CHAPTER XI
ANNE WINS A VICTORY
The pleasurable excitement of making the team and receiving theinvitation to the spread had driven all thought of the conversationoverheard by Anne from Grace's mind. Above all things Grace wished ifpossible to establish friendly relations with every member of her class.Now that she and her friends were invited to Morton House they wouldmeet a number of new girls. The Morton House girls had the reputation ofbeing both jolly and hospitable. Grace had the feeling that so far theyhad made little or no social headway among their classmates. Aside fromRuth Denton and the students at Wayne Hall they knew practically noother freshmen.
"This spread will help us to get in touch with some of the girls wedon't know," she confided to Anne while dressing that night for theparty.
"I hope so," replied Anne. "We seem to be rather slow about makingfriends here at Overton; that is, among the freshmen. We really knowmore upper class girls, don't we?"
"Yes," assented Grace. "But after to-night things will be different."
It was only a few minutes' walk to Morton House and the four girlsenjoyed the brief stroll.
"I wonder if we're too early," said Grace, consulting her watch. "Itlacks three minutes of being half-past seven. That's Morton House, isn'tit?" pointing at the substantial brick house just ahead of them. Thelittle party climbed the stone steps. Miriam rang the bell. Almostinstantly the door opened and Gertrude Wells smilingly ushered them intothe hall. "So glad you have come," she said. "All the other girls arehere."
"We need not have been afraid of being too early, then," laughed Grace.
"Hardly," smiled Gertrude, "the majority of us live here. There aretwenty freshmen in this house, and we invited ten more from outside.Thirty girls in all, but the living room is large enough to hold us, andMrs. Kane doesn't mind if we make a good deal of noise. Come upstairs tomy room and take off your wraps. Then we'll join the crowd." A littlelater they followed their hostess downstairs to the big living room,that seemed fairly overflowing with girls. The buzz of conversationceased as they entered. Gertrude introduced them one after another tothe assembled crowd of young women, who received them with varyingdegrees of cordiality.
Anne's observant eyes noted that one group of girls in the corner barelyacknowledged the introduction. She also noted that the two freshmenwhose conversation she had overheard at the reception formed the centerof that group. The four girls found seats at one end of the room and theconversation began again louder than ever. Grace and Miriam foundthemselves surrounded by half a dozen girls who were eager to know wherethey had learned to play basketball. Elfreda espied two freshmen whorecited history in the same class with her and was soon deep inconversation with them. Anne, being left to her own devices, sat quietlywatching the throng of animated faces around her. With her, the study offaces was a favorite pastime, and she furtively watched the little knotof girls, whose lack of cordiality had been so noticeable to her.
They were carrying on a low-toned conversation among themselves, and bythe frequent glances that were being cast first in the direction ofGrace, then Elfreda, Anne knew that the story of Elfreda's report to theregistrar was being talked over. Anne felt her anger rising. Why shouldGrace be made to suffer for Elfreda's mistake, and why should Elfredahave her freshman year spoiled on account of that mistake. Of course, noone liked a tale bearer, but Elfreda would never again tell tales.Besides, why should the freshmen undertake to champion the cause of twosophomores, unless the latter had entirely misrepresented things?
Anne could never tell what prompted her to rise and stroll over to thegroup. The young women were so busily engaged in their conversation thatthey did not notice her approach. Anne heard one of them say in adisgusted tone, "I can't understand why Gertrude invited them. She knowswe dislike them."
"She seems very friendly with them," grumbled another girl. "If I hadknown they were to be here I should have stayed upstairs or gone outrather than meet them. They showed extremely bad taste acceptingGertrude's invitation."
"Perhaps they don't know that we are down on them," suggested apale-faced girl rather timidly.
"Of course they know it," sputtered one of the two disgruntled freshmen."Nell and I almost cut that Miss Harlowe the other morning. Don't try tostand up for her, Lillian. She and that Miss Briggs are beneath thenotice of the really nice girls here. Overton doesn't want bullies andtale-bearers. They're not in accordance with college spirit."
The contempt with which these words were uttered stung Anne to action.Stepping forward she said quietly, although her eyes flashed, "Pardonme, but I could not help hearing what you said. Will you permit me tospeak a few words in defense of my friend, Grace Harlowe?"
An astonished silence fell over the group of girls. Before one of themhad time to recover from her surprise at Anne's intrusion, she began tospeak in low tones that attracted no attention outside themselves, butwhose earnestness carried conviction to those listening:
"You are evidently not in possession of the true account of whathappened to Miss Briggs the day she came to Overton. You know, perhaps,that two sophomores took advantage of her verdancy and hazed her.Perhaps they neglected to state, however, that they accepted herinvitation to eat ice cream before they returned her hospitality byconducting her to the hall of a public building where they left her towait for the registrar. Considering the fact that she was tired from herlong ride, and had had no supper, I think it was an extremely poorexhibition of the much vaunted Overton spirit. It was late that nightbefore she reached her boarding house. She was naturally indignant andnext day reported the matter to the registrar. This, I must admit, wasunwise on her part. She is very sorry, now, that she did so."
"All this is not news to us," snapped Marian Cummings, one of the twofreshmen Anne had overheard at the reception. She stared insolently atAnne.
"But what I am about to tell you will perhaps surprise you," Anneanswered evenly. "Miss Briggs received a note purporting to come fromthe whole sophomore class. The writer of the note threatened her withvague penalties if she attended the sophomore reception, and practicallyordered her to leave college."
The girls looked at one another without answering. This silence showedonly too plainly that this was indeed news.
"Miss Briggs showed the letter to Miss Nesbit, her roommate, and to MissHarlowe," Anne continued composedly. "She was heartbroken over it andwould have left Overton if Miss Harlowe had not persuaded her to stay.Miss Harlowe did a little investigating on her own account. Shesuspected two sophomores of being responsible for the letter, believingthe rest of the class knew nothing about it. She called on the two youngwomen and forced them to admit their knowledge of the note. Both deniedwriting it. It is evident that they have misrepresented matters amongtheir friends. As far as Grace Harlowe is concerned she is utterlyincapable of doing a mean or dishonorable act. We were classmates inhigh school and she was beloved by all who knew her."
Anne paused and glanced almost appealingly around the circle of tensefaces. Then Elizabeth Wade, the other hostile freshman, said slowly:"Girls, I am inclined to think we have been imposed upon. Miss Pierson,I will be perfectly frank with you. We knew nothing about the note.Personally, I consider it an outrageous thing to do, and in directviolation of what we are taught regarding college spirit. Briefly, whatwe did hear was that Miss Briggs had reported two sophomores for playingan innocent trick on her, and that Miss Harlowe had urged her to do so.Also that Miss Harlowe had visited the two upper classmen and, afterrating them in a very ill-bred manner, had ordered them to apologize toMiss Briggs."
Anne smiled. "I can't help smiling," she apologized. "If you knew Graceas I know her, you'd smile, too."
Marian Cummings's face softened. "I do wish to know her, now," shesmiled. "After what you've told us I think the rest of us feel the same.I'm glad you made us listen to you, Miss Pierson."
"So am I," "and I," agreed the other girls.
Anne's face flushed with joy at her victory. "I hope 19---- will be thebest
class Overton has ever turned out," she said simply, "and I hopethat any misunderstandings that may arise will be cleared away as easilyas this one has been."
"Suppose we go over and congratulate Miss Harlowe on her playing thisafternoon," proposed a tall freshman, "and we might incidentally pay ourrespects to Miss Briggs. We must help her to live up to her goodresolutions, you know," she added slyly.
Anne was in a maze of delight at her success. The other guests had beenso busily engaged with their own little groups, no one of them hadoverheard Anne's defense of her friend. Grace, who was giving an eageraccount of the famous game that won her team the championship during hersophomore year at high school, looked up in surprise at the crowd ofmerry girls which suddenly surrounded her. For an instant she lookedamazed, then smiled at them in the frank, straightforward fashion thatalways made friends for her.
Gertrude Wells, who, with three other freshmen, had been in the kitchenpreparing the refreshments, appeared in the door just in time to see thegirls surround Grace. She smiled contentedly, and nodding to thefluffy-haired little girl standing beside her said gleefully: "What didI tell you? Look in there."
The fluffy-haired little girl obeyed. "How did you do it?" was the quickanswer.
"They did it themselves. I just did the inviting and they did the rest.Of course there was a certain amount of chance that they wouldn't gettogether, but it was worth taking. After meeting her this afternoon Ifelt sure that the girls were wrong, but I wished them to find out forthemselves. How it happened, I don't know, but we are sure to hear thestory after the party is over."
While Gertrude Wells was congratulating herself on the success of herexperiment, Grace Harlowe was remarking to Miriam Nesbit that shethought Gertrude Wells would be an ideal president from 19---- and thatshe intended pointing out this fact to the freshmen of Wayne Hall.