eanest thing you can think of. Jane looked
just _crushed_! They've hauled up that old stuff about her father
being a forger and urged it as a reason that she shouldn't be made
treasurer in place of Anne Dallas--who is leaving on account of the
death of her father and she has to go home and take care of her little
sisters--and JANE HEARD THEM!"

A low growl of indignation reached Julia Cloud's ears from Allison,
who squared his shoulders into position for immediate action.

"They said----" went on Leslie in excited whisper. "They said
that since we had such a large sum to look out for now that the
subscriptions for the sorority house were coming in, we should put
in a treasurer of tried and true integrity. Yes, they used just
those words, _tried and true integrity_! Think of it! And OUR JANE!
The idea! The catty little snobs! The jealous little--_cats_! No,
it wasn't Eugenia Frazer who _said_ it, it was Eunice Brice--but
I'm certain she was at the bottom of it, for she sat with her nice
smug little painted face as sweet and complacent as an angel, all
the time it was going on, and she _seconded the motion_! Just like
that! With a SMILE, too! She said she fully agreed with what Miss
Brice had said. _Agreed!_ H'm! As if every one didn't know she had
started it, and got it all fixed up with enough girls to carry the
motion before the rest of us got down from an exam. Yes, they had
it thought out as carefully as that! They knew all the sophomore
girls would be up in that exam. till almost twelve o'clock, for
it's always as long as the moral law, anything with Professor
Crabbs--and they counted up and had just enough to a name to
carry their motion. They even got Marian Hobbs to cut a class to
get there. They hadn't counted on my getting in in time to hear, I
guess, or else they didn't care. Perhaps they wanted me to hear
it all; I'm sure I don't know. I suppose that must have been it.
They thought perhaps I'd tell _you_ and that would stop you from
going with Jane. You know Eugenia and Eunice are both crazy
about you, especially Eugenia----!"

An impatient exclamation from Allison reached the dining-room
thunderously:

"Where was Jane?" Julia Cloud caught that anxious question, and then
Clive, who had evidently heard also, roused himself to ask a
question:

"Who is this _Jane_ person they talk so much about? I don't seem to
have seen her! Where is she?"

"She is Miss Bristol," said Julia Cloud, stiffening just a lit