"I have," said Nance, now fully recovered.
In five minutes the three girls had started across the campus to the road and presently were making for the pine woods that bordered the pretty lake. Everybody seemed to be out roaming the country that beautiful autumn afternoon. Parties of girls came swinging past, who had been on long tramps through the woods and over to the distant hills which formed a blue and misty background to the lovely rolling country.
The lake was dotted with canoes and rowboats, and from far down the road that wound its way through the valley there came the sound of singing.
Presently a wagon-load of girls emerged into view, followed by another wagon filled with autumn leaves and evergreens.
"It"s the soph.o.m.ore committee on decoration," Judy explained. Apparently she knew everything that happened at college. "They are getting the decorations for the gym. for the ball to-morrow night."
Molly quickly changed the subject. She had had two invitations to go to the Soph.o.m.ore-Freshman Ball since she had accepted Frances Andrews"
offer, and several of the soph.o.m.ores had been to see her to ask her to change her mind, but, having given her word, Molly intended to keep it, no matter what was to pay.
"Let"s go to the upper end of the lake," she suggested. "It"s wilder and much prettier," and she led the way briskly along the path through the pine woods.
In a little while they came out at the other end of the small body of water where the woods abruptly ended at the foot of a hill called "Round Head," which the girls proceeded to climb. From this eminence could be seen a widespreading panorama of hills and valleys, little streams and bits of forests, and beyond the pine woods the college itself, its campus spread at its feet like a mat of emerald green.
The girls paused breathlessly and Judy put down her tea basket.
"Here"s where a little refreshment might be very welcome," she said, opening her basket of which she was justly proud, for not many girls at Wellington could boast of such a possession. She filled the little kettle from the bottle of water she had taken the precaution to bring along, and they sat down in a circle on the turf. The autumn had been a dry one, and the ground was not damp. Nibbling cookies and sweet chocolate, they waited for the water to boil.
"Look, here comes some one," whispered Judy, indicating the figure of a man appearing around the side of the hill.
"I do hope it"s not a tramp," exclaimed Nance uneasily.
Molly Brown hoped so, too, although she said nothing. But she felt nervous, as who wouldn"t in that lonely place? As the man came nearer, it became plain that he was making straight for them, and he did most a.s.suredly look like a wanderer of some kind. He was dressed in an old suit of rough gray, wore an old felt hat and carried a staff like a pilgrim. The girls sat quite still and said nothing. There had been a silent understanding among them that it was better not to run. As the man drew nearer, Molly became suddenly conscious of the fact that across the gray trousers just above the knees was a deep coffee-colored stain.
The next moment the man stood before them, leaning on his staff, his hat under his arm. It was "Epimenides Antinous Green."
"Confess now," he said, smiling at all of them and looking at Molly, whom he knew best of the three, "you took me for a tramp?"
"Not exactly for a tramp," answered Molly; "but for one who tramps."
"What"s the difference, Miss Brown?" he asked laughing.
"Oh, everything. Clothes----" she paused, blushing deeply. Her eyes had fallen on the coffee stain. "Why doesn"t he have it cleaned off?" she thought, frowning slightly. "And--and looks," she continued out loud.
"Even in the walk," Judy finished. "Perhaps we can give you a cup of tea, Professor," she added politely.
The Professor was only too glad for a cup of tea. He had been roaming the hills all day, he said, and he was tired and thirsty. While he sipped the fragrant beverage, he glanced at his watch.
"The truth is, I had an appointment at this spot at four-thirty," he announced. "I was to meet my young brother George, familiarly known as "Dodo." He"s at Exmoor College, ten miles over, and was to walk across the valley to the rendezvous, and I was to conduct him safely to my rooms for supper. He was afraid to enter the college by the front gate for fear of meeting several hundreds of young women. He runs like a scared rabbit if he sees a girl a block off."
"Won"t it give him an awful shock when he catches a glimpse of us waiting here on the hilltop?" asked Molly.
"It"s a shock that won"t hurt him," replied the professor. "We"ll see what happens, at any rate."
He put his cup and saucer on the ground, while his quizzical eyes, which seemed to laugh even when his face was serious, turned toward Molly. And Molly was well worth looking at that afternoon, although she herself was much dissatisfied with her appearance. Her auburn hair had almost slipped down her back. Her blue linen shirtwaist was decidedly blousey at the waist line. "It"s because I haven"t enough shape to keep it down," she was wont to complain. Her cheeks were glowing and her eyes as calmly blue as the summer skies.
"Perhaps we"d better start on," said Nance uneasily. She always felt an inexplicable shyness in the presence of men, and her friends had been known to nickname her "old maid."
But before Professor Green could protest that he was only too glad to have his bashful brother make the acquaintance of three charming college girls, Judy, ever on the alert, exclaimed, "Look, there he comes around the side of the hill."
The Professor rose and signaled with his hat, chuckling to himself, as he watched his youthful brother pause irresolutely on the hillside.
"Come on, Dodo," he shouted, making a trumpet of his hands.
"I believe not this afternoon, thank you," Dodo trumpeted back. "I have an important engagement at six."
The girls could not keep from laughing.
"It"s a shame to frighten the poor soul like that," exclaimed Molly.
"We"ll start back, Professor, and leave him in peace."
But the Professor was a man of determination, and had made up his mind to bring his shy brother into the presence of ladies that afternoon, very attractive ladies at that, of George"s own age, with simple, unaffected manners, calculated to make a shy young man forget for the moment that he had an affliction of agonizing diffidence.
"George," called the professor, running a little way down the hillside, "come back and don"t be a fool."
The wretched lad turned his scarlet face in their direction and began to climb the hill. He was a tall, overgrown youth, with large hands and feet, and when he stood in their midst, holding his cap nervously in both hands, while the Professor performed the introductions, he looked like a soldier facing the battle.
It remained for Molly and Judy to put him at his ease, however, with tea and cookies and questions about Exmoor College, while the Professor conversed with Nance about life at Wellington, and which study she liked best. At last the spirit of George emerged from its shy retreat, and he forgot to feel self-conscious or afraid. They rose, packed the tea things and started back. And it was the Professor who carried Judy"s tea basket, while George, glancing from Molly"s blue eyes to Judy"s soft gray ones, strolled between them and related a thrilling tale of college hazing.
"That was a swift remedy, was it not, Miss Oldham?" observed the Professor, laughing under his breath.
But undoubtedly the cure was complete, for that very evening Molly received a note, written in a crabbed boyish hand, and signed "George Green," inviting the three girls to ride over to Exmoor on the trolley the following Sat.u.r.day and spend the day. Miss Green, an older sister, would act as chaperone.
And not a few thrills did these young ladies experience at the prospect.
CHAPTER IX.
RUMORS AND MYSTERIES.
How many warm-hearted, impetuous people get themselves into holes because of those two qualities which are very closely allied indeed; and Molly Brown was one of those people. Carried away by emotions of generosity, she found herself constantly going farther than she realized at the moment. Why, for instance, could she not have put Frances Andrews off with an excuse for a day or so? Some one would surely have asked her to the Soph.o.m.ore-Freshman ball.
And if she had only liked Frances, matters would have been different.
If it had been an act of friendship, of deep devotion. But in spite of herself, she could not bring herself to trust that strange girl, beautiful and clever as she undoubtedly was, and sorry as Molly was for her. After all, it was rather selfish of Frances to have obtained the promise from Molly. Did she think it would reinstate her in the affections of her cla.s.s to be seen in the company of the popular young freshman?
All this time, Molly said nothing to her friends, but on the morning of the ball she could not conceal from Judy and Nance her apprehension and general depression. And seeing their friend"s lack-l.u.s.tre eye and drooping countenance, they held a counsel of war in Judy"s small bedroom.
At the end of this whispered conference, Judy was heard to remark:
"I"m afraid of the girl, to tell you the truth. Her fiery eyes and her two-p.r.o.nged tongue seem to take all the spirit out of me."
"I"m not afraid of her," said Nance, who had a two-p.r.o.nged tongue of her own, once she was stirred into action. "You wait here for me, and when I come back, you can go and notify the soph.o.m.ores of what"s happened. Of course, Molly will get to the ball all right. The thing is to extricate her from the situation by the most tactful and surest means."
Judy laughed.
"No," she answered, "the thing is not to let Molly know we have saved her life."