fair play. After that
I shall never trouble myself about her," concluded Grace, her voice
trembling slightly.

"Don't feel so hurt at Elfreda's rudeness, Grace," soothed Miriam. "She
doesn't mean half she says. She'll be sorry some day."

"I wish 'some day' was before Friday," replied Grace mournfully. "I
wonder who else is to take part in this affair?"

"Watch Miss Wicks and Miss Hampton," advised Anne quietly.

"That's sound advice," agreed Grace. "I appoint you and Miriam as secret
service agents. You must unearth the enemy's plans for Friday night."

"What will you do if we should happen to stumble upon them?" asked
Miriam curiously.

"I don't know, yet," said Grace slowly. "It will depend entirely on what
they are. Since we can't prevent Elfreda from going to her fate, we may
be obliged to go along with her. If I were to ask you girls to drop
everything and follow me on Friday night, would you do it?"

Anne and Miriam nodded.

"Then that's settled," was her relieved comment. "I am going to take two
other girls into our confidence. I shall tell Mabel Ashe and Frances
Marlton. They will come to the rescue if I need them. Besides they are
juniors, and if I am not mistaken, upper class support may be very
desirable before we are through with this affair."

"And all this anxiety over J. Elfreda," smiled Miriam. "But to tell you
the truth, girls, I shall be only too glad to fare forth in the cause of
Elfreda. I thought her a terrible cross when she first came, but now I
am positively lonesome without her, and I don't care how soon she comes
back."

CHAPTER XXII

TURNING THE TABLES

For the next two days the three girls bent their efforts toward
discovering the plot on foot against Elfreda, but to little purpose. So
far, Grace had refrained from imparting her vague knowledge of what
impended to Mabel and Frances. Her naturally self-reliant nature would
not allow her to depend on others. She preferred to solve her own
problems and fight her own battles if necessary. Whatever the two
sophomores had planned was a secret indeed. By neither word nor sign did
they betray themselves, and by Thursday evening Grace was beginning to
show signs of anxiety.

"I haven't been able to find out a thing," she declared dispiritedly to
Anne. "I suspect one other girl, but I'm not sure about her. Anne, do
you think Virginia Gaines is in this affair, too?"

"Hardly," replied Anne. "She and Elfreda are not friendly, a