“At last I’ve discovered what I’ve been dying to find out!” Julia Peyton burst into the room occupied by herself and Clara Carter, her black, moon-like eyes full of excitement.

“Have you?” Clara made an elaborate pretense of indifference. She kept her eyes fastened on the book before her on the study table. She was thoroughly peeved with Julia for having gone across the hall to see Mildred Ferguson at least an hour before.

Julia had returned to Hamilton on the previous afternoon. Clara had not returned, however, until that afternoon. She thought Julia might have shown more interest in seeing her. Instead, she had hurried to Mildred Ferguson’s room directly after dinner on the plea of consulting with Mildred about the Orchid Club’s next luncheon.

“Oh, drop your book, and listen to me.” Julia sat down on the edge of her couch bed with an impatient bounce.

“Why should I? You haven’t stopped to consider me?” Clara retorted, frost in her tones. “But it doesn’t matter. Please say what you wish. I am interested in this story. I began it on the train and I’m anxious to finish it tonight. I shan’t have time to-morrow.”

“Oh, bother your old story!” Julia exclaimed. “You are simply peeved. The story I have to tell you is a good deal more interesting than the one you’re reading. I have just heard the true story of Leslie Cairns. What do you think of that?” Julia was full of malicious elation.

“True story?” Clara returned interrogatively. She refused to let curiosity interfere with her miffed assumption of dignity.

“Yes, the true story of how she led the girls she chummed with into a hazing party and then tried to lay the whole thing to them so as to save herself from being expelled. That’s the sort of person she is.”

“I suppose Mildred Ferguson told you all this,” Clara said coolly. “Where did she find out so much? How do you know what she says is true?”

“She found out about Miss Cairns from a cousin. The cousin was one of the girls who chummed with Miss Cairns, and who was with the hazing party. I believe every word of what she told me.” Julia crested her head in displeased defiance of Clara.

“Mm-m.” Clara unbent a trifle. “Who is her cousin? When did she hear about Miss Cairns? Off the campus, I believe. I’ve never found anyone on the campus who knew the rights of that hazing business. They say Miss Dean knows. She ought to, since she was the student those girls hazed. She’d never tell anyone a word about it, though.”

“She may keep her information,” shrugged Julia scornfully. “I know more about it now, perhaps, than she does. I mean, I know the Cairns side of it. You see Mildred’s cousin is a very rich girl named Dulcie Vale. She is a society favorite, but she was a senior at Hamilton when it all happened.”

“Then she must have been expelled from Hamilton, too.” Clara put in half contemptuously. “All those San Soucians were expelled.”

“She was not,” Julia emphasized, frowning. “She left Hamilton before it happened because she knew that Leslie Cairns had betrayed the whole crowd of girls by being too confidential with another student named Miss Walbert, who was noted on the campus as a tale-bearer and gossip.”

“I thought they were all expelled,” Clara persisted obstinately.

“Miss Vale was not.” Julia showed signs of becoming exasperated. “Please listen to me, Clara. This is very important for you to know. That is, if you care to do your part toward making Wayland Hall a house free from such derogatory influences as Miss Cairns is bound sooner or later to exert.”

“That’s one way of putting it.” Clara laid aside her book. Her pale blue eyes shot sparks of resentment at Julia. “I happen to know you a little better than anyone else here knows you.”

“Of course you do.” Julia controlled her temper with an effort. She was more anxious to tell Clara what she had heard about Leslie than she was to squabble with Clara. “That’s precisely why I am trying to give you my confidence,” she explained, with pretended warmth.

“Hm-m. Go ahead, then.” Somewhat mollified, Clara gave in. She had defeated her curiosity several times. Now she decided to gratify it.

“Mildred’s mother is Dulcie Vale’s aunt,” Julia began with impressive alacrity. “The Vale family held a re-union in New York this year over New Year’s. Dulcie’s father is the president of the L., T. and M. Railroad, and is worth a lot of money. But not as much as Miss Cairns’ father is worth. Dulcie and Mildred met at the re-union. They hadn’t seen each other for almost four years. Mildred thought Dulcie was a Vassar graduate. She was surprised to hear that Dulcie had attended Hamilton. Dulcie was surprised to know that Mildred was a Hamilton freshman. She began asking Mildred all sorts of questions about the campus and Wayland Hall.”

Julia paused to take breath, then continued with relish: “Mildred said Dulcie positively went up in the air when she heard that Leslie Cairns was back at Hamilton. Then she started in and told Mildred the whole story of the whole time she and Miss Cairns were at Hamilton together. Mildred said she couldn’t begin to remember all Dulcie told her against Miss Cairns. For one thing Miss Cairns hired a coach to teach her team a lot of dishonest basket ball tricks. Then she tried to make the other girls on the team, who were all Sans, learn them. Dulcie was on the team. She absolutely refused to do a thing that was unfair in the game. That made Leslie Cairns angry with her. After that they were never friendly again, but Dulcie stood a good many things because she wanted to be loyal to the Sans.

“Then Miss Cairns ran Miss Langly down, speeding on Hamilton Pike. She tried to pretend it was another motorist who had done it. She had to own up to it, though. She had to go before Prexy, and was nearly expelled that time.”

“How did they haze Miss Dean? Did Miss Vale say?” Clara was in hopes of hearing what she longed to discover.

“Oh, they dressed up in dominos and masks and walked Miss Dean around the campus two or three times. It was on Valentine’s night. That’s the junior masquerade night, you know. Then they were going to let her go, but Leslie Cairns said they shouldn’t. She and three or four of the Sans took Miss Dean to an empty house and locked her in it. Dulcie and most of the others went straight back to the gym to the dance.”

“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.”

“Much obliged, I’m sure.” Julia was now thoroughly incensed. “I don’t in the least understand you, Clara. I do know this. We shall win. We are prepared to take it even above Prexy’s head, and to the College Board. We shall have our parents take up the matter, if necessary. You were in sympathy with us at first. Now—” She sprang up from the couch and walked to the door, her black eyes smouldering with anger. “All I’ll ask of you is not to repeat what I’ve just said. You must do as you think wise about signing the petition.” She went out the door, closing it after her with a sharp little bang.

“Julia had best let well enough alone,” Clara repeated aloud as she resumed her book. “She’ll never win.”