“Cora Burton told me.” Cora was one of Katherine’s devoted admirers and tried hard to be chummy with her, although Katherine did not care for her in the least. “Cora’s a particular friend of Charlie Hughes, and she and some other girls are going along to see the fun. But she couldn’t keep it secret and told me today and asked if I wanted to go along.”
“Oh, Katherine, you’re not going?” said Sahwah anxiously.
The disgusted expression on Katherine’s face was answer enough.
“Hadn’t we better tell some of the teachers?” asked Gladys, pausing in her stirring. “I wish Nyoda were here.” Miss Kent had been called out of town on account of the death of an aunt and would be away until after the party.
“We ought to, I think,” said Hinpoha.
Katherine stood up beside the fireplace, and resting one elbow on the shelf humped her shoulders in her favorite attitude and began to speak. “Girls,” she said, “this Junior-Senior business is going to be an awful mess, and the result will be that somebody will be expelled or not permitted to graduate. Students are going to take sides in the affair and there will be no end of hard feelings. I for one don’t care to play the rôle of informer. So far we Winnebagos have kept entirely out of anything of this kind and wish we could get along without having any connection with this.”
“But the teachers would never tell who told them,” said Hinpoha.
“The teachers wouldn’t,” answered Katherine, “but Cora Burton would. And then maybe someone would say that I had been in the thing to start with and then grew afraid and told on the others. You know how those stories grow. Stay out of it altogether, say I, and avoid publicity.”
“But don’t you think it’s our duty to try and stop such horrid pranks?” asked Hinpoha doubtfully.
“I certainly do,” said Katherine, “and if we were the only ones who suspected anything it would be different. But all the teachers know that something is going to happen and they will be on the lookout. And the Juniors know it also, and they will be on their guard. I doubt very much if those mice ever get into the room, even if we keep silent.”