The Adventure Girls at Happiness House Read online

  Chapter II

  A RESCUE

  "I am not going to like it!" Janet announced firmly when she met Phyllisand Gale on the campus the next morning after breakfast.

  "You are lucky so far," Phyllis told her. "The upper classmen in thedormitories haven't come back for the term yet. We have some of thesorority girls already in the house and do we get looked over!"

  "Where is Carol?" Gale inquired.

  "Gone to get our tennis racquets," Janet replied. "We are going to takeadvantage of the empty courts now before the upper classmen get here."

  "I'll come along and watch," Phyllis offered magnanimously.

  "I want to take a walk and explore," Gale informed them. "I'll see youat luncheon, Phyl."

  Classes would not begin for three days yet, but the girls had timedtheir arrival at Briarhurst for days ahead to become acquainted with thegeneral position of their classes and the dormitories.

  Gale headed in the direction of the lake that lay on the western borderof the campus. There had been erected diving boards for the students andcanoes were anchored to the shore. Gale watched for several minutes thecavortings of the gay young girls who frolicked in the water, and thencontinued with her stroll.

  Readers of The Adventure Girls at K Bar O and The Adventure Girls in theAir are already familiar with the six girls from the little town ofMarchton. Old friends already know of the desire of the girls to attendBriarhurst College and of the difficulties along that line experiencedby Phyllis Elton. Now it seemed their dreams were in a fair way of beingfulfilled. All of them, even Phyllis, were actually present at thecollege and starting out on an entirely new branch of life. They wereprepared to study hard and also prepared to face the fun and trials ofcollege life.

  On the grassy bank beneath a low-hanging willow tree Gale sat down toview the water and to think.

  Last night they had been met at the door by a welcoming committee of twoJuniors. She remembered her own and Phyllis' surprise at the odd thingswhich they saw on their journey to their room on the third floor.

  Some delightful soul had christened the staircase the "Golden Stairs,"but whether they led to heaven or not the girls had not yet discovered.On the landing of the second floor was a huge poster which might havebeen the street sign for a Boulevard proclaiming "Senior Avenue." Oneach floor the corridor was named and some of the rooms themselves hadnames.

  Phyllis and Gale found themselves in "Sunshine Alley" but there was noname tacked upon their door.

  "How come?" Phyllis wanted to know.

  "You have to do something to deserve a name. Then a special committee ofsorority girls gets together and selects one for you. For instance, nextdoor to you, you have the champion swimming team of last year's Freshmanclass. Their room is named 'Mermaid Mansion.' Get the idea?"

  "Also farther up the hall is 'Harmony Heaven,'" the other upper classmaninformed them. "That was so named because the girls there are foreverquarreling. The name anything but fits them."

  It was a little confusing to Gale and Phyllis. They could notimmediately adapt the terms for the different floors and rooms in thehouse. At dinner when someone asked them what floor they were on, theyinnocently said "Third," and were made to run around the table threetimes for not using the correct title "Sunshine Alley."

  For the most part, though, the girls were friendly. The two were shownabout with due ceremony and the rules carefully explained. The housemother, Mrs. Grayson, who had charge of the building was most courteousand the girls immediately liked her. Next they met the sororitypresident, Adele Stevens. They were at once taken under her wing.

  Gale dangled the end of a willow branch in the swirling lake water. Thewater at this point was flowing rapidly toward a waterfall where itjoined a rushing river and went on to the sea.

  This afternoon she had an appointment with the President of the collegeand then one with the Dean. It was customary for all new students to bethus interviewed, but Gale wondered if they all felt as nervous as she.She had a strong curiosity and yet a reluctance to meet the new Dean.She wanted to see the new authority because the girls had talked abouther so much at dinner last night. It seemed the Seniors all sympathizedwith the bus driver. They were prepared to strongly oppose any newpolicies installed by Dean Travis. From what Gale and Phyllis had heard,the new Dean's policies would better things on the campus. At least theyappealed favorably to the new Freshmen. Certainly there could be nothingwrong in wanting new laboratories for the Chemistry classes, a new organfor the chapel, stables and horses to teach the girls riding and a fewother such things. Why the older students were so set against themPhyllis and Gale could not understand. However, they both agreed, in theprivacy of their room, to take neither side until they knew more aboutthings. At any rate, they were only Freshmen and Freshmen were to beseen, not heard.

  Gale was about to turn back to the campus to meet Phyllis for luncheonat the sorority house when she halted. Had that been a voice calling?Faintly another call came across the water. Parting the low thickbranches of the willow tree, Gale looked across the lake.

  A canoe was drifting down the center of the lake. It was going moreswiftly every moment, caught in the rush of waters leaping on toward thewaterfall at the other end. In the canoe was a figure, wavingfrantically to the shore.

  Either the canoeist had lost her oars or she was so panic-stricken atbeing caught in the swirling waters that she could not thinkconclusively or quickly enough to save herself.

  A tree branch had been broken from a tree in a recent storm and now it,too, swirled around in the lake waters. Gale watched breathlessly whilethe branch bore down on the canoe. She was helpless to aid even thoughthe onslaught would probably upset the canoe. But such was not the case.Instead of toppling the canoe over the boat became entangled in the wetleaves still clinging to the wood and so, locked together, the two movedtoward the waterfall.

  Gale started to run swiftly back to where, in the calmer waters, thecollege girls had been swimming. Someone must rescue that woman in thecanoe. Perhaps there would be a motor boat at the diving boards. Anothercanoe would not be much help. Gale kept close to the shore as she ran,always keeping in view of the canoe. Once she stopped to wave to thetragic figure being swept to destruction. She saw an answering wave andheard a call, but she could not distinguish the words.

  Fortunately she did not have to run all the way back to the swimmers.Hidden close to the mossy bank in a thick growth of shrubbery along theshore was a motor boat. Gale found it with a sense of immeasurablerelief. With trembling fingers she untied the anchor rope and jumpedinto the boat. How thankful she was that she had had ample experiencewith motor boats back in Marchton! It stood her in good stead now. Themotor responded promptly and she turned the nose of the boat out intothe lake. She drew speed from the boat and wondered what the owner mightsay.

  The canoe, still tangled with the dead tree branch, was even closer tothe tumbling waters going over the waterfall. Gale was glad the motorboat was a large, sturdy affair. With its powerful motor workingrhythmically it should be able to withstand the pull of those rushingwaters.

  Flinging a heavy spray back over Gale the boat sped eagerly through thewater. It rapidly closed the distance between the drifting canoe and thewould-be rescuer. Almost upon the canoe Gale tried to think of the bestmeans of getting the woman safely aboard the motor boat. She certainlycould not be transferred from the canoe in the middle of the water.Therefore, the best procedure would be to tow the canoe to shore. Butfirst the tree branch must be disposed of. It might drag both the canoeand the motor boat to the falls.

  "Hang on," Gale shouted to the figure in the canoe, "we'll make theshore all right."

  She ran the motor boat as close as she could to the canoe. The swell ofwater threatened to upset the smaller craft. Gale shut the motor off.The boat was immediately swept into the current. Grasping a long, heavyboat hook which she found lying on the deck, Gale stepped onto theclosed cabinet-lik
e doors which sheltered the engine.

  "Go back--you'll be killed!" the other figure implored.

  Gale sent the woman a reassuring smile. She had done such crazy stuntson Bruce Latimer's boat back in Marchton. Now she felt no fear at allfor herself, only a fear that she might not be able to push the treebranch far enough away to loosen the canoe. She tied one end of a coilof rope to the anchor bolt on the motor boat and threw it toward thecanoe. It fell directly across the small craft. The canoeist grasped itand made it secure.

  Cautiously Gale worked herself farther out to the bow of the boat. Shehad only a few seconds now in which to loosen the tree branch andrestart the motor to save them both. At the first thrust of the boathook Gale nearly toppled herself into the water. She heard a muffled cryfrom the woman in the canoe. She regained her posture. She could neverdo it standing upright. Therefore, she lay down flat on her stomach onthe boat. That gave her a freer use of her right arm and less chance oflosing her balance. A gigantic push and the branch swept away from thecanoe and onward to the destruction of the falls.

  Gale lost no time in making her way back to start the motor. Luckily itstarted with the first try and the motor boat pulled clear of theswirling waters, dragging behind it the canoe.

  Once on shore Gale tied the motor boat securely to its former positionand helped the slender figure from the canoe. The canoeist was a womanolder than Gale, but Gale felt immediately that they could be firmfriends. She liked the other's frank smile and clear gray eyes.

  "You are a brave girl!" the woman said when she was safe and her firstwords of thanks were over. "I might be over the falls now if it were notfor you," she shuddered.

  Gale smiled. "It was a lucky thing someone was here. What happened? Didyou go out without any oars?"

  "I know better than to do that," the woman said. "I was sitting in thecanoe farther up along the shore, reading. I often do that. I had nodesire to go out on the lake so I left the oars on shore while the boatremained anchored. I must have fallen asleep. The next thing I knew Iawoke and I was in the middle of the lake, caught in the rapids."

  Gale looked at the boat and noted the short bit of rope dangling fromits stern.

  "It rather looks as though that rope was cut," she said, noting thesharpness of its edge as though a knife had severed it.

  "You must never mention that to anyone," the other said quickly."Promise me you will never speak such a thought!"

  Gale laughed. "Of course--but why shouldn't I?"

  "I can't explain now, but there is a very good reason." She held out herhand. "I would like to say thank you again. Will you come to see me thisafternoon?"

  Gale put her hand into the one offered her. "I'm sorry," she saidregretfully. "You see I am new at the college and I have an appointmentwith the Dean."

  A whimsical light came into the gray eyes. "You don't seem veryenthusiastic."

  "I'm not," Gale confessed.

  "Have you been listening to the upper classmen?"

  "A little," Gale said. "But it isn't that. I'm not prejudiced againsther. She may be perfectly all right--it is only that--I'm a littlenervous. I guess all Freshmen are. I hope she is nicer than what I hearabout her."

  The other woman laughed. "I hope you find her so. Now I----"

  The patter of running feet interrupted her and a group of girls burstupon them.

  "We saw what happened from up the shore," one gasped. "Are you allright, Dean Travis?"

  Dean Travis! Gale felt the world whirling around her. This was the newDean!

  "I am quite all right, thank you," the Dean was saying composedly.

  A second later she was gone and the other girls with her. Gale was aloneand she sank down dejectedly on a tree trunk. For a long time she satthere staring out over the water. Finally she made her way slowly backto the sorority house where Phyllis was waiting for her.

  * * * * *

  That afternoon Gale went to the office of the Dean. If she had beennervous this morning before she met the Dean she was ten times more sonow. To think of the things she had said! They made her cheeks burn now.How could she have talked so and to the Dean! She sat on the hard outeroffice chair and thought of all the places she would rather be. Shethought of Phyllis and Madge and Valerie swimming in the lake. Shethought of Janet and Carol again playing tennis. How she longed to bewith them. How she longed to be anywhere where she did not have to facethe Dean!

  "You may go in, Miss Howard," the secretary said.

  Gale stood up and took a deep breath. She covered the distance into theoffice in little less than a run. She felt she had to go as quickly aspossible before she turned and fled out of sheer panic.

  There was another woman with Dean Travis, a woman with brown curly hairand a flashing, whimsical smile, absurdly young to be the schoolphysician, but such Gale found her to be when they were introduced. Shestayed to talk with Gale and the Dean for several minutes and theFreshman felt all her self-consciousness and timidity melting awaybefore the warmth of the Doctor's smile. However, when the Doctor hadgone and the Dean was seated behind her desk, Gale in the chair beforeher, the girl felt her discomfiture returning. After all, this woman wasthe Dean and she had talked to her and treated her much as she mighthave Phyllis or Valerie. Hereafter she must remember to treat the Deanwith the respect and deference required by the head of the girls'college.

  "Is your room at the Omega Chi Sorority house satisfactory?" the Deanwas asking pleasantly. She tapped a white envelope before her. "I havehad a long letter from your former High School teacher, Miss Relso."

  "Everything is perfect, thank you," Gale said politely.

  "Your roommate is your friend from home?"

  "Oh, yes."

  "I hope you are going to like Briarhurst, Miss Howard."

  "I am sure I shall."

  "The girls are all pleasant, that is for the most part. Of course thereare some who are selfish and like their own way, but one finds them inevery walk of life. Briarhurst tries to fit the girls to take a definiteplace in the world, to help them live the kind of life worth living. Wedon't say we fit you to immediately take charge of whatever line ofendeavor you go into when your four years here are up. All we try to dois give you the prime essentials for your life--courage, determination,ambition, the desire to play fair and to take gallantly whatever lifeoffers you." She smiled. "What is the matter, Gale?"

  "Matter?" Gale was surprised out of her respectful silence.

  "You have been sitting there politely listening, but I doubt if a wordI've said has remained in your memory," the Dean said humorously.

  "Oh, I assure you, it has," Gale said hastily.

  "Are you still nervous about meeting--the Dean?" the older woman asked,rising and walking around the desk to Gale's side.

  Gale also rose. "I'm sorry if I was rude this morning," she said inembarrassment. "I had no idea----"

  "That I was the Dean?" the other said. "Otherwise you would have let thecanoe drift over the falls, is that it? I'm sorry, that was a terriblething to say," she continued breathlessly. "Forgive me." She laid a handlightly on Gale's shoulder. "This isn't the type of interview I usuallyhave with a Freshman."

  "I gathered that much," Gale smiled. She continued after a while, ratherhesitantly, "You aren't really worried about--about the things the girlsare saying, are you?"

  "No," the Dean smiled, walking to the door with Gale. "Not reallyworried. Goodbye, my dear, and come to see me often--as a friend, if notin my official capacity."

  Gale stepped out into the world red with the glow from the setting sunand thought what a grand person Dean Travis was. She had a personalitythat made one immediately want to be the best sort of person one could.That she would in a short time win all the girls over to her side, Galedid not doubt. She was so pleasant, so easy to approach, so interestedin the girls, that they could not resent her for any length of time nomatter how much they missed their former Dean.

  A hand touched her arm and she jumped i
n surprise, so deep in thoughthad she been.

  "Did I frighten you?" a laughing voice asked.

  Doctor Norcot fell into step beside her. "I waited for you," she addedwith a look around.

  Gale saw a few girls across the campus watching her and the Doctor. Shehoped they weren't the Adventure Girls. If such was the case, she wouldbe teased intolerably about already being friends with two suchimportant people as the Dean and the Doctor.

  "I wanted to ask you more about that cut rope."

  "Cut rope?" Gale repeated, puzzled. "Oh, you mean on the canoe."

  "Yes. Are you positive it was cut?"

  Gale nodded. "There couldn't be any doubt about it. You see it was justa new rope. That is, the end that was left was new. It couldn't haveworn through. The edge was straight and not at all frayed. It had beencut," she said firmly. "Did Dean Travis tell you about it?"

  "Yes. You haven't told anyone, have you?"

  "No," Gale said in mystification. "But why shouldn't I? Anyone who looksat the canoe will be sure to see it."

  "Freshmen have enough on their minds without adding other people'stroubles," the Doctor teased. "Good afternoon, Miss Howard."

  Eyes grown stormy with indignation and then calmer with humor, Galewatched her stride across the campus and into the red brick buildingwhich housed the infirmary and the Doctor's quarters.

  "What a nice, polite way of telling me to mind my own business," shelaughed to herself. "But just the same," she added mischievously, "Iwon't mind it. I, too, would like to know why that rope was cut so DeanTravis' canoe would drift out and be caught in the rapids."

  She walked across the campus toward the sorority house. The building wasgray and ivy covered. The sun's last rays made the vine leaves gleamsilver and gold in turn. "Happiness House!" She smiled. What a fittingname for the place. Whoever had substituted such a name for the intimateuse of the girls had chosen it rightly enough. There seemed to benothing but peace, contentment and utter harmony among the girls. Atleast so far she and Phyllis had discovered nothing else. Of course whenthe rest of the girls arrived for the semester things might bedifferent.

  She mounted the steps and entered the living room. There were severalgirls there, gathered about the piano. One held a ukulele and as Galewent toward the staircase she started to sing:

  "There was a happy young Freshman, Who rescued the Dean from the water, But alas and alack, now the Freshman is sad, Cause she did something she hadn't oughter."

  Gale laughed and ran lightly up the Golden Stairs to Sunshine Alley. Therhyming was decidedly bad in the girl's song.

  Just as she reached the door to her room the most blood-curdling yellcame through the panels that she had to pause and put her hands over herears. From all along the hall doors opened and heads were poked out.

  Gale turned the door knob and entered. Phyllis was sitting on the bedconvulsed with laughter. Astride the footboard of her bed was anothergirl, evidently the one who had given voice to that shout because hermouth was still open.

  "What on earth----" Gale began.

  "My roommate," Phyllis managed to gasp between giggles.

  "Howdy!" The girl who was using the bed footboard as a horse said,extending a brown hand. "I'm Ricky Allen. I'm in the room across thehall."

  "I'm glad to know you," Gale said, laughing in spite of herself, "butwould you mind telling me what that noise was just now?"

  Phyllis wiped the tears from her eyes. "Ricky is from Wyoming and shewas illustrating a cowboy round-up whoop for me."

  There was a heavy knock upon the door. Gale opened it.

  "Who is being murdered?" Adele Stevens asked calmly.

  Gale shook her head. "It was a mistake. It seems only a cowboy war-whoopgot loose. We have it under control now," she added.

  When the Sorority president was gone Ricky grinned at the two girls.

  "Reckon I'm goin' to like this place now I've met you. I didn't atfirst. I was lonesome for my ranch and my horses."

  "I understand the new Dean plans to have stables and horses installed toteach the girls riding," Gale said.

  "Yipeeee!" Ricky greeted the news eagerly. "That'll be great. I've gottatell my roommate that!"

  She was gone with the same suddenness and whirlwind speed thatcharacterized all her actions. Gale and Phyllis looked at one anotherand burst out laughing.