At this juncture Miriam Nesbit joined them.  “What’s the latest on the bulletin board?” she inquired, smiling mischievously.

“Don’t laugh, Miriam,” rebuked Grace.  “Things are serious.  Elfreda has some sort of engagement for Friday night with those two girls.  She almost told me what it was, then changed her mind and invited me to mind my own business and leave her room.  I’m going to try to find out something about Friday night and see that she gets fair play.  After that I shall never trouble myself about her,” concluded Grace, her voice trembling slightly.

“Don’t feel so hurt at Elfreda’s rudeness, Grace,” soothed Miriam.  “She doesn’t mean half she says.  She’ll be sorry some day.”

“I wish ‘some day’ was before Friday,” replied Grace mournfully.  “I wonder who else is to take part in this affair?”

“Watch Miss Wicks and Miss Hampton,” advised Anne quietly.

“That’s sound advice,” agreed Grace.  “I appoint you and Miriam as secret service agents.  You must unearth the enemy’s plans for Friday night.”

“What will you do if we should happen to stumble upon them?” asked Miriam curiously.

“I don’t know, yet,” said Grace slowly.  “It will depend entirely on what they are.  Since we can’t prevent Elfreda from going to her fate, we may be obliged to go along with her.  If I were to ask you girls to drop everything and follow me on Friday night, would you do it?”

Anne and Miriam nodded.

“Then that’s settled,” was her relieved comment.  “I am going to take two other girls into our confidence.  I shall tell Mabel Ashe and Frances Marlton.  They will come to the rescue if I need them.  Besides they are juniors, and if I am not mistaken, upper class support may be very desirable before we are through with this affair.”

“And all this anxiety over J. Elfreda,” smiled Miriam.  “But to tell you the truth, girls, I shall be only too glad to fare forth in the cause of Elfreda.  I thought her a terrible cross when she first came, but now I am positively lonesome without her, and I don’t care how soon she comes back.”

CHAPTER XXII

TURNING THE TABLES

For the next two days the three girls bent their efforts toward discovering the plot on foot against Elfreda, but to little purpose.  So far, Grace had refrained from imparting her vague knowledge of what impended to Mabel and Frances.  Her naturally self-reliant nature would not allow her to depend on others.  She preferred to solve her own problems and fight her own battles if necessary.  Whatever the two sophomores had planned was a secret indeed.  By neither word nor sign did they betray themselves, and by Thursday evening Grace was beginning to show signs of anxiety.

“I haven’t been able to find out a thing,” she declared dispiritedly to Anne.  “I suspect one other girl, but I’m not sure about her.  Anne, do you think Virginia Gaines is in this affair, too?”