The Camp Fire Girls' Larks and Pranks

her since the beginning, will by constant effort have attained a fair measure of popularity by the fourth year, when suddenly a personality will appear out of the vast and seize and hold the ce

nt student they had ever had in their classes-when she could remember to turn her work in. Her compositions were read out in class and brought down the house. When she rose to recite you could hear a pin drop. It was a

into a Freshman English class, her mind busy working out the solution of a problem in geometry. When some other Katherine was called upon to recite she rose solemnly and, going to the board, gave a masterly demonstration of a knotty theorem in solid geometry, and then marched out with the class,

or, "Katherine did this up at our house," was to incite the envy of less favored ones. The Uranians, the most exclusive and select girl's society in the school, voted her in as a member because they must have all the prominent girls, although they generally scorned both worth and brains, if clothed in poor garments, and great was t

in their bosom the first thing! No other group of girls would ever know her as intimately as they would. The Camp Fire idea ap

iously as Katherine climbed up and down and up again just for the fun of the thing.

id," she s

said Hinpoha incredulously

in the Lodge gasped unbelievingly. "We lived in a one-story house, the floor level with the ground, so you just walked in from the outside without going up steps. The house was in the middle of a big farm, as level and fl

n you went traveling?" aske

to the clothes on the line, and we couldn't get enough feed to fatten the stock; the next year there were prairie fires that licked the earth as clea

they adored her more than ever because she could be

e tree in sight on our farm," she would tell them, "and that wasn't green like the trees are in the east; it was just a dusty, greenish gray. And the

as rather handsome when you saw her for the first time, but she was so bitingly sarcastic that her classes stood in fear and trembling of being singled out for some poisoned shaft. Sarcasm and ridicule are the most deadly weapons to use against boys and girls of the high school age. They are not old enough to know how to come back, and can only nurse the smart and writhe impotently. And of all classes to have a

laughter of the pupils which would complete Katherine's mortification. But nobody laughed. They all sympathized with Katherine. They had been in her shoes themselves. The blood mounted to Katherine's temples when she realized that Miss Snively was deliberately making fun of her, and a hurt look came into her eyes. She was sensitive about her voice, even if she did get endless fun out of it. When Miss Snively handed her the book again and

between those two. Miss Snively lost no chance to make Katherine ridiculous in class, and, while Katherine had too much respect for teachers to openly defy her, she "took off" her affected manners to

iors gave their annual dance, the seniors carried away the refreshments. On the night of the senior dance the lights refused to work, and, of course, the juniors were at the bottom of the mystery. The principal, thinking rightly that pranks of this kind reflected little credit on his school, wrathfully declared that if any of the seniors attempted to spoil the juniors' party th

ct party," she announced one night up in the Open Door Lodge, spreading her bony hands out b

" said Gladys, who was stirring fudge

ow what's in the wind? The Seniors are to put a lot of live

Hinpoha and Gladys in o

gether and call themselves the Clan? Well, those. They were mixed up in the business last yea

find it out?"

therine did not care for her in the least. "Cora's a particular friend of Charlie Hughes, and she and some other girl

're not going?" sai

ion on Katherine's fa

stirring. "I wish Nyoda were here." Miss Kent had been called out of town

, I think,"

oing to be an awful mess, and the result will be that somebody will be expelled or not permitted to graduate. Students are going to take sides in the affair and there will be no end of hard feel

ld never tell who tol

would say that I had been in the thing to start with and then grew afraid and told on the ot

ty to try and stop such horrid p

ll the teachers know that something is going to happen and they will be on the lookout. And the Juniors know it als

ence the year before, decided that it was perhaps be

d sort of girl, and I can't see why she should want to get mixed up in that sort of thing, especially when there's bound to be trouble later. If she were to be seen with those boys Friday night it would go hard with her. I suppose she thinks she's right in the swim being connected

bring a friend, and you could invite Cora," su

Katherine's cordial invitation. "What's to be done now?" asked Katherine of the

if she wants to get into trouble let her do it, it's none of our affair. It is our affair, because we're pledged to Give Service, and it would be doing Cora a great service to keep her out of this.

e to the ears of the Winnebagos, and they decided that

eep in thought all the while the last discussion was going on. "

" begged

urse up here and ask her to come along till I get it. You know she doesn't live very far from here. Once up here we'll keep her safely all evening. Oh, I know that holding people against their will isn't one of the rules of poli

y out of the difficulty, Ka

e agreed to meet me on the corner, as I suggested, and we're both going to wear green veils so we won't be recognized so easily.

her folks about it. Several girl friends of the Winnebagos were present, all having raptures over the decorations of the Lodge, and watching with interest the waving curtain in the corner, behind which Sahwah was making herself up as a Topsy for their entertainment later on. Gladys was making sandwiches in another corner and lamenting because the bread knife was broken half

was refusing to mount? Gladys strained her ears to listen and thought she heard a smothered giggle from below, but she co

ning to answer the signal with a series of

ed at the foot of the ladder.

d Hinpoha, "and

s Kent

N

re you

have a show. W

down a minute? We've got something to show you." And again G

in tiny pigtails, to see what the excitement was about. All seven of the Sandwiches stood t

the box?" a

d the Captain, trying

ned to it. "Oh, I know what is is," she cried, suddenly jumping up and clapping her

d failed utterly. His lips would twitch

," said Hinpoha, and all the

ll directions. Screaming at the tops of their voices the girls fled toward the ladder and crowded up as fast as they could go. Sahwah jumped for the swinging rings, which hung from the ceiling of the barn, and dangled safely in mid-air, making horrible faces at the Captain, at which he laughed uproariously. Sahwah and the Captain were a

un around the barn for several minutes. "We've had enough of a

nd the ladder opening an

t so many mice, boys

here and saw the box and looked in. When we saw what it was we thought we could play a joke on the girls. So we brought them along. Looks as though

he same thought came into all their minds at once. Were

e Seniors, after a

sked the boys. "The j

ll them?" as

id Gladys. "The scheme has col

ey knew about the plot of the Senior

use if we hadn't done it we wouldn't have nipped their little scheme in the bud. We'll play lots more

use is back in the box

her pocket. Cora gave a great start at the sight of the mice, which was not all from fright, and the girls could not help enjoying the situation. What must be her thoughts by this time? But Cora, obeying the natural impulse of women at the sight of mice, fled up the ladder with Katherine

the evening. Without demur Cora unfastened her coat and slid it off and then took off her hat and veil. The girls stood

d the information I shall be able to give Mr. Jackson tonight is what he has been trying to find out for a long time. Katherine Adams, you are the ringleader of this affair, as we might have expected. I know all about the plan to put the mice into the dance hall, and while the boys downstairs who are getting them ready are not the ones I should have expected to be doing it, it is just like you t

frightened manner; Hinpoha had sunk weakly down on the bearskin bed, and Sahwah stood with her mouth open and the perspiration running down her face in black streaks, and the others were dumb with astonishment. The boys, not knowing jus

and I tried to make her stay home and she refused, so we girls decided we would take action to take her out of it by luring her up here and keeping her until the

e had a dreadful feeling that it didn't sound plausible

ou should take her to the place where the mice were being boxed up ready to be taken to the party?" All the girls looked s

field near here all boxed up and thought it would be a good joke on the girls to bring them over here and let them out. We don't know anything about your squabbles at Washington H

declared that Katherine was telling the whole truth about Cora, and Miss Snively wa

her words," declared Slim wrathfully, aft

fered to drive her home in their car, and for th

hether the joke's on her or on us," she said pessimistically; "but one thing I'm sure of, and th

agos wearily a