and Judy now came into the room. Nance looked a little excited and
Judy was red in the face.

"Do you know," burst out the impetuous Judy, "that Caroline Brinton has
called a mass meeting of all the sophomores not at Queen's? She has
started up some cock-and-bull tale about the Queen's girls trying to run
the class. She says we're a ring of politicians. We ran in all our
officers last year and we're going to try and do it this year."

"What a ridiculous notion," laughed Molly. "Margaret was elected by her
own silver-tongued oratory, and Jessie was made secretary because she
was so pretty and popular and seemed to belong next to Margaret anyway."

"But the question is: are the Queen's girls going to sit back and let
themselves be libeled?" demanded Nance.

Here Edith spoke up.

"Of course," she said, "let them talk. Don't you know that people who
denounce weaken their own cause always, and it's the people who keep
still who have all the strength on their side? Let them talk and at the
class meeting to-morrow some of us might say a few quiet words to the
point."

The girls recognized the wisdom of this decision and concluded to keep
well away from any forced meeting of sophomores that evening. It had not
occurred to simple-hearted Molly that it was jealousy that had fanned
the flame of indignation against Queen's girls, but it had occurred to
some of the others, the Williamses in particular, who were very shrewd
in regard to human nature. As for Margaret Wakefield, she was openly and
shamelessly enjoying the fight.

"Let them talk," she said. "To-morrow we'll have some fun. Just because
they have made such unjust accusations against us they ought to be
punished by being made to vote for us."

It was noted that Margaret used the word "us" in speaking of future
votes. She had been too well-bred to declare herself openly as candidate
for the place of class president, but it was generally known that she
would not be displeased to become the successful candidate. The next
morning they heard that only ten sophomores attended the mass meeting
and that they had all talked at once.

Later in the day when the class met to elect its president for the year,
as Edith remarked: "The hoi polloi did look black and threatening."

Molly felt decidedly uncomfortable and out of it. She didn't know how to
make a speech for one thing and she hoped they'd leave her alone. It was
utterly untrue about Queen's girls. The cleverest girl