CHAPTER XIII
BEGINNINGS
Youth adapts itself easily and naturally to all change. Ruth Fieldingand her chum, before that second evening at Briarwood Hall drew in,felt as though they had known the place for months and some of thegirls all their lives. It was thus the most natural thing in the worldto assemble at meals when the school-bell tapped its summons, to standwhile the grace was being said, to chatter and laugh with those at thetable at which they sat, to speak and laugh with the waitresses, andwith old Tony Foyle, and with Miss Scrimp, the matron of their house,and to bow respectfully to Miss Picolet, Miss Kennedy, the Englishteacher; Miss O'Hara, before whom Ruth and Helen would come inmathematics, and the other teachers as they learned their names.
Dr. Tellingham, although affording some little amusement for the pupilsbecause of his personal peculiarities, was really considered by thegirls in general a deeply learned man, and when he chanced to trot by agroup of the students on the campus, in his stoop-shouldered, purblindway, their voices became hushed and they looked after him as though hereally was all he pretended to be--or all he thought he was. He delvedin histories--ate, slept, and seemed to draw the breath of his nostrilsfrom histories. That the pamphlets and books he wrote were of trivialimportance, and seldom if ever saw the light of print, was not mademanifest to the Briarwood girls in general.
Ruth and Helen were not unpopular from the start. Helen was so prettyand so vivacious, that she was bound to gather around her almost atonce those girls who were the more easily attracted by such a nature;while for Ruth's part, the little Primes found that she was both kindand loving. She did not snub the smaller girls who came to her for anyhelp, and before this day was over (which was Friday) they began tosteal into the chums' duet, in twos and threes, to talk with RuthFielding. It had been so at the school near the Red Mill, and Ruth wasglad the little folk took to her.
Late in the afternoon the two friends from Cheslow went out to the mainentrance of the grounds to meet Old Dolliver's stage from Seven Oaks.It had been noised abroad that a whole _nursery_ of Infants wasexpected by that conveyance, and Mary Cox and Madge Steele, each withher respective committee, were in waiting to greet the new-comers onbehalf of their separate societies.
"And we'll welcome them as fellow-infants," whispered Ruth to Helen."Let's hold a reception in our room this evening to all the newcomers.What say, Helen?"
Her chum was a little doubtful as to the wisdom of this course. Shedid not like to offend their friends in the Upedes. Yet the suggestionattracted Helen, too.
"I suppose if we freshmen stick together we'll have a better time,after all," she agreed.
As the time for the appearance of the stage drew near, approximatelyhalf the school was gathered to see the Infants disembark from OldDolliver's Ark. Mary Cox arranged her Upedes on one side of the pathand they began to sing:
"Uncle Noah, he drove an Ark-- One wide river to cross! He made a landing at Briarwood Park-- One wide river to cross! One wide river! One wide river of Jordan! One wide river! One wide river to cross!"
Old Dolliver, all one wide grin and flapping duster, drove his bonyhorses to the stopping place with a flourish.
"Here we be!" he croaked. "The old craft is jest a-bulgin' over withInfants."
Mary Cox pulled open the door and the first newcomer popped out asthough she had been clinging to the handle when The Fox made themovement.
"The Infants got out, one by one-- One wide river to cross! First Infant bumps into a great big Stone-- One wide river to cross!"
And there really was Heavy to receive the newcomer with open arms, whosaid, while the others chanted the refrain:
"My name's Jennie Stone, and you're very welcome to Briarwood, andwhat's your name, Infant?"
The girls in the stage-coach had been forewarned by Old Dolliver as totheir probable greeting, and they took this all in good part. Theydisembarked with their bags and parcels, while Tony Foyle appeared tohelp Old Dolliver down with the heavier luggage that was strapped uponthe roof and in the boot behind. Mary Cox continued to line out thedoggerel, inventing some telling hits as she went along, while theUpedes came in strongly on the refrain.
There was much laughter and confusion; but the arriving Infants werelined up two by two between the long rows of Briarwood girls and wereforced to march toward the Hall by this narrow path.
"Come! we are Infants, too," exclaimed Ruth, pulling Helen by thesleeve. "We will lead the march."
She drew her chum away with her, and they introduced themselves to thegirls at the head of the column of freshies.
"We are Helen Cameron and Ruth Fielding," said Ruth, cordially. "Weonly got here yesterday, so we are Infants, too. We will take you tothe office of the Preceptress."
So the chums bore their share of the indignity of being marched upthrough the grounds like culprits, and halted the file at the steps ofthe main building.
"We have Duet Number 2 in the West Dormitory," said Ruth, boldly, tothe new-comers. "When you have found your rooms and got settled--aftersupper, that will be,--you are all invited to come to our room and getacquainted with the other Infants. We're going to get as many togetherthis evening as we can. Now, _do_ come!"
"Oh, Ruth!" whispered Helen, when they were out of ear-shot of theothers. "What will the Upedes say?"
"We're not interfering with either of the school clubs," declared herchum, emphatically. "But I guess it won't hurt us to become acquaintedwith those who are as new here as ourselves. The old girls don't feelstrange, or lost; it is these new ones that need to be made to feel athome."
Timid for herself, Ruth had begun to develop that side of her characterwhich urged her to be bold for the general good. She appreciatedkeenly how awkward she had felt when she arrived at Briarwood the daybefore. Helen, although not lacking in kindliness, was less thoughtfulthan her chum; and she was actually less bold than her chum, too.
Ruth made it a point to see and speak with all the new scholars whomshe could find, repeating her invitation for a meeting in her room.Whether Helen helped in this matter she did not know. Her chum was_not_ enthusiastic in the task, that was certain. And indeed, when thehour came, after supper, Helen was closeted with Mary Cox in thequartette room next door to the chamber and study which she and RuthFielding shared together.
That Ruth felt more than a little hurt, it is unnecessary to say. Shehad felt the entering wedge between them within a few hours of theircoming to the school. The Upedes were much more friendly to Helen thanto herself, and Helen was vastly interested in Mary Cox, Belle Tingley,Lluella Fairfax, and some of the other livelier members of the Up andDoing Club.
But, after a while Helen strolled into her own room and mingled withthe Infants who had there assembled. They had come almost to theirfull strength. There were no sessions of either the F. C.'s or theUpedes on this evening, and Miss Picolet, to whom Ruth had spoken aboutthe little reception to be held in her room, approved of it. Helen wasbound to be popular among any crowd of girls, for she was so gay andgood-tempered. But when somebody broached the subject of school clubs,Ruth was surprised that Helen should at once talk boldly for theUpedes. She really urged their cause as though she was already amember.
"I am not at all sure that I wish to join either the Forwards or the Upand Doings," said Ruth, quietly, when one of the other Infants askedher what she intended doing.
"But you'll have no friends here--not among the Juniors and Seniors, atleast--if you don't join some club!" Helen exclaimed.
"There are enough of us right here to found a society, I should say,"laughed Ruth. "And we're all in the same boat, too."
"Yes!" agreed Sarah Fish, one of the Infants just arrived. "And whatdo these older girls really care about us? Very little, I am sure,except to strengthen their own clubs. I can see that," she continued,being a very practical, sensible girl, and downright in speech andmanner. "Two of them came into our room at once--the gir
l they callThe Fox, and Miss Steele. One argued for the Forwards and the otherfor the Up and Doings. I don't want either."
"I don't want to join either," broke in another girl, by name PhyllisShort. "I think it would be nicer for us Infants, as they call us, tokeep together. And we're no younger than a good many of the Juniors!"
Ruth laughed. "We expect to take all _that_ good-naturedly. But Idon't like the idea of being driven into one society, or the other.And I don't mean to be," she said, emphatically.
"Hear! hear!" cried Miss Fish.
"Well, I don't think it will be nice at all," said Helen, in some heat,"to refuse to associate with the older girls here. I, for one, want toget into the real school society----"
"But suppose we start a club of our own?" interrupted the practicalSarah.
"Why, what could just a handful of new girls do in a society? It wouldlook silly," cried Helen.
"We won't keep the older girls out of it, if they want to join,"laughed Sarah.
"And there has to be a beginning to everything," rejoined Phyllis Short.
"I don't believe those Upedes have many more members than are right inthis room to-night," said Ruth, quietly. "How many do we numberhere--twenty-six?"
"Twenty-six, counting your room-mate," said Sarah.
"Well, you can count her room-mate out," declared Helen, sharply. "Iam not going to make myself a laughing-stock of the school by joiningany baby society."
"Well," said Phyllis Short, calmly. "It's always nicer, _I_ think, tobe a big frog in a little puddle than to be an unrecognised croaker ina great, big pool."
Most of the girls laughed at that. And the suggestion of a separateclub for the Infants seemed to be well received. Ruth, however, wasvery much troubled by Helen's attitude, and she would say no morebeyond this:
"We will think of it. There is plenty of time. Only, those who feelas we do----"
"As _you_ do!" snapped Helen.
"As _I_ do, then, if you insist," said Ruth, bravely, "would better notpledge themselves to either the F. C.'s or the Upedes until we havetalked this new idea over."
And with that the company broke up and the new girls went away to theirrooms. But Helen and Ruth found a barrier raised between them thatevening, and the latter sprinkled her pillow with a few quiet tearsbefore she went to sleep.
Ruth Fielding at Briarwood Hall; or, Solving the Campus Mystery Page 13