonderfulshots, and they would scare the people so terribly that they were gladto
get away with their lives.
"But by and by things grew so bad, and so many innocent persons whodared oppose the robbers were shot down, that some men bandedtogether, and called themselves the Vigilantes. They pledgedthemselves to watch out for evil-doers, to stand for fair play, and toput a stop to robbery and murder. Of course, it was very hard atfirst, and many of the Vigilantes lost their lives; but pretty soonother bands were formed in the other towns, and they kept on, nomatter how discouraged they were at times. They used to post signs onthe roads that led to towns; and sometimes they would draw in redchalk on a cliff or even on the paving in town, warning the robbersand murderers that if they came into that place they would becaptured."
"What did they do if they captured them?"
"They most usually hung them to a tree. The big tall cottonwoods outthere are called 'gallows trees,' because they used to hang so many totheir branches. It seems wicked now, of course," Virginia explained,seeing the horror on Priscilla's face, "to kill them likethat--sometimes even without a trial. But really, Priscilla, theycouldn't do anything else in order to save the good people fromdanger."
"No, of course, they couldn't. Mustn't it have been exciting?"
"Exciting? I rather think it was exciting! Jim used to tell me aboutit. There was one place in Montana named Virginia City where therewere many of the Vigilantes. You see, there were very rich gold minesthere, and that meant there were lawless men, too. Jim was there once,and he could remember some of the Vigilantes. He said there was oneawful man who had killed scores of persons, and who was the terror ofthe whole country. And the strangest part of it was, he wasnice-looking and talked like a gentleman. The Vigilantes watched forhim for ten years before they got him."
"Did they hang him from a cottonwood, too?"
"Yes; and Jim said when they had put the rope around his neck, andwere just going to lead his horse from under him he burst out laughingat them all, and said, 'Good-by, boys. I'm mighty sorry I can't tellyou by and by how it feels to be hung. It's the only Westernexperience I've never enjoyed.'"
"After all he certainly was brave to die like that, laughing. He hadMargaret of Salisbury's spirit. I always loved her, especially whenshe said if they wanted her head they must take it with her standing.Virginia, you know more thrilling stories than any one I ever knew. Itjust makes me wild to go away out there and visit you. Do you supposeI ever shall?"
"Yes, I just know you're coming. I shouldn't wonder if this very nextsummer. I feel it inside me. We can be Vigilantes for sure out there.That's just where they belong. But don't you think we could be sort ofVigilantes here--standing as they did for fair play and "--she loweredher voice "watching out for evil-doers?"
Priscilla was enthusiastic over the idea. It seemed so different andoriginal. Besides, it really did mean something to try to stand forfair play, and to watch out for anything--any evil influence, forexample--that might harm those you loved.
"We'll especially try to see that Vivian isn't so easily influenced,"Virginia whispered, "and we'll try our best to help Dorothy to be likeshe used to be. Only they mustn't know we're trying. That would spoilit all."
"Shall we ask any one else to join?" asked Priscilla.
"We might ask Mary. She's really a Vigilante anyway, being a monitor."
"Suppose we tell her about it, and ask her to be adviser. You see,where she's monitor, she can't take sides just as we can, and maybeshe'd think she'd better not join. It's going to be a SecretOrganization, isn't it?"
"Oh, of course. Secret things always seem more important. Let's drawup the constitution this minute. I like to feel settled."
Pen and ink were found, and within fifteen minutes the composition ofthe organization was complete, Virginia being the Thomas Jefferson ofthe occasion.
"I'll read it aloud," said the author, "so that we can tell if itsounds right.
"'We, the undersigned, on this 20th day of a sad January, do hereby announce in the sacred presence of each other, that we are Vigilantes of St. Helen's. We are bound by our honor as friends and room-mates to secrecy, and to an earnest performance of our work as true Vigilantes. We deplore the evil influence of ---- ----, and we promise to strive to off-set that influence especially in regard to ---- ---- and ---- ----. We are going to try to stand at all times for fair play, and real friendship. We appoint ---- ---- as our trusted adviser. At present we are the sole members of the Vigilante Order.
"'Signed "'Priscilla Alden Winthrop. "'Virginia Webster Hunter.'
"I put blanks instead of names," explained Virginia, signing her nameafter Priscilla. "It seems more like an organization some way, and,besides, we understand. Now, we are real Vigilantes, Priscilla."
They shook hands solemnly. The paper was sealed with an extravagantamount of sealing wax, and stuffed with much secrecy into a rent ofVirginia's mattress. Then the two Vigilantes, feeling much revived inspirits, invited the disconsolate Vivian to join them, and went for awalk in the snow.