Part 13 (1/2)

Had he followed her to Briarwood Hall? Was he an enemy who plagued the little French teacher--perhaps blackmailed her?

These were the various ideas revolving in Ruth Fielding's head. And they revolved until the girl fell asleep from sheer exhaustion, and they troubled her sleep all through the remainder of the night. For that the man with the harp and Miss Picolet had a rendezvous behind the marble figure on the campus fountain was the sum and substance of the conclusion which Ruth had come to.

In the morning Ruth only mentioned these suppositions to Helen, but discussed them not at all with the other girls, her new school-fellows.

Indeed, those girls who had set out to haze the two Infants, and had been frightened by the manifestation of the sounding harp upon the campus, were not likely to broach the subject to Ruth or Helen, either.

For they had intended to surround their raid upon the new-comers' peace of mind with more or less secrecy.

However, sixteen frightened girls (without counting Ruth and Helen) could not be expected to keep such a mystery as this a secret among themselves. That the marble harp had been sounded--that the ghost of the campus had returned to haunt the school--was known among the students of Briarwood Hall before breakfast time. Jennie Stone was quite full of it, although Ruth knew from the unimpeachable testimony of Jennie's nose that _she_ was not among the hazers; and the sounding of the mysterious harp-strings in the middle of the night really endangered Heavy's appet.i.te for breakfast.

The members of the Upedes who had been so pleasant with them at the evening meeting seemed rather chary of speaking to Ruth and Helen how; and, anyway, the chums had enough to do to get their boxes unpacked and their keepsakes set about the room, and to complete various housekeeping arrangements. They enjoyed setting up their ”goods and chattels” quite as much as they expected to; and really their school life began quite pleasantly despite the excitement and misunderstanding on the first night of their arrival.

If the crowd that Ruth was so sure had hazed them were slow about attending on the two Infants in the West Dormitory (as their building was called) there were plenty of other nice girls who looked into the duet in a friendly way, or who spoke to Ruth and Helen on the campus, or in the dining room. Miss Polk and Madge Steele were not the only Seniors who showed the chums some attention, either; and Ruth and Helen began secretly to count the little b.u.t.tons marked ”F. C.” which they saw, as compared with the few stars bearing the intertwined ”U” and ”D”

of the Upedes.

Just the same, Helen Cameron's leaning toward the lively group or girls in their house who had (it seemed) formed their club in protest against the Forward Club, was still marked. The friends heard that the last named a.s.sociation was governed by the Preceptress and teachers almost entirely. That it was ”poky” and ”stuffy.” That some girls (not altogether those who formed the members.h.i.+p of the Upedes) considered it ”toadying” to join the Forward Club. And on this second day Ruth and Helen saw that the rivalry for members.h.i.+p between the clubs was very keen indeed. A girl couldn't have friends among the members of both the F. C.'s and the Upedes--that was plain.

Many new girls arrived on this day--mostly from the Lumberton direction. That was another reason, perhaps, why Ruth and Helen were shown so little attention by the quartette of girls next door o them.

They were all busy--even Heavy herself--in herding the new girls whom they had entangled in the tentacles of the Upedes. The chums found themselves untroubled by the F. C.'s; it seemed to be a settled fact among the girls that Ruth and Helen were pledged to the Upedes.

”But we are _not_,” Ruth Fielding said, to her friend. ”I don't like this way of doing business at all, Helen--do you?”

”Well--but what does it matter?” queried Helen, pouting. ”We want to get in with a lively set; don't we? I'm sure the Upedes are nice girls.”

”I don't like the leaders.h.i.+p of them,” said Ruth, frankly.

”Miss c.o.x?”

”Miss c.o.x--exactly,” said the girl from the Red Mill.

”Oh--well--she isn't everything,” cried Helen.

”She comes pretty near being the boss of that club--you can see that.

Now, the question is, do we want to be bossed by a girl like her?”

”Then, do you want to be under the noses of the teachers, and toadying to them all the time?” cried Helen.

”If that is what is meant by belonging to the Forward Club, I certainly do not,” admitted Ruth.

”Then I don't see but you will have to start a secret society of your own,” declared Helen, laughing somewhat ruefully.

”And perhaps _that_ wouldn't be such a bad idea,” returned Ruth, slowly. ”I understand that there are nearly thirty new girls coming to Briarwood this half who will enter the Junior cla.s.ses. Of course, the Primary pupils don't count. I talked with a couple of them at dinner.

They feel just as I do about it--there is too much pulling and hauling about these societies. They are not sure that they wish to belong to either the Upedes or the F. C.'s.”

”But just think!” wailed Helen. ”How much fun we would be cut out of!

We wouldn't have any friends----”

”That's nonsense. At least, if the whole of us thirty Infants, as they call us, flocked together by ourselves, why wouldn't we have plenty of society? I'm not so sure that it wouldn't be a good idea to suggest it to the others.”