arch mischief-maker.

As for Judy, she was singularly polite, but cold in her manner, and
Molly detected a certain tremulousness in her voice.

"She's scared, poor dear," thought Molly indignantly. "Now, I wonder
why?"

"I haven't seen you for weeks," Adele began in her sharp, assured tone.
"Where have you been? I heard you had gone home."

"I was away for some time," answered Judy evasively.

"I hope and trust she thinks I have gone out with Nance," thought Molly
in the next room, feeling a good deal like a conspirator. "She'll never
come to the point if she knows I'm here, and I'd just like her to show
her cards for once. It will be a glorious chance to get rid of her
forever more, amen."

The light of battle came into Molly's eyes. "I feel like a knight
pricking o'er the plain to slay a dragon," she thought, waving an
imaginary sword in the air. "When it's all over I wish I had the nerve
to say, 'Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell.'"

She gathered that Adele had moved more closely to Judy, for she heard
her voice from a new quarter of the room saying:

"Is it true that you were dropped?"

There was a moment's pause.

"Whatever happened, Adele, it's over now and I am installed again and
forgiven."

"I thought you were being rather reckless, Judy. The rope ladder
business was bad enough, but those ghost walks were really dangerous;
really you went too far----"

"I beg your pardon," interrupted Judy stiffly. "You are on the wrong
track. I wasn't the campus ghost."

"Now, really, Judy, my dearest friend," cried Adele, seizing both of
Judy's hands and looking into her eyes with an expression of gentle
toleration, "why can't you confide in me? After all our good times are
you going to give me the cold shoulder? I know perfectly well that you
were the ghost. Have I forgotten the night you planned the whole thing
out? Anne White was there. I daresay she remembers it quite as well as I
do. Of course, we thought you were enjoying yourself frightening the
life out of people, but we wondered, both of us, how you dared. I
remember you said how easy it would be to chase girls if they ran, and
how easy to escape because you were the swiftest runner in college. Why
are you trying to deceive your old partner? Especially as I happen to
know that you had the rope ladder all that time. It would have been easy
enough. Oh, I'm on to you, subtle, secretive Judy. You are a clever
little girl, but I'm on to you."