by Clair Blank
Chapter III
BELL NIGHT
Classes started and with them the Freshmen's troubles. Newacquaintances, new scenes, new studies, and new instructors came withsuch rapidity that the girls were dizzy with it all. Carol and Janetwere in the same dormitory building as Valerie and Madge. Consequentlytheir close friendship was by no means interrupted. Gale and Phylliswent to see their friends quite often. When they were in their own roomthey found that Ricky Allen and her roommate joined them frequently. Thegirls were fast becoming friends.
Ulrich Allen, Ricky to her friends, was a breezy, friendly girl from theWest and there was not a soul in the class who did not know all abouther. Her roommate was a quiet, sweet young girl from Georgia. Ricky tookpains to see to it that everyone should know about her, too.
Janet declared that Ricky was as clear and as unassuming as the countryfrom which she came. Nevertheless, Janet and Ricky could be seen withheads close together very often, planning mischief or laughing overtheir latest bit of gossip.
Gale, since the afternoon she had rescued the Dean from the lake, hadseen the older woman only once. On that occasion the Dean walked acrossthe campus to the library with her. It was something she would take carenot to let happen again, she told herself. It seemed that girls from thesorority house had seen her. The upper classmen looked with the utmostdistaste upon such familiarity. They saw to it that Gale should regretsuch friendliness with the head of the institution. She was teasedunmercifully and chided and scoffed at upon every occasion. Most of thegirls did it in fun, the fun that upper classmen usually have with aFreshman, but one girl in particular seemed to personally resent Gale.
Marcia Marlette had been one of the very last Juniors to arrive for thesemester. She lived in Penthouse Row, the fourth floor, in a roomdirectly over Gale and Phyllis. She had heard the story of Gale and theDean. She had seen for herself that the Dean did smile and stop to talkwith Gale when such occasions presented themselves. She was one of thegirls who was voluble in her protestations against the new Dean. She hadbeen favored and especially privileged the two terms before. Now thatthere was a new Dean and a new regime her privileges were swept away.She was to be no more favored than any other girl. That didn't pleaseMarcia, and since she couldn't very well spite the Dean she decided totorture Gale--supposedly a close friend of Dean Travis.
Gale bore the girls' teasing silently, in amused indifference. Shedidn't mind the stunts she and Phyllis had to perform to appease theirsorority sisters, but from the minute Marcia Marlette appeared on thecampus things were different. Gale could bear the other girls' teasing,their songs, their sly pointed remarks, but she couldn't and wouldn'tstand for it from Marcia.
"I tell you, Phyl," Gale said stormily, flinging her books onto herdesk, "I won't stand for it. I'll--I'll tell Dean Travis."
Phyllis smiled patiently. "Can't do that, Gale. We've got to take it.Our turn will come."
"I know," Gale said. She flung herself upon the bed and glared at theceiling. "But I will blow up and explode if Marcia Marlette doesn't stayaway from me."
"What has she been doing now?"
"Met me after Chemistry class and walked to the house with me--makingnasty remarks about the Dean all the while. I'll--I'll slap her facesome day," Gale threatened.
"Whoa, there," Ricky Allen murmured, sticking her head in at the opendoor. "Who is gonna slap who?"
"Are we missing anything?" added Gloria Manson.
Gale sat up and laughed. "I am boiling over with suppressed wrath."
"Only it isn't suppressed any more," Phyllis murmured. "Girls, you seebefore you a volcano about to erupt."
"Go ahead and erupt," Ricky invited, settling herself comfortably onPhyllis' bed.
"What happened?" Gloria asked sympathetically.
Gale sat on the window sill and took a deep breath of the autumn air."That awful Junior has been pestering me again. I suppose it is only amatter of months before I become immune to it."
"That awful Junior heard what you said," a voice declared nastily.
Gale put her head out the window and looked up. Marcia Marlette wasleaning out her window and grinning with exasperating superiority.
"Perhaps you would like to say it directly to me," she invited.
Gale was not lacking in courage and her anger now made her more daring.
"Certainly I'll say it," she answered firmly. "I said you were pesteringme again. So what?"
The Junior's face was more irritating.
"Freshmen are supposed to be polite to upper classmen--especiallysorority sisters. Rebellion will cost you a month's special privileges."
"But that isn't fair!" Gale cried indignantly. "I didn't doanything--wait, Marcia----"
But the Junior had disappeared into her room. Gale swung about andconfronted the others. She strode to the door, but Phyllis preceded her.With her back against the door Phyllis asked:
"Where are you going?"
"Up to Marcia's room," Gale said hotly. "I'm going to tell her a fewthings! Things I've been aching to say ever since I first saw her. I'mgoing----"
"You are going to stay right here," Phyllis said calmly. "Sit down,Gale, and get hold of your temper again. I never saw you so fiery. Idon't know what Marcia might have done or said, but I'll wager it wasonly to make you angry. She wants you to do something like this. Youwill only injure yourself in the end."
"Ignore Marcia," Ricky advised.
Gale submitted reluctantly to their advice. She knew it was wiser toignore Marcia's slights and cutting remarks, but just the same she wasstill angry. Her resentment was growing deeper every hour. Oh, she hadtaken instant dislikes to people before, but she had never felt sounreasonably, so thoroughly hateful toward another girl. The minute shehad seen Marcia stroll into the dining room on the night of the latter'sarrival Gale could have told Phyllis she wouldn't like her. BeforeMarcia ever said a word to her, Gale felt resentment burning within her.She didn't know why. Then, when Marcia started to annoy her and Phyllis,Gale more than ever disliked the Junior. So far she had been successfulin hiding it. She avoided all possible contact with Marcia, but afterall they were bound to meet sometimes. They sat at the same table atdinner, and it was there Marcia was worst of all. Gale and Phyllisaccepted everything she said with a slight smile and silence. That onlyseemed to make matters more difficult. Marcia was deliberately pickingan open quarrel and the upper classmen fully realized the position ofthe Freshmen. Their attitude softened somewhat and for that the girlswere grateful. But it still did not solve the question of Marcia.
"Are you going out for hockey?" Gloria asked, idly thumbing Gale'sChemistry book.
"Sure," Ricky declared, "aren't we, Phyl?"
"I am," Phyllis said. "How about you, Gale?"
"For class hockey? The first meeting is tomorrow afternoon." Withdifficulty Gale turned her attention to other things.
"We only have five minutes before dinner," Gloria announced next.
Ricky dragged herself upright. "Shall we go downstairs and wait?"
Phyllis flung a hasty glance at Gale. If they went downstairs now Marciawould most likely be there. It would be bad enough at dinner with hersitting across from them.
"No," Phyllis said vaguely, "I want to brush my hair and----"
"You had better hurry," Gale murmured.
Phyllis remained close to Gale when they descended the stairs behindRicky and Gloria. The girls were moving toward the dining room. Phyllislooked hastily around for Marcia. She was not in sight. When Phyllisslipped into her seat beside Gale she looked across the table. Marcia'schair was empty.
"Where's Marcia?" she murmured to the girl on her other side.
"She has permission to eat at the West Campus Dormitory," was theanswer.
Phyllis sighed with relief. She did not want to see a quarrel betweenGale and Marcia. It would mean only trouble for Gale. Marcia was used tohaving her own way, girls naturally catered to her. She would not standto
be ignored by a Freshman. That Gale should be friends with the Deanwas all the more reason for Marcia to resent her. Last year Marcia hadbeen close to the old Dean. Marcia had had special privileges. She hadnot been tied to the college grounds to observe the rules as the othergirls had. But now Dean Travis did not grant Marcia those specialprivileges. Phyllis believed that was all that stood between the Deanand popularity with some girls. A lot of the girls wanted specialprivileges and the Dean did not grant them. Phyllis could not help butadmire the Dean for treating all the girls exactly the same. There wouldbe even more dissatisfaction if some girls were allowed to do things andothers weren't.
Phyllis, upon learning that Gale and Marcia would not possibly meettonight and quarrel, was gay with relief.
"I know how you feel," Gale murmured to her friend. "But you reallyshouldn't have worried, Phyl. I would never make a scene here--beforeall the others."
"Are you a mind reader? How did you know what I was thinking?" Phyllisdemanded.
Gale laughed. "You are an open book to me," she giggled.
Phyllis sighed. "Woe is me! Nothing is a secret any more."
The girls did not linger with the others long after dinner. They went totheir room, Phyllis to read and Gale to write letters. She owed one toher parents, one to Miss Relso, who was still taking an interest intheir school life, and one to Brent Stockton. The one to Brent was thelongest and well it should be. Gale did not often see the young aviatorwith whom she was so much in love, but their letters were long andfrequent and filled with many pictures.
"Send Brent my love," Phyllis told her as she struggled into herpajamas. "Doesn't that make you jealous?" she wanted to know teasingly.
"No," Gale said promptly. "I even sent him a picture of you--and me,"she added.
"Foiled!" Phyllis murmured, smothering a yawn in the pillow, "Aren't youever going to bed?"
"Lights-out bell hasn't rung yet," Gale reminded her.
"You can go to bed anyway," Phyllis informed her. "The Dean won't mind."
"Go to sleep," Gale laughed.
The moonlight came into the room with illuminating brilliance. The girlsslept peacefully, sweetly dreaming delightful dreams. The campus wasstill with the peace of an autumn night. The sorority house was dark. Itwas as if another world of glorious peace and accord had opened wherepreviously had been the trill of voices and patter of running feet. Nownothing moved but the silent clouds over the moon and the gentle siftingof leaves in the wind.
But suddenly the night was shattered by a bell, a bell riotous and loud,somewhere close to the ear of the sleeping Phyllis. She sprang out ofbed with a shriek. Gale sat up and put her hands over her ears. Anotherbell joined the first and together their voices made a clatter thatdisturbed sleepers all over the building. Phyllis dashed wildly about,seeking the cause of the clatter. She found an alarm clock under thebed, whose bell was the cause of the initial outburst. She turned it offwhile Gale sought the second bell. But Gale had no sooner found theclock hidden in her suitcase than another bell broke forth and anotherand another. The place was alive with bells, each louder and more shrillthan the one before.
The girls sat in the center of the floor and looked helplessly at oneanother.
"Let 'em ring," Phyllis advised.
"That's all we can do," Gale conceded laughingly. "I wonder whose ideathis was?"
"What?"
"I said----" Gale began to repeat patiently, but it was no use. Phylliscould not hear her above the clatter. It seemed a million bells wereringing. Never had the girls heard such a varied assortment of bellsounds.
Gradually the bells began to stop. Gently the tinkling died out and thegirls climbed back into bed. But they were no sooner settled than theloudest and most disturbing gong of all started.
"Sounds like a fire alarm," Phyllis shouted.
She was hastily rummaging in her closet. Her search disclosed a bigalarm clock hidden in a hat box. She brought it out.
"How do you shut it off?" she yelled to Gale.
Gale shook her head, laughing. The two tried everything, but the mosteffective was stuffing the clock under two pillows. That softened itssiren shriek somewhat.
"What a night!" Phyllis groaned, as she climbed back into bed. She veryslowly and carefully stuffed cotton in her ears. "I am going to sleepthe rest of the night even if the roof caves in!" she prophesied.
"What was going on in your room last night?" Ricky demanded the nextmorning when she paid them a visit before breakfast.
"Somebody hid a hundred alarm clocks in here to scare us," Phyllisexplained, crawling from under Gale's bed. She had discovered two moreclocks.
"Going to start a store?" Gloria asked, motioning to the array of clocksstanding on Phyllis' desk.
Phyllis shook her head. She opened the door and pushed a chair out intothe hall. On it she set all the clocks. In front of them she put a sign"To be claimed," and then they all went down to breakfast.
"Look!" Ricky pointed dramatically to the chair when they returned toget their books for classes.
The chair was empty. The clocks were all gone.
