"He"s always getting mixed," here put in Molly, who at certain stages in the warm discussions between Nance and Judy always sounded a pacifying note. "They do say that he was talking to Miss Walker about one of the faculty pews, and he said: "Do you occupew this pi?""
This was too much for Nance"s severity, and she broke down and laughed gaily with the others.
"He"s a funny little man," she admitted, "but he"s well meaning."
"Hurry up," admonished Judy; "it"s twenty minutes of four and I want to get a good seat this afternoon."
"You want to show off your new fashionable headgear, you mean, Miss Vanity," said Nance, pinning on her neat brown velvet toque and squinting at herself in the mirror.
"Oh, me," thought Molly, "I wish I had a decent garment to show off."
She had intended to buy some clothes that autumn from a purchasing agent who came several times a year to Wellington with catalogues and samples, but she had been afraid to spend any of the money she had earned because of the precarious state of the family finances.
She ran her hatpin through her old soft gray felt, which had a bright blue wing at one side, and slipped on the coat of her last winter"s gray suit. Then she drew white yarn gloves over her kid ones, because she had no m.u.f.f and her hands were always frozen, and stoically marched across the campus with her friends.
The Chapel was already crowded when the girls arrived. They had not heard that the Rev. Gustavus"s pulpit was to be filled that afternoon by a preacher from New York. At any rate, they had to sit in the little balcony, which commanded a better view of the minister than it did of the congregation. He was a nice-looking young man, with an unaffected manner, and he preached to the packed congregation as if he were talking quietly and simply to one person; at least, it seemed so to Molly. The sermon was a short address on "Faith." It contained no impa.s.sioned eloquence nor fiery exhortations, but it impressed the students profoundly.
"Don"t try to instruct G.o.d about the management of your lives," he said, "any more than you would direct a wise and kind master who employed you to work on his estate. All the Great Master asks of you is to work well and honestly. The reward is sure to come. You cannot hurry it and you cannot make it greater than you deserve. It is useless to struggle and rage inwardly. Is not that being rather like a spoiled child, who lies on the floor and kicks and screams because his mother won"t give him any more cake? Just put your affairs in the hands of G.o.d and go quietly along, doing the best you can. All of a sudden the conditions you once struggled against will cease to exist, and before you have realized it, the thing you asked for is yours."
Lots of people, the minister said, prayed a great deal without believing that their prayers would be heard. It reminded him of a little anecdote.
"One Sunday morning during a terrible drought a country preacher knelt in the midst of his family at home and prayed earnestly for rain. When it was time to start for church, the minister noticed that his little daughter was carrying an umbrella.
""Why do you take an umbrella, my child?" he asked, glancing at the cloudless sky.
""Didn"t you just pray for rain, father?" she answered.
"All the learning of the ages is not greater than the simple faith of a little child," finished the young preacher.
And now the sermon was over and the girls were chatting in groups outside the Chapel, or strolling along the sidewalk arm in arm. Molly had withdrawn from her companions for a moment and was standing alone in a corner of the vestibule.
"I"m afraid I"ve been acting just like the little child who threw himself on the floor and kicked and screamed for more cake," she was thinking. "I suppose another year at college is just like a nice big hunk of chocolate cake and it wouldn"t be good for mental digestion. I might as well stop struggling and begin to cram mathematics. That"s the hardest thing I have, and I ought to get in as much of it as I can before I go."
"Perhaps you won"t have to go at all," spoke another voice in her mind.
But Molly couldn"t see it that way. Other letters from her mother had made it clear to her that no more money could be raised. There was a good place waiting for her to step into, however, in a small private school made up of children who lived in the neighborhood. She could come home after the mid-year examinations when the present teacher in the school was planning to be married.
"Oh, Miss Brown," someone said. Molly looked up quickly. It was President Walker. "Will you walk along with me? I had a letter from your mother last night and I want to speak to you about it."
The President was a very democratic and motherly woman who not only guided the affairs of the college with a wise hand, but kept in personal touch with her girls, and it was not unusual to see her walking home from Vespers with several students. This time, however, she took Molly"s arm and led her down the village street without asking any of the others to join her.
The young girl was very sensible of the honor paid her, thus singled out by the President to walk back to college. She felt a shy pleasure in the sensation they created as the crowd of students parted to let them pa.s.s.
"I am very, very sorry to receive this news from your mother, Miss Brown," began the President. "I suppose you know what it is?"
"You mean about leaving college, Miss Walker?"
"Yes. It"s really a great distress to me to think that one of my Queen"s girls especially must give up in the middle of her course. Instead of listening to that young man at Vespers, I was thinking and thinking about this unwelcome news."
Molly smiled. She had managed to listen to the preaching and to think about her affairs at the same time, because they somehow seemed to fit together. Once she almost felt that perhaps he knew all about her case and was preaching to her. But, of course, everybody had problems and lots of the girls thought the same thing, no doubt,--Madeleine Pet.i.t, for instance.
"Is there no possible way it could be arranged?" went on the President.
"Is this decision of your mother"s final?"
Evidently Mrs. Brown had not explained why Molly was obliged to come home.
"Oh, she didn"t decide it," answered the young girl, quickly. "It"s because--because the money"s gone--lost."
"I suspected it was something of that sort," went on the President.
"Now, there is a way, Miss Brown, by which you could remain if you would be willing to leave Queen"s Cottage. I am in charge of a Student Fund for just such cases as yours. This provides for tuition and board,--not on the campus, but in the village. You"re making something now tutoring the little j.a.panese girl, I understand. That"s good. That will help along. You will have to manufacture some excuse to your friends about leaving Queen"s. Otherwise, the fund arrangement may remain a secret between you and me."
Miss Walker pressed the girl"s hand and smiled kindly as she searched her face for some sign of gladness and relief at this offer.
Molly tried to smile back.
"We"ll leave everything as it is until the end of this semester,"
continued the President.
"Thank you very, very much," Molly said, making a great effort to keep her voice from sounding shaky.
Leave Queen"s! Was it possible the President didn"t know that life at Queen"s was the best part of college to her? Would there be any pleasure left if she had to tear herself away from her beloved chums and take up quarters in the village, living on a charity fund?
When she separated from Miss Walker at the McLeans" front door, she was so filled with inward lamentations and weeping that she could scarcely say good-night to the President, who looked somewhat puzzled at the girl"s still pale face.
Rushing back to Queen"s, Molly flung herself through the front door and tore upstairs. On the landing she b.u.mped into Judith Blount, who gave her a sullen, angry look.
"Please be careful next time and don"t take up the whole stairs,"
exclaimed that young woman rudely.
Molly glanced at her wildly. What right had she to talk, this wretch of a girl who could remain at Queen"s and live on other people"s money? Oh, oh, oh! Misery of miseries! She rushed up the second flight. She was having what Judy called "the dry weeps." At the door of Otoyo"s room she paused. It was half open and the little j.a.panese was sitting cross-legged on the floor with a lamp beside her, studying.
"May I come in?"
"With much gladness," answered Otoyo, rising and bowing ceremoniously.
"I want to stay in here a little while, Otoyo, away from other people.
May I sit here by the window in this big chair? Go on with your lessons.
I don"t want to talk. I wanted to be with someone who was quite quiet.
I should have been obliged to hide in a closet if you hadn"t let me in."
"I am very happily glad you came to me," said Otoyo.
She helped Molly off with her coat and hat, pulled out the Morris chair so that it faced the window and sat down again quietly with her book.
At the end of three-quarters of an hour, Otoyo began to move noiselessly about the room. Molly was still sitting in the big arm-chair, her hands clasped in her lap. Presently she became aware that Otoyo was standing silently before her bearing a lacquer tray on which was a cup of tea and a rice cake.
"Otoyo, you sweet, little dear," she said, placing the tray on the arm of the chair. She gulped down the tea and ate the cake, and while the small hostess made another cupful, Molly continued: "Otoyo, I"m going to let G.o.d manage my affairs hereafter. I"m not going to lie on the floor any more and kick and scream like a spoiled child for another piece of chocolate cake. I shall always carry an umbrella now when I pray for rain, and I mean to begin to-night to polish up in math."