Part 4 (2/2)
Josephine's performance was so realistic that it evoked peals of laughter from ghosts and freshmen alike.
”We'll recommend you for a part in the next menagerie that the house or the college has,” said the tall ghost, who seemed to be mistress of ceremonies. ”The Dutton twins are now commanded to push matches across the floor with their noses. You'll find the matches on the table by the window. Somebody tie their hands behind them. Now start at the door and go straight across to Georgia Ames's chair. The one that wins the race must send Polly some flowers,” added the tall ghost maliciously as the twins, blus.h.i.+ng violently at this barefaced reference to their rivalry for Polly's affections, took their matches, and at Georgia's signaled ”One, two, three, go!” began their race.
Pus.h.i.+ng a match across a slippery floor with one's nose looked so easy and proved so difficult that both ghosts and freshmen, as they cheered on the eager contestants, longed to take part in the enticing sport. The fluffy-haired twin kept well ahead of her straight-haired sister, until, when her match was barely a foot from Georgia's chair it caught in a crack and broke in two.
”Oh, dear!” sighed the fluffy-haired twin forlornly, trying to single out her divinity from among the sheeted ghosts.
Her despair was too much for soft-hearted Polly. ”Never mind,” she said kindly ”The race is hereby called off.”
”And we can both send you flowers, can't we?” demanded the straight-haired twin, jumping up, flushed and panting from her exertions.
Every one waited eagerly to hear what the next stunt would be.
”This is for you, Miss b.u.t.ts,” announced the tall ghost, after a whispered colloquy with her companions, ”and as you don't seem very happy to-night we've made it easy. Tell the name of your most particular crush. Now don't pretend you haven't any.”
”I won't tell,” muttered Miss b.u.t.ts sullenly.
”Then you'll have to make up Lucile Merrifield's bed for two weeks as a penalty for disobeying our decrees. Now all the rest of you may tell your crushes' names. I will explain, as some of you look a little dazed about it, that your crush is the person you most deeply adore.”
Some of the freshmen meekly accepted the penalty rather than divulge their secret affections, one declared that she hadn't a crush, one, remembering the legend of Georgia Ames, made up a soph.o.m.ore's name and after she had been safely ”pa.s.sed” exulted over the simplicity of her victims. A few, including Georgia, calmly confessed their divinities'
names and gloated over the effect their announcements had upon some of the ghosts.
When this entertainment was exhausted, the ghosts held another conference. ”Carline Dodge, get under the bed and develop like a film,”
decreed the leader finally.
”Oh, not under mine,” cried a tall, impressive-looking ghost plaintively. ”My botany and zoology specimens are under it. She'd be sure to upset the jars.”
”There!” said Georgia Ames complacently. ”That makes six of you that we know. Polly Eastman and now Lucile have given themselves away. Babbie Hildreth crumpled all up when Carline Dodge called out her crush's name.
If she's here, the other two that they call the B's are, and Madeline Ayres is directing the job. It's easy enough to guess who the rest of you are, so why not take off those hot things and be sociable?”
”Go on, Carline Dodge,” ordered the tall ghost imperturbably.
”But I don't get the idea of the action,” objected the serious-faced freshman, and looked amazed that everybody should laugh so uproariously.
”That's so funny that we'll let you off,” said Madeline, when the mirth had subsided. ”I foresee that you've invented a very useful phrase.”
And sure enough Carline's reply was speedily incorporated into Harding's special vocabulary, and its author found herself unwittingly famous.
”Now,” said Madeline cheerfully, ”you may all chase smiles around the room for a while, and when I say 'wipe,' you are to wipe them off on a crack in the floor. Then we'll have a speech from one of you and you will be dismissed.”
Most of the freshmen entered gaily into the ”action” of chasing smiles, and caught a great many on their own and each other's faces. That frolic ended, Madeline called upon a quiet little girl who had hardly been seen to open her mouth since she reached Harding, to make a speech. To every one's surprise she rose demurely, without a word of objection or the least appearance of embarra.s.sment, and delivered an original monologue supposed to be spoken by a freshman newly arrived and airing her impressions of the college. It hit everybody with its absurd humor, which no one enjoyed better, apparently, than the quiet little freshman herself.
”Encore! Encore! Give us another!” shouted the freshmen when she had finished; but their quiet little cla.s.smate only shook her head, and a.s.suming once more the mincing, confidential tone she had been using in the monologue, remarked: ”Do you know, there are some girls in our cla.s.s that will forget their heads before long. Why, when they're being hazed, they forget it and think they're at a real party.”
Everybody laughed again, and the tall ghost made the little freshman blush violently by saying, ”You'll get a part in the house play, my child, and if you can write that monologue down I'll send an 'Argus'
editor around after it.”
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