Jane Allen: Center Part 15

"Oh, mercy no!" Judith almost gasped. "Helen would not see anyone. She acted like a frightened little mouse."

"Then did she get many-letters?"

"Never one that I saw," promptly replied the surprised Judith.

"Well, it is something about a boy, and a letter, and of course he had to be foreign to match up. But I know it is all plain rubbish. And I will do all in my power to run it down. Meanwhile we have to have an election," and the soft brown eyes looked wistfully into Judith's darker orbs.

"Worse luck," replied Judith. "But since we must have it, we must elect our candidate. I never felt quite so helpless. It is plain I do depend a lot on Janie."

"We all do, but this is an excellent opportunity to try out our own mettle. If I could only come right out and ask--"

"Whom?" insisted Judith with much vehemence.

"Marian Seaton, of course."

"Then, why not!"

"Because I have no defence prepared. I would not know what to say to offset her accusations. You know how horribly sneering and insinuating she is, if she would only say something intelligent one might reply, but she just smirks, and sneers, and curls those painted lips."

"Oh, easy, Nettie, don't slam Marian. She is real, at corners, you know, even if the corners are anything but square, still I am willing to admit Marian is insidious," Judith qualified.

"The smirking sn.o.b," Minette declared, losing her temper. "I have no patience with a girl in the juniors who acts like a freshling cad. It isn't as if she had not already had the benefit of two hard years'

training."

"And enough hard knocks to make the training effective," corroborated Judith. "I know all that, Nettie. But it is just the peculiar situation. Difficult problems require skilful handling, and this is a hard knot. I may as well tell you, Nettie, something about the whole thing, so we will be able to work intelligently," Judith suddenly decided.

"Seems to me every one is holding conference with every one else,"

remarked Minette, seeking out a safe place in which to continue their talk. "I wonder how they will ever get together for the line up?"

"I have tried to take care of that for our party," Judith answered. "We have arranged to meet directly after supper on the South Slope. When we call the roll and give the handshake, we will know if we have any spies among us. Then, when all is fixed, we will take the hall by storm and put our ticket through before the freshmen know what is going on. Of course, they may have a plan better than ours and may swamp us," Judith finished, a little dubiously.

"Oh, there is Jane! She is looking for us. What shall we do now? We can never plan with her listening," exclaimed Minette, regretfully.

"Got to postpone it a little," Judith said hurriedly. "h.e.l.lo, Janie.

What's the war cry?"

"Judy, dear, I hate to be so emphatic, but I really can't let you go on with this electioneering for me. I will not run." Jane struck a rigid pose and spoke with unmistakable emphasis.

"But why?" gasped Minette, before Judith could speak.

"It is too long a story to tell in a moment," Jane replied very seriously, "but you must believe me, when I say, I cannot run."

Judith bit her red lips until her wonderful teeth threatened to take root outside of their limits. She was saying yes, just as emphatically as Jane was saying no. The two heads were all but wagging, and each wigwagged a very different meaning.

"You still feel all that old stuff about being a Westerner and having had squabbles during your fresh year," blurted Judith. "You know, perfectly well, Jane Allen, all the whole college admires you, and you won't let us have our way. Now, do you call that fair play?"

"Well, Judith, I have to think of-other things. You may imagine every one likes me, but I have a perfectly good pair of working ears and I have not wadded them up for the last few days. From what I have unwillingly heard, I can judge of what I didn't hear," and Jane smiled that old-time determined Allen smile, the pride of her father. Could he have seen her now he would have openly rejoiced. Jane a.s.sumed a distinctive att.i.tude. It proclaimed "No Compromise."

"Perhaps, if I skip along, you two may fight it out in comfort,"

suggested Minette. "I'll away-and-see-some-folks," she finished enigmatically. But Judith had the interpretive key.

CHAPTER XIV-BAFFLING STRATEGY

"Shh! Ss.h.!.+ Careful!"

"Keep back, Ted. They'll see your feet!"

"No bigger than yours!"

"Hush there, you two rowdies. Do you want to have us all captured?"

"Larry is pinching me!"

"Never saw such babies. We will run you all home, if you don't behave.

I wish I had the other line to lead. They would-obey."

"Hush, kids. We'll be expelled. But isn't it too funny?"

"Might be for you, but I'm choked. If I don't get this mask off soon I'll collapse and you'll have a real funeral."

t.i.tters and gasps, m.u.f.fled giggles and escaping "S-sis.h.!.+" like a steam valve leaking noise, the sophs and their co-workers among the freshmen were crowding around Oak Hall for the all-absorbing election. As usual on this occasion the fres.h.i.+es were in a panic of fun. They knew nothing of the agony of being captured by the juniors, and the masked line with the perfect disguise of gym uniform, and the head winders, found more ways of giving expression to forbidden mirth than even their giggling reputation credited them with. "The Babes," ever fractious, were simply exasperating to-night, and Judith, with her scouts, more than once threatened to drive them home to bed at the very next whimper.

Directly back of Oak Hall the plotters plotted. They were to a.s.semble there, rush into the hall at a given signal, and put the election over before the other contingent gained their bearings.

"All counted?" whispered Judith.

"Yes," replied Dozia Dalton, "and some to spare."

"Sure they're ours?" cautioned Judith again.

"They had the grip," replied Dozia.

"And the pa.s.s word?"

"I didn't try it."

"We have to-spies could defeat us."

"All right. Wait," and the fearless Dozia crept through the line of masked figures until she reached number forty-eight. Here she halted.

"Grip?" she whispered, and the figure gripped.

"Pa.s.sword?" she ordered again, but no word came.