ilbert," shrugged Jane.

"Oh, Maizie, left to herself, would never be dangerous. She's too lazy
to be vengeful. She only follows Marian's lead."

"This Marian well knew that with Mrs. Weatherbee Jane could not agree,"
asserted Adrienne. "She had the opinion that when Jane arrived here Mrs.
Weatherbee would listen to nothing she might say. So she had the
mistaken opinion."

"Mrs. Weatherbee always means to be just," defended Dorothy. "She has
rather prim ideas about things, but she's a stickler for principle. I am
glad she's over her prejudice against you, Jane."

"So am I," nodded Jane. "About this whole affair, Dorothy, I don't
intend to worry any more. I'm going to be too busy trying to be a good
sophomore pioneer to trouble myself with either Marian Seaton or her
cousin. Nothing that she did last year to try to injure me succeeded.
As long as I plod straight ahead and keep right with myself I've nothing
to fear from her."

CHAPTER VIII

A HAPPY THOUGHT

During the week that followed Jane became too fully occupied with
settling down in college to trouble herself further about Marian Seaton.
Neither the latter nor Maizie Gilbert had as yet returned to Wellington,
a fact which caused Jane no regret.

She did not doubt that as soon as Marian put in an appearance she would
hear a garbled tale of woe from her belligerent cousin. Whether Marian
would take up the cudgels in her cousin's defense was another matter.

Firm in her belief that Marian had written the disquieting letter, Jane
was fairly sure that the former's guilty conscience would warn her
against making a protest to Mrs. Weatherbee that her cousin had been
shabbily treated.

As it happened she was quite correct in her surmise. When, late one
afternoon at the end of the week, Marian and Maizie Gilbert arrived at
Madison Hall they were treated to a sight that disturbed them
considerably.

To a casual observer there was nothing strange in the sight of two
white-gowned girls seated in the big porch swing, apparently well
pleased with each other's society. To Marian Seaton, however, it
represented the defeat of a carefully laid scheme. Sight of Jane Allen,
calmly ensconced in the swing and actually laughing at something
Adrienne Dupree was relating with many gestures, filled Marian Seaton
with sullen rage, not unmixed with craven fear.

"_What_ do you think of that?" she muttered to Maizie as the driver of
the taxicab brought the machine to a