by Oliver Optic
XIII
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
For a week before Thanksgiving there was great excitement among theschoolgirls on account of the approaching football game. The "Four" wereas excited as the others, although not so many of their own particularfriends were in the Harvard team. It was to be a game with Princeton,one of the great University matches, and for special reasons there wasthe deepest interest in the match. Those girls who had brothers incollege, or even cousins or friends, held themselves with more dignitythan any of the others, and those who had relatives in the team "weretoo proud for anything," as Brenda said. The game was to be played inHolmes' Field, and tickets were not easy to get, because the seats werefar less numerous than now on the great Soldiers' Field. The girls weremaking up little groups to go to the game with youths of theiracquaintance as escorts, under the chaperonage of older people. A fewwho had received no invitation were especially miserable, and took notrouble to disguise their feelings.
Edith at this time became unusually popular, because it was known thather mother had given her permission to arrange a large party toaccompany her to the game, and every girl was hoping for aninvitation--every girl, at least who had not been invited elsewhere togo in some other party.
Now Edith was of a generally generous disposition, and not inclined tolimit her favors, of whatever nature, to any particular set of girls.For this reason she had to bear many a reproof from Belle, and evenoccasionally from Brenda, both of whom were inclined to be moreexclusive.
So it happened that the general harmony of "The Four" was somewhatdisturbed when Nora one day at recess exclaimed,
"Who do you suppose is going with us to the game?" For of course in theminds of the others there could be but one "game," and that the one towhich they all wished to go.
"Why, who is it?" cried Brenda, and "Who is it?" echoed Belle.
"I know that you can't guess."
"Oh, don't be silly, Nora, it wouldn't be worth while to guess aboutsomething you'll know all about so soon, except that you speak as if itwere some one we might not care to have, and if that's the case, Ideclare it's too bad," said Belle.
"If it's anything like that," broke in Brenda, rather snappishly, "Iwill just tell Edith what I think."
"_It_--_that_," cried Nora, "didn't I say that it was a person, a girl,if I must be more definite, Ruth Roberts, if I must tell just who itis."
"Oh," cried Belle, and "Ah," echoed Brenda.
"You need not look so surprised," rejoined Nora, "and if you take myadvice, you will not say anything to Edith; she ought to have her ownway in arranging her own party, and you know when she makes up her mindit is of no use to talk to her about it."
"Well, I don't care," rejoined Brenda, "it's hard enough to have Juliatagging about everywhere, but why in the world we should have RuthRoberts, when we never see her anywhere except at school, I reallycannot understand, and I don't see how you and Nora can like it either."
"Why Ruth Roberts is as pleasant a girl as there is in school, and yetshe would have a terribly lonely time, if it were not for Edith andJulia; nobody else ever thinks of speaking to her."
"Well, why should we, she lives out in Roxbury or some other outlandishplace, and she doesn't even go to our dancing school or know people thatwe know. There isn't a bit of sense in knowing people that we'll neversee when we're in society," responded Belle, while Brenda echoed, "Yes,that's what I think, too."
Nora smiled pleasantly, and her eyes looked brighter than ever under therim of her brown felt hat, with its trimmings of lighter brown. Nora'stemper was not easily ruffled. Then Belle added a final word.
"Oh, it's clear that this is all Julia's doings; ever since Ruth wentinto her Latin class they have been awfully intimate. But I don't see,"turning rather snappishly towards Brenda, "why the rest of us have gotto take up Ruth Roberts just because your Cousin Julia is so devoted toher."
Now this was a little too much, even for Brenda, who generally did notcontradict Belle, and she answered with vigor, "Really you are growingperfectly ridiculous, Belle; I haven't anything to do with it, but Imust say that I think that Julia has a right to choose her own friends.Ruth Roberts is all right, and anyway I'm thankful to have Julia take afancy to anybody, it leaves us a great deal freer to do as we like. Ishould think that you would see that yourself."
"Oh, well," said Nora laughing, "the whole thing is not worth quarrelingabout. I'm glad to hear you talk so sensibly, Brenda. If you hadn't, Iwas going to tell Belle that it seems to me that Edith has a right toask any one she wishes. She is always very good to us all, and justthink how many tickets her father has bought for this game!"
"Yes, I know, but still----"
"The least said, the soonest mended," said Nora, though to tell you thetruth, the quotation did not sound especially appropriate. "The leastsaid, the soonest mended, and let us all go to the game with a crimsonflag in each hand to wave for the winners."
"Crimson," cried Belle, "I am going to carry an orange scarf, andperhaps an orange flag."
"What for? why I never heard of such a thing!" exclaimed Nora.
"Nor I!" cried Brenda, "at a Harvard game!"
"Isn't it a Princeton game, too," asked Belle, "two or three of the boysI used to know in New York are in that team, one of them is a kind ofcousin of mine."
"Oh," said Nora, "I didn't know that you thought that people had to beso very devoted to cousins."
Even Belle herself could not help smiling at this, which was veryappropriate, following so closely, as it did, her own remarks aboutJulia.
"You can see yourself that this is different," she answered. "I shouldcall it very impolite if there were no orange flags shown at the game."
"Well, you have the most ridiculous ideas, hasn't she, Brenda?"
Brenda nodded assent, and Nora continued, "I never knew that people hadto think that about politeness in college games; why it's a duty to doeverything you can to help your own side----"
"I never said that Harvard was my side," interrupted Belle, "didn't Itell you that I have a cousin on the Princeton team."
"You'd better not say anything of that kind to Philip, or to Edith,either, they are both perfectly devoted to Harvard, and they expecttheir party to give great encouragement to the Harvard team. Why, Belle,I cannot imagine your doing anything else."
"I'm not a child," responded Belle very crossly, walking away from Noraand Brenda, "I do not need to be told what to do."
What Nora or Brenda might have answered, I cannot say, for hardly hadBelle disappeared within the house, when Edith herself appeared, withJulia and Ruth.
Ruth was a pretty and amiable girl, about Julia's age, and therefore alittle older than "The Four." She had been in the school for two yearsbefore the coming of Julia, but in all that time she had had only aspeaking acquaintance with the other girls. Many of them would probablyhave been surprised had any one told them that they were very selfish inleaving their schoolmate so entirely to herself. It was not because theydid not like her. They were merely so very much wrapped up in their ownaffairs, that they hardly noticed that she was often left to herself.Ruth lived in the suburbs, and as Belle had said, outside of school theother girls seldom saw her. At recess each little group had so manypersonal things to talk about that an outsider would have been decidedlyin the way, and would, perhaps, have been a little uncomfortable injoining them. No one gets a great deal of enjoyment from reading asingle chapter in the middle of a book, and so it is often hard to be amere listener when the tongues of half a dozen girls are vigorouslydiscussing people and events of which the listener has not the slightestknowledge.
Ruth herself was very independent, and as she was more interested in herstudies than many of the girls at Miss Crawdon's she had acquired thehabit of studying during recess. Since after school she spent more timethan most girls of her age in outdoor sports, it did her no great harmto pass the half-hour of recess in this way. Ruth, as well as Julia, hadundertaken to prepare for college, and it had been a gre
at delight toher to have the latter placed with her in one or two special classes.Julia's liking for her had made Edith take a little more interest in herthan would otherwise have been the case, but the ball game was the firstimportant event in which she was included with the others of Julia'sset. She naturally was pleased at the prospect of going with the others,for like Julia, she had never seen a great football game.
No one who saw the hearty way in which Nora and Brenda greeted Ruth, asshe came up with Edith and Julia, could for a moment have imagined thatshe had been under discussion. The mercurial Brenda for the moment wasso annoyed by Belle's proposed championship of Princeton, that she wasunexpectedly cordial to Ruth, and almost to her own surprise foundherself urging Ruth to come to town early on the Saturday of the game,to take luncheon with her and Julia.
The latter expressed her thanks in a glance towards her cousin, as Ruthaccepted very gracefully, and Nora exclaimed, "What fun we are going tohave; you know we are all invited to dine at Edith's that evening. Ohdear! I can hardly wait for Saturday."
"I know it," replied Brenda, "it's less than a week, too, but it seemsan awfully long time."
Then they gossiped a moment in a very harmless fashion about theprospects of Harvard, and Edith quoted one or two things that Philip hadsaid, and Nora told them that her father was perfectly sure that thecrimson would win, and as they trooped into the dressing-room when thebell rang, Belle was surprised to see Brenda leaning on Ruth's arm.