"Dulcie wants to serve a regular six-course dinner out in that neck of the woods," sputtered Natalie. "I am not in favor of such extravagance.

It will cost us enough to have sandwiches, salads, relishes and sweets.

Then there's coffee, chocolate, and imported ginger ale besides. I am not going to spend my whole month's allowance on a feed for those greenies."

"If we expect to make an impression on the freshies we ought to do things in good style," Dulcie hotly contested. "I don't care how much money it costs me. I have plenty of coin. The trouble with you Nat, is you're stingy. You buy everything expensive for yourself, but you are always broke when it comes to treating."

"I'll never forgive you for that, Dulcie Vale," was Natalie's wrathful retort. "I think you are too----"

"That will be _all_," Leslie cut in sternly. "I said cut out the sc.r.a.pping, didn't I? Either do as I say or get out of here. We can run the picnic minus either of you. Nat is right for once. Why should we spend a fortune on this affair?"

Knowing that Leslie would have no scruples about barring them both from further part in the picnic, they sullenly subsided. Dulcie freezingly accepted the list of eatables Natalie had made up and temporary peace was restored. Natalie bade Leslie a very cool goodnight a little later when the session broke up. She was hurt and angry over Leslie's brutal frankness. For an instant she wished she might be entirely free of Leslie's domineering sway. It was one of those moments when a faint stirring of a better nature made her long for harmony and peace. Her ign.o.ble side was too greatly in the ascendency however to make her distaste for Leslie Cairns and her tyranny more than momentary.

CHAPTER XII.

A RECKLESS DRIVER.

"The Sans have certainly had one beautiful day for their picnic, but if they don't put in an appearance pretty soon they will be caught in a rain." Seated beside Marjorie and Lucy Warner in the big porch swing, Jerry squinted at the rapidly clouding sky.

While the day had been warm and moderately sunny, dark clouds had been looming up here and there in the sky since four o'clock. Scattered at first, they had gradually banked solidly in the west, obscuring the sunset and promising rain before nightfall.

"What time is it, Jeremiah?" asked Lucy. "I promised to meet Katherine here on the veranda at five-thirty. She left her handbag at Lillian's last night and we are going to walk over there before dinner."

"Why, Luciferous!" Jerry fixed Lucy with an amazed eye. "Can I believe that you and your precious watch have parted company even for a brief half hour!"

Lucy giggled. Her extreme fondness for the wrist watch Ronny had given her was well known to her chums.

"I broke the crystal," she confessed. "It dropped from my hand the other night on the lavatory floor. I miss it terribly you had better believe.

It will be fixed tomorrow, thank goodness."

"Surprised at such carelessness. Ahem!" Jerry teased. "If you want to know the time, it is twenty-seven minutes past five. Your kindred spirit should appear in three minutes."

"Here she comes now." Marjorie had spied Katherine coming up the walk.

"Did you think I was going to be late?" Katherine called from the bottom step. "I had an awful time looking up some data at the library. I just left there and ran half the way here. It looks like rain, but, if we walk fast, we can go over to Wenderblatt's and back before it starts.

Want to go along, Marjorie and Jerry?"

"I might as well. I've nothing else to do before dinner. Come on, Jeremiah. A fast walk before dinner will be a splendid appetizer."

Marjorie rose from the swing and brushed down her wrinkled linen skirt.

"Don't need an appetizer. I'm famished now. Lead me on. I may lose half a pound. That will be something attempted, something done, as our friend H. W. Longfellow sagely remarks in the 'Village Blacksmith.'"

Without further lingering the four girls left the veranda and started down the drive at a swift walk. The Wenderblatt's residence was not far from the campus, but the sky was growing more threatening.

"It begins to look as though we would have to run all the way back to the Hall or get a ducking," warned Jerry as they neared Lillian's home.

"We can't stop to talk, girls. We had better wait for Katherine at the gate. If the whole gang of us goes up to the house we will lose time."

"Yes, I want to be back at the Hall for an early dinner. I must study like sixty this evening, for I won't have a minute tomorrow. Chapel in the morning, and I have promised to go over to Houghton House tomorrow afternoon with Leila. Then we are all going to Muriel's and Hortense's Sunday night spread. Sunday seems the shortest day in the week,"

Marjorie ended with a little regretful gesture.

"I'll be back directly." Coming to the high gate of the ornamental iron fence which inclosed the professor's property, Katherine clanged it hurriedly after her and sped up the walk to the house.

True to her word it was not more than ten minutes before she rejoined them, her handbag swinging from her arm.

"Lillian was so sorry you wouldn't come up. She invited us all to dinner.

I told her we simply must hurry back to the Hall. She----"

A sudden deep rumble of thunder drowned Katherine's speech. It was followed by a sharp blinding flash of lightning.

"We had better run for it," counseled Jerry. "There will be more thunder and lightning before the rain really starts. Don't let a little thing like thunder worry you, children."

By common consent the quartette broke into a gentle run. Soon they were on the highway and not more than a block from the campus wall. As they neared the east gate a terrific reverberating peal of thunder rent the air. So completely did it obliterate all other sound that none of the four heard the purr of a motor behind them, driven at excessive speed.

"Look out!" A sense of impending danger warning Jerry to turn her head, even in full flight, her voice rose in a sharp scream.

Her friends heard it dimly as the speeding car bore down upon them.

Jerry made a wild dive out of harm's way, dragging Marjorie, who was nearest to her, with her. Lucy, who was on the outer edge of the road made a stumbling step backward. Katherine---- Through a mist of horror the three girls saw the machine catch her, flinging her off the road.

They heard cries issue from the black and white roadster as it shot down the road.

"Katherine! Oh, do you suppose she is dead?" Already Lucy was kneeling on the ground beside the silent form in an agony of suspense. "She was almost in the middle of the road. I didn't have time to warn her. I didn't hear it until it ran her down." Lucy's face was white and set.

"Her heart's beating." Marjorie knelt at Katherine's other side, her hand inside Katherine's pongee blouse. "Better go over her for broken bones, Lucy." Marjorie was trembling violently though her voice was steady.

"It was Leslie Cairns who did that!" Jerry hotly accused. "I wonder if she'll have the decency to come back. She must know she ran some one down. I heard the girls in her car scream. I guess she turned in at the gate. Keep off the road, girls. Here come the rest of the picnickers.

One accident is enough for today. She was speeding. That's why she was so far ahead of the others. I shall hail this first car and make 'em take Katherine up to the Hall."

Jerry did not need to hail the car. In the fading daylight the girl at the wheel, who happened to be Margaret Wayne, brought her automobile to a stop almost even with the roadside group.

"What has happened?" she called out sharply.

"Your friend Miss Cairns just ran down Miss Langly," returned Jerry grimly. "She isn't dead, but we don't know how badly she may be hurt.

May we have the use of your car to take her to the Hall?"

"Certainly," came the response in frightened tones. Next instant the seven occupants of the car had piled out of it and gathered around the still unconscious girl.

A swift patter of raindrops struck the group, beating gently on Katherine's white, upturned face. Marjorie had now lifted her head to an easy position on her lap.

"Have any of you smelling salts?" she inquired calmly of the frightened circle, "or perhaps you have a water bottle with you."

"The luncheon things are in one of the cars away back. We have no water with us. Won't the rain help to revive her?" Margaret Wayne asked lamely.

"We shall not give it time to do that," Marjorie returned dryly. "If you will help us lift her we will get her into the car at once. It is only two or three minutes' drive to the Hall."

The others of the party being freshmen, they willingly sprang to Marjorie's a.s.sistance. Raised from the ground, Katherine opened her eyes and groaned a little.

"What--happened? Oh, I--remember. My back! It--hurts--so." She closed her eyes wearily.