Elizabeth Hobart at Exeter Hall Part 15

Kitch.e.l.l stride up and down, up and down, never for an instant removing his keen eyes from the cla.s.s before him?

In the daily intercourse with her parents, she had asked questions freely.

She did now as she would have done with them. As Dr. Kitch.e.l.l pa.s.sed her desk, she spoke to him:

"I could not help hearing what Miss Brosius said to you about leaving the room, and wondered what she meant."

"It is impossible for me to see all the students. Unfortunately, I do not have eyes in the back of my head."

Elizabeth met his glance with a look of surprise.

Dr. Kitch.e.l.l then spoke more plainly. "I am quite determined there shall be no cheating in my cla.s.ses. My students will pa.s.s on their own merits--or not at all."

"And Miss Brosius then--" she paused, not feeling confident enough of the situation to put her feelings into words.

"Miss Brosius is here to a.s.sist me, and to see there is no copying, no cheating done in the cla.s.s."

Now Dr. Kitch.e.l.l was an excellent man, an able instructor, but he had a blunt way of expressing himself. Elizabeth's face flushed and then grew pale. For one instant her lips quivered and her eyes filled. But she quickly controlled herself, and began putting together her papers.

Arising, she was about to quit the room.

"Have you finished, Miss Hobart?"

"No, I have not." Elizabeth spoke quietly. One could have no suspicion of the fire that lay smoldering beneath.

"Finish and hand me the papers before you leave the room. That has always been the rule at Exeter."

"I do not intend to finish, or to hand in my papers." Although she spoke quietly, her voice was heard over the cla.s.s-room. Each student paused with uplifted pencil in her hand. For the most part, Dr. Kitch.e.l.l was feared.

Few would have dared oppose him.

"And why not, may I ask?"

"Because I will not stay and take an examination where we are treated as though we were criminals. Having a watch set upon us is an insult to every honest student in the cla.s.s. Until I have proved myself to be either a liar or a thief, I insist upon being treated with respect. That is why I will not stay to take an examination under police supervision."

Dr. Kitch.e.l.l was a big man. Elizabeth looked so childish and little as she stood before him that he could not suppress a smile. He rather admired the s.p.u.n.ky little lady who dared to express her opinion so freely. Yet discipline must be maintained. "You will report to Dr. Morgan," he replied.

"I certainly shall," was the rejoinder, as she quitted the room.

In this whirl of indignation and hurt pride, she entered her room and found Mary there.

"I was coming for you, Elizabeth," she said. "Here's a telegram for you."

She held out the yellow envelope. "I hope there is nothing serious the matter."

Elizabeth tore it open before Mary finished speaking, and read it quickly.

"It's from father," she said. "I do not understand it." She handed the paper to Mary. "You know I was to start for home Sat.u.r.day morning."

Mary read it aloud:

"Do not start home. Letter follows. Every one well. Business reason for waiting."

"Nothing to worry about in that. My father has often sent me just such word. Perhaps business calls him away. You see he says every one is well."

"And he would not say that unless it were absolutely true," said Elizabeth with conviction.

"You'll have the letter by to-morrow's mail. It's something pleasant, depend upon it."

"I hope so." She sank down despondently into a chair and rested her head upon the study-table. "I wish something pleasant would happen. This is 'blue' week for me. Yesterday I became excited and almost said too much, and to-day I rush madly in and mix up affairs in the math. exams. I told Dr. Kitch.e.l.l what I thought of his method of conducting them."

Mary's eyes grew bright. They fairly danced in surprise at Elizabeth's action.

"Why, even I would not have dared do that," she said. "I have dared everything at Exeter but Dr. Kitch.e.l.l. I would as soon think of going to Dr. Morgan and telling her that I do not approve of her method of conducting Exeter."

"That is about what I will do next," said Elizabeth dolefully. "When one begins anything like this, there is no telling where she will end. Oh, dear, I'll be glad to get home where people know me, and don't act as though they expect me to lie or steal."

"No one thinks that here, Elizabeth. You've run up against a snag. We all have our blue days when we wish we were somewhere else, and when we have a poor opinion of every one, ourselves included."

"You never do."

"Yes, often, but I found it didn't pay to give up to them. Come, tell me all the trouble, and when it's all told you may find there's very little of it."

"I wish I could think so. I'll tell you, Mary, and then I'll go and see Dr. Morgan. I'm to report immediately to her."

She proceeded with her tale of woe. And although her listener was sympathetic, she laughed heartily during the recital.

CHAPTER VIII.

MIDNIGHT CONFIDENCES.

On going to the office, Elizabeth found that Dr. Morgan had been called unexpectedly to the city, and would not return for several days. She was disappointed, as she much preferred having the thing over and done with than hanging fire for several days. The girls crowded about her, expressing both admiration and criticism and offering advice until Elizabeth did not know whether she was a culprit or a heroine. The maddening part of it was that she must wait three days to find out. Her own opinion in regard to being "policed" into honesty had not changed. She felt confident of the support of her father in the position she had taken.

She knew how, from the bottom of his heart, he abhorred any questioning of one's honor. The more she listened to the talk of the other girls, the more indignant she was at the insult.

She was not one to give expression to her feeling in words only. After her remarks to Dr. Kitch.e.l.l, the other girls did most of the talking while she listened, turning the matter over in her mind. She had her father's way of straightening matters out. "If a thing is wrong, make it right--if you can," she had often heard him say to Joe Ratowsky. Her four months at Exeter had taught her there were people of words and people of action. It was of the last-named cla.s.s she selected her helpers. Landis was not to be considered. It is doubtful if she could have given a reason for the feeling that she would be of no a.s.sistance in a reform movement. It was merely intuition and could not be put into words. Min, too, who was but the shadow of Landis, was to be barred. There was enough to begin with--Anna Cresswell, Nancy Eckdahl, Mary Wilson, Mame Welch, Nora O'Day, strange to say, and herself.

At the dinner table, Elizabeth pa.s.sed the word around asking the girls to come to her room immediately at the ringing of the study bell. Some of the students were already packing to leave for the holidays; and after the midwinter examinations, no strict observance was paid to study hours.

Miss Brosius heard the invitation and smiled. She was learning to know Miss Hobart. After the experience of the morning, she felt these summonses might be followed by a declaration of war. Her position in regard to overseeing examinations was more distasteful to her than it could possibly be to any of the students. But from time immemorial such had been the custom of most schools. There must have been a reason for it. No doubt, it had been forced upon the instructors by the att.i.tude of the students themselves. New conditions may have arisen, but the old law still held.

"There's something brewing," Miss Brosius said to Miss Watson as they quitted the dining-hall. "If I read the stars aright, Exeter Hall will be reformed before Dr. Morgan returns from the city."

"She comes to-morrow."

"Maybe. Reforms have started in less than twenty-four hours. The fuel has been ready for several years, waiting for someone to apply the match."

"Who is doing that now?"

"Elizabeth Hobart, if I am not mistaken. Did you not notice the flash of her eyes and the message she was pa.s.sing about to have the girls meet in her room?"