“Don’t give a demonstration of it till we are out on the campus,” warned Anna Perry. Her inflection was sarcastic. “It’s not safe here.”
“I sha’n’t give one at any time or at any place,” Lucy retorted with great firmness.
“The very idea,” scolded Flossie Hart. “Why, we made twice as much noise when we first came to the Hall last year and no one made a fuss.”
“I won’t stand it.” Gussie Forbes shook back her short curls, squared her shoulders and linked her hands behind her back in the attitude her chums knew meant battle. “Can’t help it if this Miss Monroe is going to be a soph. She might have known we’d subside. She could have waited a little to see. I won’t be mean enough to say I hope she flunks in math. But I’ll say she’ll flunk in popularity if she can’t live and let live.”
CHAPTER XX.—BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
That evening in Ronny’s room Leila, Vera, Marjorie and Jerry gathered for one of their old-time “Traveler” meetings. The arrival of Ronny’s trunks had furnished a treat of Mexican sweets, tempting and varied. There were all sorts of candied tropical fruits, strange toothsome nut pastes and a golden delicious sweet called dulce. There were even candied sweet potatoes.
“Get busy and help yourselves,” Ronny directed as she placed the large square tin box of confections on the table before her chums. “I’ve a supply of Mexican candy on hand. I’m going to take this box to l’enfant angelique.” She smiled as she referred to Gussie Forbes by the title the chums had privately re-named her after her change of heart during her freshman year. “Back in a minute.” Ronny flitted from the room burdened with a second square tin box of sweets.
“Gentleman Gus needs a reward of good conduct for keeping her temper this afternoon. She was all ready to turn the pow-wow into a real tomahawking party with one blonde scalp for a trophy,” was Jerry’s opinion.
“I expected an explosion,” Marjorie confessed with a smile; “but none came. Gussie is splendid, I think.”
“How perfectly foolish in Miss Monroe to take such a ridiculous stand! I can’t help criticizing her for it,” Vera said disapprovingly. “In the face of not knowing whether she will pass her exams or not.”