CHAPTER IV
GRACE MAKES A DISCOVERY
The Monday after the walking expedition, Grace Harlowe set out forschool full of an idea that had been revolving in her busy brain forweeks. The time had come for herself and for her three chums to bindthemselves together as a sorority. As charter members, they wouldinitiate four other girls, as soon as proper rites could be thought of.It should be a Greek letter society. Grace thought "Phi Sigma Tau" wouldsound well. Aside from the social part, their chief object would be tokeep a watchful eye open for girls in school who needed assistance ofany sort.
Mrs. Gray's anxiety over Eleanor Savell had set the bee in Grace'sbonnet buzzing, and now her plans were practically perfected. All thatremained to be done was to tell her three friends, and consult them asto what other four girls would be eligible to membership.
Her proposition was hailed with acclamation by Anne, Nora and Jessica.Miriam Nesbit, Marian Barber, Eva Allen and Eleanor Savell were chosenas candidates and promptly notified to report at Jessica's home the nextThursday evening for initiation. They at once accepted the invitationand solemnly promised to be there.
"'Where are you going, my pretty maid?'" said David Nesbit, stoppingdirectly in front of Grace Harlowe as she hurried toward the Bright homethe following Thursday evening.
Grace laughed merrily, dropped a little curtsy and recited, "I'm goingto an initiation, sir, she said."
"'And may I go with you, my pretty maid?'" replied David, bowing low.
"No boys allowed there, sir, she said."
"That settles it," sighed David. "I suppose a sorority is about to cometo the surface. Am I right, and will you take me along?"
"Yes, we are going to initiate members into our new sorority, but youcan't come, so you might as well be resigned to fate," retorted Grace."We didn't receive invitations to your fraternity initiations."
"Be kind to Anne, won't you. Tell her she has my sympathy," said Davidsolemnly.
"Anne is a charter member, if you please," laughed Grace. "She is sparedthe ordeals of initiation. But Miriam will not escape so easily. She isone of the candidates."
"Ah, ha!" exclaimed David. "That's what she was so mysterious over.I tried to find out where she was going, but she wouldn't tell me. Bythe way, where does the affair take place?" he added, trying to lookinnocent.
"Don't you wish you knew?" teased Grace. "However, you shan't find outfrom me. I know too well what would happen if you boys traced us to ourlair. But I must go or I shall be late. Good night, David. Please begood and don't follow me. Promise me you won't."
"I never make rash promises," answered David, smiling. "Be merciful tothe candidates." Lifting his cap, the young man hurried off and turnedthe corner without looking back.
"I wonder what I had better do," Grace mused. "I know perfectly wellthat David Nesbit won't go away. He will wait until he thinks I am farenough up the street and then he'll follow me. As soon as he finds outwhere I am going he'll rush back and hunt up Hippy Wingate and ReddyBrooks. Goodness knows what the three of them will plan."
She decided to turn down a side street, go back one block and into thepublic library. She could easily leave the library by the side entranceand cut across Putnam Square. That would mislead David, although nodoubt he would find them before the evening was over.
Grace lost no time in putting her plan into action. As she hurried intothe library she looked back, but saw no sign of David. When she reachedPutnam Square she almost ran along the broad asphalt walk. It wasfifteen minutes past seven by the city hall clock, and she did not wishto be late. The girls had agreed to be there by half past seven. She wasalmost across the square when her ear caught the sound of a low sob.Grace glanced quickly about. The square was practically deserted, butunder one of the great trees, curled up on a bench, was a girl. Withoutan instant's hesitation Grace made for the bench. She touched the girlon the shoulder and said, "You seem to be in distress. Can I do anythingto help you?"
Then Grace gave a little surprised exclamation. The face turned towardher was that of Mabel Allison, the freshman prize girl. The glare fromthe neighboring light revealed her tear-swollen eyes and quivering lips.She gave Grace one long, agonized look, then dropped her head on her armand sobbed harder than ever.
"Why, Miss Allison, don't cry so," soothed Grace. "Tell me what yourtrouble is. Perhaps I can be of some service to you. I've wanted to knowyou ever since you won the freshman prize last June, and so has AnnePierson. She won the prize the year before, you know."
The girl nodded, but she could not sufficiently control herself tospeak.
Grace stood silently waiting until the other should find her voice. Amoment more and Mabel Allison began to speak in a plaintive little voicethat went straight to Grace's heart:
"You are Grace Harlowe. I believe every girl in Oakdale High Schoolknows you. I have heard so much about you, but I never dreamed thatyou'd ever speak to me."
"Nonsense," replied Grace, laughing. "I'm just a girl like yourself.There isn't anything remarkable about me. I'm very glad to know you,Miss Allison, but I am sorry to find you so unhappy. Can't you tell meabout it?" she coaxed, sitting down on the bench and slipping one armaround the shabby little figure.
Mabel's lip quivered again. Then she turned impulsively toward Grace andsaid: "Yes; I will tell you, although no one can help me. I suppose youdon't know where I live or anything about me, do you?"
"No," replied Grace, shaking her head, "but I'd be glad to have you tellme."
"Well," continued Mabel, "I'm an orphan, and I live with Miss Brant.She----"
"Not that horrible, miserly Miss Brant who lives in that ugly yellowhouse on Elm Street?" interrupted Grace in a horrified tone.
"Yes, she is the one I mean," continued Mabel. "She took me from anorphan asylum two years ago. I hated her the first time I ever saw her,but the matron said I was old enough to work, that I'd have a good homewith her and that I should be paid for my work. She promised to send meto school, and I was wild to get a good education, so I went with her.But she is perfectly awful, and I wish I were dead."
Her voice ended almost in a wail.
"I don't blame you," said Grace sympathetically. "She has the reputationof being one of the most hateful women in Oakdale. I am surprised thatshe even allows you to go to school."
"That's just the trouble," the girl replied, her voice husky. "She'sgoing to take me out of school. I shall be sixteen next month, andexempt from the school law. So she is going to make me stop school andgo to work in the silk mill. I worked there all through vacation lastsummer, and she took every cent of my wages. She took my freshman prizemoney, too."
"What a burning shame!" exclaimed Grace indignantly. "Haven't you anyrelatives at all, Miss Allison, or any one else with whom you couldstay?"
Mabel shook her head.
"I don't know anything about myself," she said. "I was picked up on thestreet in New York City when I was three years old, and as no oneclaimed me, I was put in an orphanage. There was one woman at theorphanage who was always good to me. She remembered the day they broughtme, and she said that I was beautifully dressed. She always believedthat I had been stolen. She said that I could tell my name, 'MabelIsabel Allison,' and that I would be three years old in November, butthat I couldn't tell where I lived. Whenever they asked me I cried andsaid I didn't know. She wanted to save my clothes for me, thinking thatby them I might some day find my parents, but the matron took them awayfrom her, all but three little gold baby pins marked 'M.I.A.' She hidthem away from the matron. When she heard I was to go with Miss Brant,she kissed me, and gave them to me. She was the only person that evercared for me."
The tears stood in Grace's eyes.
"You poor, little thing!" she cried. "I care for you, and I'm going tosee if I can do something for you. You shan't stop school if I can helpit. I can't stay with you any longer, just now, because I am going toMiss Bright's and I am late. It is eight o'clock, you see."
The girl gave a little cry of fright.
"Oh, I didn't think it was so late. I know Miss Brant will be veryangry. She will probably beat me. I am still carrying the marks from thelast whipping she gave me. She sent me out on an errand, but I felt asthough I must be alone, if only for a few minutes. That's why I stoppedin the square."
"Beat you!" exclaimed Grace. "How dare she touch you? Why, I never had awhipping in my life! I won't keep you another minute, but wait for meoutside the campus when school is out to-morrow. I wish to talk furtherwith you."
"I'll come," promised Mabel, her face lighting up. Then she suddenlythrew both arms around Grace's neck and said, "I do love you, and I feelthat some one cares about me at last." Then, like a flash, she dartedacross the square and was soon lost to Grace's view.
"Well, of all things!" Grace remarked softly to herself. "I think it'shigh time we organized a sorority for the purpose of aiding girls indistress."
"You're a prompt person. Did you really decide to come?" were the criesthat greeted her from the porch as she opened the Bright's gate.
"Save your caustic comments," said Grace as she handed Jessica her hat."I have a tale to tell."
"Out with it!" was the cry, and the girls surrounded Grace, who beganwith her meeting with David, and ended with the story of Mabel Allison.
"You haven't heard anything of those boys yet, have you?" she asked whenshe had finished.
"Not yet," said Nora, "but never fear, the night is yet young."
"Where is Eleanor Savell?" asked Grace, noticing for the first time thatEleanor was not present. "You promised to go for her, didn't you, Anne?"
"I did go," replied Anne, "but she wouldn't come. She said she'd comesometime when she felt like it. She was playing on the violin when themaid let me in, and how she can play! She wanted me to stay there withher and didn't seem to understand why I couldn't break my engagementwith you girls. She said that she always kept her engagements unless thespirit moved her to do something else."
"Is Eleanor Savell the girl who comes into the study hall every morningafter opening exercises have begun?" asked Marian Barber.
"Yes," Grace answered. "I forgot for a moment that you and Eva andMiriam hadn't met her. She is really very charming, although her ideasabout punctuality and school rules are somewhat hazy as yet. She livesat 'Heartsease,' Mrs. Gray's property. I am disappointed because shewill not be here to-night. She seemed delighted when I asked her to joinour society."
"As long as we know she isn't coming, don't you think we should beginthe initiation?" asked Nora. "It is after eight o'clock and we can'tstay out too late, you know."
"Very well," said Grace. "Blindfold the candidates."
The three girls meekly submitted to the blindfolding, and the chums wereabout to lead them to the initiation chamber, when the ringing of thedoor bell caused them to start.
"It's David and the boys," said Jessica. "Shall I tell them that theycan't come in?"
"Of course," responded Nora. "You and Grace go to the door, while Anneand I stay here with our victims. Be careful they don't play you atrick."
The two girls cautiously approached the door, opening it very slowly,and saw--not the three boys--but Eleanor. She smiled serenely and said:"Good evening. I decided, after all, that I would come."
"Come right in," said Jessica cordially. "I am so glad you changed yourmind and came. The initiation is about to begin. Have you ever belongedto a secret society?"
"Never," replied Eleanor. "But now that I'm here, I am willing to tryit."
"Come this way."
"Girls," said Grace, addressing the three blindfolded girls, "this isEleanor Savell. You can't see her yet, but you may all shake hands withher. She is to be your companion in misery."
Eleanor laughed, shook hands with the others and graciously allowed Norato tie a handkerchief over her eyes.
"All ready! March!" called Grace, and the eight girls solemnly proceededto the initiation chamber.
Grace Harlowe's Junior Year at High School Page 4