d.i.c.k and Doris were there and all the girls of the G. A. A. who could come, to say nothing of various boys, particularly those of the soph.o.m.ore and junior cla.s.ses. "Forget the crowd, girls, and whether your nose gets shiny or not," advised Betty. "You're a graceful lot anyhow and usually succeed in avoiding a terrible scramble. But remember that we _have to beat_ those juniors!"

Betty was distrustful of Mathilde, who had gotten on the first team by no wish of hers. She would be playing against Marcella and the other juniors of Kappa Upsilon and Betty thought, though she could not be sure, that she surprised a message between Mathilde and one of the junior players at the other game they played with that cla.s.s. Mathilde's play had been a failure. Could it have been that she _wanted_ to give the game to the junior captain, her sorority sister?

Betty told her worries to no one but Kathryn. She did not want to worry Carolyn, who could not imagine that any one would be as mean as that and was too unsuspicious to see anything but the most flagrant acts. "I'll keep an eye out, Betty," said Kathryn. "Mathilde doesn't care for the soph.o.m.ores or anything but that old sorority, and she doesn't like your being captain, though I hate to tell you that."

"Don't worry. I know it. We'll just keep awake and I'm glad to say that it's Miss Fox who's keeping an eye out this time, besides the referee.

But it's going to be a fast game and no telling what may happen."

First with applause, then with silence, the little audience in the gym greeted the two teams as they came out, without the preliminary stunts that sometimes marked school affairs, and started right in. Amy Louise stood straight up when she saw for the first time the big ball, tossed from one to another, going across the floor, in the hands of Betty's girls, to be popped into the proper basket. That was after the "tip-off," as a freshman girl told Mrs. Lee. She knew few of the correct expressions, but enough to indicate results. "The point is to put the ball through their own basket, Mrs. Lee and they 'make the goal' and 'score.'"

But there was little opportunity to explain. As had been predicted, the game was a fast one. The soph.o.m.ores had the advantage at the first and scored several times. Then the juniors succeeded in keeping the soph.o.m.ores from scoring, put up a clever defense of their own, carried the ball with bewildering speed from one to another and pa.s.sed the score of the soph.o.m.ores with their own. The soph.o.m.ores came back with a series of successful plays after disaster temporarily visited the juniors; and Kathryn covered herself with glory by making the long shot, for which she had been practicing, and saved the day in a bad situation which had occurred. Advantage now on this side and now on that, the first two quarters ended with an equal score.

"If we can do that, Betty," whispered Kathryn, "we stand a good chance to beat."

But Betty was too engrossed to heed. Miss Fox was talking to Mathilde, who was answering loudly. The referee was called to the conference. Then Miss Fox came to Betty, who was watching. "I--we--are taking Mathilde out, Betty. She is not guilty of any foul, but we think that she purposely lost an advantage. I'm not going to risk it. Put in Mary Emma Howland for the rest of the game. If the juniors beat us they want to do it fairly."

Mary Emma was only too glad to play. The other girls wondered a little, but the game was too engrossing, when again they were in the midst of it, to care who was playing. Betty gave Mary Emma a few instructions, but Mary Emma was one of the best on the second team and had been hoping for a chance to play the Championship game. Mathilde was very angry, as Betty could see. She came up to Betty and said, "You put Foxy up to that, I know!"

"I didn't even see what you did, or didn't do, Mathilde," replied Betty, but she turned away. It would not do to get into a discussion now.

Again the contest waxed hard and fast, each side to put the ball through their own basket, each side to keep the other from doing the like. It took quick thinking and quick action and keeping the rules. Betty had an opportunity at showing what she could do in scoring, getting away from her guard and making two beautiful "shots" from unfavorable angles. The juniors felt that it would be a disgrace to let the soph.o.m.ores beat the contest and began to grow excited. Betty never was more cool within, though physically she was warm from the action. It wouldn't be so terrible to be beaten by juniors--but oh, how good to beat them--even Marcella, who was playing a good game.

But personal relations were forgotten on the floor. Marcella was kept from sending the ball through the junior basket and Mary Emma starred as guard in that occasion. The quarters,--the halves--pa.s.sed, and the pistol shot rang out for the close of the game with the score even.

No one was satisfied, of course, but many were the compliments for the playing of both teams. Few fouls, clean playing, fast playing, enough baskets, the comments declared. "It's so stupid when n.o.body can score,"

said one. "These girls managed to do it some way in spite of good interference."

Twenty-five to twenty-five the score stood, said Marcella caught up with Betty as they went back to the girls' gym to change costumes again. "The _idea_ that you beat us, Betty," said Marcella with a smile. "I just declared that you never would!"

"Why, we didn't beat you!" cried Betty.

"You might as well. We couldn't beat _you_, anyhow, which was terrible!

I think we were a little better in our guarding, but you overcame that disadvantage by those long shots that we did not dream you could make.

You and Kathryn are stars, Betty. I'm sorry we did not get you in Kappa Upsilon. What was the trouble with Mathilde, Betty?"

"I don't know, Marcella. You'll have to ask Miss Fox or the referee. I didn't see anything."

"I imagine you have an idea, though," said Marcella. "Well all hail to the Jingery Jumping Jacks! The Lucky Leapers are forced to give them credit, though we don't want to do it."

"Aren't you a great jollier, Marcella Waite! I'm glad it's over, but I'd rather somebody would beat. Still, there are things to be said in favor of a tie, provided a body couldn't win the championship outright. Oh, do you suppose they'll make us play another game?"

"Let _us_ have another chance, you mean," winked Marcella. "No, the big excitement is over and they'll not do it, though I'd love to."

"The soph.o.m.ore team will be ready," said Betty, "though just now I'm for a good dip in the pool and a square meal at home!"

"Sensible idea. You make me hungry at the thought. Oh, Mathilde! Wait!"

Betty watched Marcella follow Mathilde, who neither turned around nor waited, but hurried into the other gym.

CHAPTER XVI: A PARTY AND A REAL "DATE"

It was early in March when the inter-cla.s.s basketball contests ended with the championship game that resulted in a tie. Kathryn's party was given on a Friday night, when a western blizzard had occurred and the rest of the country was surprised by a heavy snow. Memories of the bob-sleds at the Dorrance home during their freshman year came back to more than Betty Lee of the "old crowd." Chet Dorrance had the best of excuses to make arrangements with Betty for a snow date, as he called it, and she promised to go with him and the rest on the next day after school. "Make it a regular date, Betty," said he, "for we'll have something doing whenever we have enough snow."

Betty was delighted with the snow, but made no "long distance"

engagements. There had not been "a decent snow all winter," everybody claimed, and great was the enthusiasm. Great drifts edged the walks at Kathryn's and Betty came early to help, as she had promised. She, Chauncey and Kathryn had a brilliant idea and made a big snow man on the front porch, where he would be well lit up by the porch light at the arrival of the company. "We'll have to have something or other outdoors," declared Chauncey, who went around behind the house to reconnoiter. Kathryn and Betty, who were flying around inside, tried to think as they filled pretty little dishes with bonbons and finished the decorations.

"It's Chauncey's birthday," said Kathryn, "but he wouldn't let me tell a soul. I don't think the other boys know. They surely would wash his face for him in the snow if they did!"

"I'll not betray him," laughed Betty. "But why not have a snow fight?

Listen, Gypsy. Those high piles of snow along the walk you know, why not use them and make a fort or two?"

Chauncey came in with the same idea, except that he thought the best place was in the back where snow had drifted in certain hollows. "It'll spoil everybody's good clothes, though," said he. "Do you suppose the girls will come in those thin things they wear?"

"Not tonight, Chauncey, because I told some of them that we'd probably do something outdoors, and the rest will have a pretty good suspicion that we will."

Kathryn's party included some of the older boys and girls to whom she was indebted. Lucia, as the stranger in their midst and a good friend, was invited. Marcella and Peggy were the only other representatives of the Kappa Upsilons. Ted Dorrance was there and the junior girl to whom he was supposed to have transferred his affections since Louise Madison began to have social relations with the University men.

"h.e.l.lo, Betty Lee," said he. "I haven't seen you except at a distance for some time. Congratulations for not letting the junior team beat you in basketball. Those girls ought to feel crushed."

"But don't," added Betty. "Congratulations yourself on your own basketball record. I was so surprised when I heard you were on the team.

I haven't missed a game that was played here if I could help it. You've become a star."

"According to the _Lyon's Roar_," answered Ted, in derision. "They're hard up for somebody to write up as a star if they have to take me!"

"Your modesty is very becoming," demurely remarked Betty, as an older girl might have done, and Ted looked again. This was a cute girl, this little soph.o.m.ore. He remembered her coming to Lyon High for the first last year. Chet had her in his crowd. How would it do to take her somewhere some time?

In consequence of these impulsive thoughts, in the course of the evening's fun Betty found Ted Dorrance beside her several times and once he asked her if she "had a date" for the next Symphony Concert.

"Why, no, though Mother and I go to some of them," said Betty, not dreaming that Ted meant to ask her. But she was mortified at the thought of what she considered her "dumbness," when he asked her to go with him on that coming Sat.u.r.day night.

"Oh!" she said. "Why--Mother never lets me go to anything down in the city with anybody; but I think she would let me go with you."

"I hope she will," smiled Ted. "Let me know, Betty."

"I will tomorrow," said Betty, feeling uncomfortable, as girls do, for fear the boys will think them too childish. But Betty had confidence in her mother and she knew well that the ban would be off when she grew older. Oh, how _wonderful_ to be going somewhere with Ted Dorrance! She looked so happy, though full of fun, as she helped Kathryn serve, that more than one boy looked her way and thought that Betty Lee was a "pretty girl." Then they all put on wraps and as a final spurt of fun went out for a battle of _soft_ s...o...b..a.l.l.s, by the girls' direction. No fort was made, for it was too late when the indoor fun was finished, but great plans were made for the following afternoon and evening, to take advantage of the winter's one great opportunity.

And the snow man remained, to melt in a day or two into a messy heap on the porch; and an early robin c.o.c.ked his head at the sight, as he stopped for the crumbs from the cake Kathryn had stuffed in the gaping mouth of the snow man. "Let's give him a cooky," Kathryn had said, as she and Betty laughed at Chauncey's last artistic efforts.

Indeed, the birds were arriving all through March and April. It was baseball now, not basketball, though Betty did not play. She was devoted to the swimming in particular and was getting ready to take part in the events of a girls' high school swimming meet, in which the swimmers from the different high schools would compete for excellence and points.

"No," she said to Miss Fox. "Hockey and basketball were enough. I'm out for swimming, and that is all I can do, Miss Fox, if I get my lessons.

Oh, of course hikes and all the points I can make when I'm not needed at home."

"I like to hear you say that, Betty. Too many girls don't want to help at all at home."