“Then they shouldn’t have been expelled,” Clara declared stolidly. “They should have been able to clear themselves.”
“None of the Sans would have been expelled if Miss Cairns had been loyal to them. She told this Miss Walbert about it, and that Dulcie was to blame for the whole thing. Miss Walbert told every girl she knew on the campus. The story went on till the faculty got hold of it. Somehow it was reported to Prexy. Dulcie found out from his secretary, who was her friend, that Prexy was going to bring the Sans on the carpet for hazing. She went to Leslie and warned her to be on her guard. Leslie said she had been telling tales. She set the other Sans against Dulcie, and they treated her so outrageously she had a nervous collapse, and had to leave college. She wrote President Matthews a lovely letter before she left, saying how sorry she was to have to leave Hamilton. It must have impressed him greatly.” Julia rolled her moon-like eyes. “He sent for Leslie Cairns soon afterward. Then she turned against her chums and the upshot was that they were all expelled. Only she didn’t expect that she would be. Do you consider such a girl a good influence at the Hall? I don’t.” She replied to her own question with vindictive stress.
“But suppose this Dulcie Vale hadn’t told the truth?” Clara did not like Mildred. She was therefore ready to doubt the integrity of Mildred’s cousin.
“She’s told it nearly enough so that we know what happened,” Julia maintained in a slightly sullen tone. “Besides we aren’t going to put everything I’ve just told you in the petition. We shall simply base the petition upon what we know.”
“Hm-m.” Clara vented her favorite satiric ejaculation. “You’ll have to show the girls in the club, or else they will refuse to sign it. You can’t simply state in it that Leslie Cairns is an undesirable person to have at the Hall. You’ll have to substantiate your accusations.”
“You must think we are infants. What makes you so snippy, Clara Carter? We have arranged for everything. The girls in the Orchid Club will sign the petition after Mildred goes before them at a special meeting. Dulcie Vale is going to send Mildred a tabulated account of Leslie Cairns’ doings here. She will read it out to the club. Then I think they will be ready to sign the petition. After that—” Julia curled a confident lip. “The majority rules, you know. We are twenty-six against twenty. At least half a dozen of that twenty will not take sides. That makes it a matter of only fourteen against twenty-six.”
“Miss Remson will fight against making Miss Cairns leave the Hall. She seems to like her. It seems queer to me that Miss Remson would take her back again, and be so sweet to her. And Miss Dean and her crowd! Miss Cairns is awfully chummy with them.” Deep within Clara a stubborn doubt had risen as to the feasibility of Julia’s vengeful scheme.
It had begun to form before Christmas as a result of Julia’s crush on Mildred. Clara had sulked matters out alone. As a result she had freed herself to a certain extent from Julia’s spiteful influence. And the beneficial result of frequent hours spent alone was a general pulling-up in her classes and a lack of impulse to gossip, since she had not Julia to gossip with. She was beginning to lean toward a more charitable state of mind though she had not yet discovered it.
“Miss Remson may fuss all she pleases about the petition. We shall appeal to Prexy and demand justice.”
“How do you suppose Miss Cairns got back on the campus?” Clara laughed a trifle scornfully. “By Prexy’s permission, of course. Of what use then to appeal to him? You’d best let well enough alone. You’ll never win. I am saying it to you for your own good, Julia.”