CHAPTER IX
WHAT EVELYN HEARD ON THE CAMPUS
“Ha! Whom have we here?” declaimed Emma Dean, pointing dramatically, as Grace opened the door and stepped into their room. One look at Grace’s sensitive face was sufficient. Emma had lived close to her friend too long not to know the signs of dejection in the features that usually shone with hope and cheerfulness. “Advance and show your countersign,” she commanded.
“I haven’t any,” returned Grace soberly.
“Spoken like a brigadier general who doesn’t need one,” retorted Emma. “You are just in time to hear my terrible tale.
“Oh, a terrible tale I have to tell
Of the terrible fate that once befell
A teacher of English who once resided
In the same recitation room that I did,”
she rendered tunefully.
The shadow disappeared like magic from Grace’s face. “Now what have you done, you funny girl?” she asked, her sad face breaking into smiles. Emma was irresistible.
“It is not what I have done, but what I might have done. What was it Whittier said in ‘Maud Muller’?”
“There’s really no one under the sun
Can blame you for what you might have done,”