In the midst of the good-humored scrimmage that followed, the lunch-gong sounded, and the girls hurried to their rooms to freshen up a wee bit before going to the dining-room.
It was apparent early in the evening that Miss Hamilton’s friends felt confident of victory. Their plans were well laid, and one of their number was promptly elected chairman.
The preliminary business was gotten out of the way very speedily. Margaret Hamilton was nominated for the class president by Florence Smith. Beth nominated Dolly, and then Abby Dunbar, Grace Chisholm and Bessie Worth were quickly nominated by their friends. The tellers distributed papers and pencils and the balloting commenced.
Dolly found herself actually trembling with excitement. What fun it would be if she could telegraph to Fred and sign her name, “Dorothy Alden, President, Class ’09.”
“I wish I were one of those tellers,” murmured Beth. “It is simply maddening to sit here and do nothing. Hush, there they come, Dolly. Oh, I do hope that you were elected.”
CHAPTER IV
The faces of the tellers told nothing as they entered the room, carrying the little slip of paper that meant so much to these Freshmen. The chairman rapped loudly for order, and a pin could have been heard drop while the result was read:
| Miss Hamilton | 145 | votes |
| Miss Alden | 145 | " |
| Miss Dunbar | 10 | " |
| Miss Chisholm | 9 | " |
| Miss Worth | 6 | " |
“We’ll have to take another ballot,” Beth said in a low tone excitedly. “How close it is! Oh, Dolly, I do hope that you will get it.”