Laura started toward the sneak, but she drew back so suddenly as nearly to lose her balance and had to be steadied by the girls behind her.
For a familiar figure, hidden until that moment by the shadows about the great entrance door, suddenly swung into the light and faced Amanda.
“Now, what you have said behind my back,” rang out a clear voice, “you can tell me to my face!”
“It’s Billie,” gasped Laura, in joyful relief. “Say, but she looks good to me.”
“Come on. I have a notion she may need a little help,” said Connie, as she made her way to Billie’s side, causing the freshmen who had been Amanda’s audience to scatter in panic. Laura and Vi and several others followed, but Billie did not seem to notice them.
Her eyes were still upon Amanda. The latter, taken by surprise, at first looked about her for some means of escape. Then, seeing that she was cornered, she straightened up defiantly and the usual sneer overspread her mean features.
“Oh, all right,” she said. “I’m not afraid to tell the truth if you are. Did you and Teddy Jordon have a good time when you ran away to-day?”
“It’s false!” cried Billie furiously. “And I’ll make you take it back!”
“What’s this? What’s this?” interrupted a cool voice behind them, and Billie turned with tears of rage in her eyes to face Miss Arbuckle.
“Miss Arbuckle,” she pleaded tensely, “make her take it back—what she said about me. It isn’t true! Oh, it isn’t true!”