rybody in the
room was shouting the same thing. Finally the president stepped forward
and made one determined demand for order.

"Is Miss Emily Davis present?" she called, when the tumult had slightly
subsided.

"Yes," shouted the Three and the few others who knew Miss Davis by
sight.

"Then will she please--why, exactly what is it that you want of her?"
questioned the president, a trifle haughtily.

"Speech!" chorused the Three.

"Will Miss Davis please speak to us?" asked the president.

At that a very tall girl who was ineffectually attempting to hide behind
little Alice Waite was pulled and pushed to her feet, and amid a sudden
silence began the funniest speech that most of the class of 19-- had
ever listened to; but it was not so much what she said as her inimitable
drawling delivery and her lunging, awkward gestures that brought down
the house. When she took her seat again, resolutely ignoring persistent
cries of "More!" the class applauded her to the echo and elected her
freshman debater by acclamation.

It was wonderful what a change those twenty riotous minutes had made in
the spirit of the class of 19--. For the first time in its history it
was an enthusiastic, single-hearted unit, and to the credit of the Hill
girls be it said that no one was more enthusiastic or joined in the
applause with greater vigor than they. They had not meant to be
autocratic--except three of them; they had simply acted according to
their lights, or rather, their leaders' lights. Now they understood how
affairs could be conducted at Harding, and during the rest of the course
they never entirely forgot or ignored the new method.

To Betty's utter astonishment and consternation the lion's share of
credit for the sudden triumph of democracy was laid at her door. The
group around her after the meeting was almost as large and quite as
noisy as the one that was struggling to shake hands with Miss Davis.

"Don't! You mustn't. Why, it was the B's who got her, not I," protested
Betty vigorously.

"No, you began it," said Babe.

"You bet you did," declared Bob.

"Yes, indeed. We were too scared to speak of her until you proposed
something like it," added Babbie in her sweet, lilting treble.

"You can't get out of it. You are the real founder of this democracy,"
ended Christy Mason decidedly. Betty was proud of Christy's approval. It
was fun, too, to have the Hill girls crowding around and saying pleasant
things to her.

"I al