Betty Wales, Freshman Part 18

"Madame president, I move that the freshman representative aforesaid be chosen by the chair. Of course," she went on less formally, turning to the girls, "that is by far the quickest way, and Jean knows the girls as a whole so well--much better than any of us, I'm sure. I think that a lot depends on choosing just the right person for our debater, and we ought not to trust to a haphazard election."

"Haphazard is good," muttered the loquacious freshman, in tones plainly audible at the front of the room.

"Of course that means a great responsibility for me," murmured the president modestly.

"Put it to vote," commanded a voice from the front row, which was always occupied by the ruling faction. "And remember, all of you, that if we ballot for representative we don't get out of here till four o'clock."

The motion was summarily put to vote, and the ayes had it at once, as the ayes are likely to do unless a matter has been thoroughly discussed.

"I name Eleanor Watson, then," said Miss Eastman with suspicious promptness. "Will somebody move to adjourn?"

"Well, of all ridiculous appointments!" exclaimed the loquacious girl under cover of the applause and the noise of moving chairs.

"Right you are!" responded Katherine, laughing at Adelaide Rich's disgusted expression.

But Betty was smiling happily with her eyes on the merry group around Eleanor. "Aren't you glad, girls?" she said. "Won't she do well, and won't the house be proud of her?"

"I for one never noticed that she was a single bit humorous," began Mary indignantly.

Katherine pinched her arm vigorously. "Don't! What's the use?" she whispered.

"Nor I, but I suppose Miss Eastman knows that she can be funny,"

answered Betty confidently, as she hurried off to congratulate Eleanor.

She was invited to the supper to be given at Cuyler's that night in Eleanor's honor, and went home blissfully unconscious that half the cla.s.s was talking itself hoa.r.s.e over Jean Eastman's bad taste in appointing a notorious "cutter" and "flunker" to represent them on so important an occasion, just because she happened to be the best dressed and prettiest girl in the Hill crowd.

The next afternoon most of the girls were at gym or the library, and Betty, who was still necessarily excused from her daily exercise, was working away on her Latin, when some one knocked imperatively on her door. It was Jean Eastman.

"Good-afternoon, Miss Wales," she said hurriedly. "Will you lend me a pencil and paper? Eleanor has such a habit of keeping her desk locked, and I want to leave her a note."

She scribbled rapidly for a moment, frowned as she read through what she had written, and looked doubtfully from it to Betty. Then she rose to go. "Will you call her attention to this, please?" she said. "It's very important. And, Miss Wales,--if she should consult you, do advise her to resign quietly and leave it to me to smooth things over."

"Resign?" repeated Betty vaguely.

"Yes," said Jean. "You see--well, I might as well tell you now, that I've said so much. The faculty object to her taking the debate. Perhaps you know that she's very much in their black books but I didn't. And I never dreamed that they would think it any of their business who was our debater, but I a.s.sure you they do. At least half a dozen of them have spoken to me about her poor work and her cutting. They say that she is just as much ineligible for this as she would be for the musical clubs or the basket-ball team. Now what I want is for Eleanor to write a sweet little note of resignation to-night, so that I can appoint some one else bright and early in the morning."

Betty's eyes grew big with anxiety. "But won't the girls guess the reason?" she cried. "Think how proud Eleanor is, Miss Eastman. It would hurt her terribly if any one found out that she had been conditioned.

You shouldn't have told me--indeed you shouldn't!"

Jean laughed carelessly. "Well, you know now, and there's no use crying over spilt milk. I used that argument about the publicity of the affair to the faculty, but it was no go. So the only thing for you to do is to help Eleanor write a nice, convincing note of resignation that I can read at the next meeting, when I announce my second appointment."

"But Eleanor won't ask my help," said Betty decidedly, "and, besides, what can she say, after accepting all the congratulations, and having the supper?"

Jean laughed again. "I'm afraid you're not a bit ingenious, Miss Wales,"

she said rising to go, "but fortunately Eleanor is. Good-bye."

When Betty handed Eleanor the note she read it through unconcernedly, unconcernedly tore it into bits as she talked, and spent the entire evening, apparently, in perfect contentment and utter idleness, strumming softly on her guitar.

The next morning Betty met Jean on the campus. "Did she tell you?" asked Jean.

Betty shook her head.

"I thought likely she hadn't. Well, what do you suppose? She won't resign. She says that there's no real reason she can give, and that she's now making it a rule to tell the truth; that I'm in a box, not she, and I may climb out of it as best as I can."

"Did she really say that?" demanded Betty, a note of pleasure in her voice.

"Yes," snapped Jean, "and since you're so extremely cheerful over it, perhaps you can tell me what to do next."

Betty stared at her blankly. "I forgot," she said. "The girls mustn't know. We must cover it up somehow."

"Exactly," agreed Jean crossly, "but what I want to know is--how."

"Why not ask the cla.s.s to choose its speaker? All the other cla.s.ses did."

Jean looked doubtful. "I know they did. That would make it very awkward for me, but I suppose I might say there had been dissatisfaction--that's true enough,--and we could have it all arranged----Well, when I call a meeting, be sure to come and help us out."

The meeting was posted for Sat.u.r.day, and all the Chapin house girls, except Helen, who never had time for such things, and Eleanor, attended it. Eleanor was expecting a caller, she said. Besides, as she hadn't been to cla.s.ses in the morning there was no sense in emphasizing the fact by parading through the campus in the afternoon.

At the last minute she called Betty back. "Paul may not get over to-day," she said. "Won't you come home right off to tell me about it?

I--well, you'll see later why I want to know--if you haven't guessed already."

The cla.s.s of 19-- had an inkling that something unusual was in the wind and had turned out in full force. There was no need of waiting for a quorum this time. After the usual preliminaries Jean Eastman rose and began a halting, nervous little speech.

"I have heard," she began, "that is--a great many people in and out of the cla.s.s have spoken to me about the matter of the Was.h.i.+ngton's Birthday debate. I mean, about the way in which our debater was appointed. I understand there is a great deal of dissatisfaction--that some of the cla.s.s say they did not understand which way they were voting, and so on. So I thought you might like to reconsider your vote.

I certainly, considering position in the matter, want you to have the chance to do so. Now, can we have this point thoroughly discussed?"

Then, as no one rose, "Miss Wales, won't you tell us what you think?"

Betty stared helplessly at Jean for a moment and then, a.s.sisted by vigorous pushes from Katherine and Rachel, who sat on either side of her, rose hesitatingly to her feet. "Miss Eastman,--I mean, madame president," she began. She stopped for an instant to look at her audience. Apparently the cla.s.s of 19-- was merely astonished and puzzled by Jean's suggestion; there was no indication that any one--except possibly a few of the Hill girls--had any idea of her motive. "Madame president," repeated Betty, forcing back the lump that had risen in her throat when she realized that the keeping of Eleanor's secret lay largely with her, "Miss Watson is my friend, and I was very much pleased to have her for our representative. But I do feel, and I believe the other girls do, as they come to think it over, that it would have been better to elect our representative. Then we should every one of us have had a direct interest in the result of the debate. Besides, all the other cla.s.ses elected theirs, and so I think, if Miss Watson is willing----"

"Miss Watson is perfectly willing," broke in Jean. "A positive engagement unfortunately prevents her being here to say so, but she authorized me to state that she preferred the elective choice herself, and to tell you to do just as you think best in the matter. She----Go on, Miss Wales."

"Oh, that was all," said Betty hastily slipping back into her seat.

A group of girls in the farthest corner of the room clapped vigorously.

"Nothing cut-and-dried about that," whispered Katherine to Adelaide Rich.

"Are there any more remarks?" inquired the president. No one seemed anxious to speak, and she went on rather aimlessly. "Miss Wales has really covered the ground, I think. The other cla.s.ses all elected their debaters, and I fancy they want us to do the same. As for the faculty--well, I may as well say that they almost insist upon a change."

"Good crawl," whispered Katherine, who was quick to put two and two together, to Adelaide Rich, who never got the point of any but the most obvious remarks, and who now looked much perplexed.

Meanwhile Betty had been holding whispered consultations with some of the girls around her, and now she rose again. Her "madame president" was so obviously prior to Kate Denise's that when Kate was recognized there was an ominous murmur of discontent and Jean apologized and promptly reversed her decision.

"Perhaps I oughtn't to speak twice," said Betty blus.h.i.+ng at the commotion she had caused, "but if we are to change our vote, some of us think it would be fun to hold a preliminary debate now, and choose our speaker on her merits. We did that once at school----"

"Good stunt," called some one.

"I move that Miss Wales as chairman select a committee of arrangements, and that we have a five minute recess while the committee meets."