CHAPTER XXII THE THREAT OF THE “T’S”

A very early morning caller at Room Nineteen was Cologne, the president of the Glens. She carried a note for Dorothy to read. It was from the “T’s.”

Cologne was surprised at seeing Tavia not able to be up, for the hope of recovery was not fulfilled.

“Why!” she exclaimed, “whatever is the matter, Tavia?” Tavia stuck out the bandaged foot. “How did it happen?”

“It occurred,” said Tavia, “and you are never to think of it again. The trouble is limited to me, and I am bound to see it through without worrying others.”

“Noble sentiments,” said Cologne, “but involved. If that foot could but speak——”

“I would choke it,” said Tavia. “I do the talking for this concern. But what is your note about? The letter?”

164 “Yes. It was slipped under my door, sometime between night and morning,” said Cologne. “Let me read it.”

Dorothy sat down to listen. She had been busy tidying up—doing the “upstairs work” as Tavia said.

“It is signed like a threat,” began Cologne, “for there is some sort of foolish mark, with a lot of others tagged on. It says:

    “You are hereby warned to make no reports to the teachers about the members of the ‘T’s.’ We have in our possession such knowledge as would send the pet of the Glens home sick, but are willing to withhold¹ it if you will promise us immunity².”

“Now what do you think of that?” burst out Tavia. “Immunity! Aren’t they deep-dyed!”

“But send—the pet home——” and Dorothy turned pale. “They call me that in sarcasm³!”

“As if they could know anything against you,” said Cologne loyally. “I will answer that, and tell them we will promise them nothing, but will add the threat to our report if they make any further insinuations.”

Dorothy looked very serious. She said—thinking of Jean Faval’s letter in a Marsall Investment165 Company envelope: “Perhaps it would be best not to antagonize them. It won’t cost us anything to wait.”

“It costs us this slur⁴ at you,” said Cologne defiantly⁵. “And not one of the committee will have it so.”

“If you say I wish it?” pleaded Dorothy. And something in her voice told Cologne that all was not right.

“Why, Dorothy, is there really anything wrong? Tell me?” she begged, and she took up the trembling hand that lay on the chair arm.

“Not wrong?” she answered, “but we—have some financial dangers at home. Here, it seems, that—is wrong!”

Tavia was winking⁶ and blinking at Cologne, but could not get her attention. Finally, under pretense⁷ of stretching her well foot, she managed to reach Cologne with it.

“Let them alone, and they’ll come home,” she whispered. “They have troubles enough, poor lambs. But what’s to be done about this hoof⁸? I can’t get to class?”

Dorothy seemed to have lost interest in the sore ankle. She was looking blankly at the rug.

“Why, you have a good excuse,” Cologne said to Tavia. “You can’t get to class.”

“If you know of a good excuse, will you please166 produce it? Remember I am a member of the Glens in good standing,” said Tavia.

“Your foot,” replied Cologne.

“But what happened to my foot?” went on Tavia.

“Oh, I see. Something happened that did not happen. Well, there’s a hole in the rug just at your door. How’s that?”

“The cream!” exclaimed Tavia, “if you will pardon the slang. Dorothy, I did trip in that hole, when I went out.”

“Send your own excuse,” replied Dorothy. “I am busy with my personal worries to-day.”

This was very unlike Dorothy, but Tavia understood it.

“Well, I must go,” said Cologne. “And I am sorry, Doro, that you refuse to sanction our terms of war. Cecilia Reynolds has been simply unbearable⁹ these last few days, and Jean Faval is getting wrinkled from spite. However, I’ll report, and let you know. By the way, will you fetch Zada to-night? She has been nominated?”

“If I go,” said Dorothy, “but I—may not. It depends.”

“And Cologne,” said Tavia, “will you send Ned to me at noon? I have some instructions for her.”

“Of course,” said the president of the Glens.167 “But don’t be too hard on Ned. She is not as reckless as you,” with a sharp glance at the girl on the bed.

When she had gone Dorothy turned to Tavia.

“I am sure,” she said, “that threat from the ‘T’s’ means father’s trouble. I will have to leave you to take care of yourself, while I go to the station. I must know.”

“Why don’t you wait for the mail?” suggested Tavia. “You may get word that everything is all right.”

“I have been waiting for mail after mail, and I feel now that Jean Faval knows more of the affair than I do. I cannot stand this suspense¹⁰ longer.”

“Well, if you run across Ned, be sure to send her to me. I am scared to death that Cummings will come in and find me. I have got to get my excuse ready, and you know what a beauty I am at fixing a clear story. I am going to make Ned do it for me, since you won’t.”

“If you told me how it happened, I might be able to do so, but, since you and Edna wish to keep the secret, of course I won’t interfere,” said Dorothy.

“Just as you like, but——”

Tavia was interrupted by a slight knock at the door, and the next moment Edna was in the room.

168 “Oh, there is a dreadful time downstairs!” she began, without a good morning. “An investigation¹¹! Every girl who left the grounds last night has been called to the court room!”

“I knew something was going on last night,” Dorothy said. “I do hope none of our girls are to blame.”

“They are not,” said Tavia, in a most positive way, “and I hope the ‘T’s’ get all that’s coming to them.”

“But you were out,” said Dorothy.

“We can prove an alibi,” went on Tavia. “I hurt my foot in the hall—that hole that Cologne spoke¹² of.”

“Tavia!” Dorothy reproved.

“Oh, if it will make you feel better, Ned will drag me to the hole and I will fall over it now, but really I cannot see the necessity. Do they miss me, Ned?”

“If you would give me a chance to speak I’d be glad to tell you that Mrs. Pangborn sent me up here to summon you at once with the others. She does seem to suspect us, somehow.”

“That’s her wicked mind,” said Tavia jokingly. “But, Ned, you have got to go and tell her about my accident. Dorothy refuses.”

“Tavia, I have told you I would do all I could for you, if I really understood what to do.”

169 “Then listen. This is the real truth. Edna—note I only say Edna when I am deadly in earnest—she and I went off the grounds last night, on an errand of mercy. Honest, Dorothy, we were not with the others, and we went out to help a girl who needed our help. Now will you make my excuse?”

“I believe you, girls, complicated as the matter is,” declared Dorothy. “And I will go to Mrs. Pangborn. But I insist on telling her how your foot was hurt. If she wants to know more of it you will have to tell it all, I suppose,” she finished desperately¹³.

Edna sat there trembling with excitement. She would be all right if only Tavia were able to lead her, but alone, Edna was very timid.

“Oh, I can trust you to fix it, Doro,” Tavia said, with relief in her voice, “Ned would be sure to spoil it.”

“Thanks,” said Edna, “and I have to get back. What shall I say?”

“Don’t say a word until you are quizzed,” Tavia advised. “They might get tired, or sick, or something, before they get to you.”

With the new perplexities Dorothy again felt obliged to put off the message to her father. “Perhaps,” she thought, “it is as well. I might only alarm them. But that threat to our club——”

170 Edna went with her to the office, where the investigation was to be conducted.

“Isn’t it awful!” she said. “But really, Dorothy, we are not in the scrape with the others, although we seem to be in a scrape of our own!”

1 withhold   

v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡

参考例句：

• It was unscrupulous of their lawyer to withhold evidence.他们的律师隐瞒证据是不道德的。
• I couldn't withhold giving some loose to my indignation.我忍不住要发泄一点我的愤怒。

2 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

3 sarcasm   

n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic）

参考例句：

• His sarcasm hurt her feelings.他的讽刺伤害了她的感情。
• She was given to using bitter sarcasm.她惯于用尖酸刻薄语言挖苦人。

4 slur   

v.含糊地说；诋毁；连唱；n.诋毁；含糊的发音

参考例句：

• He took the remarks as a slur on his reputation.他把这些话当作是对他的名誉的中伤。
• The drug made her speak with a slur.药物使她口齿不清。

5 defiantly   

adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地

参考例句：

• Braving snow and frost, the plum trees blossomed defiantly. 红梅傲雪凌霜开。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 winking   

n.瞬眼，目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮

参考例句：

• Anyone can do it; it's as easy as winking. 这谁都办得到，简直易如反掌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The stars were winking in the clear sky. 星星在明亮的天空中闪烁。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 pretense   

n.矫饰，做作，借口

参考例句：

• You can't keep up the pretense any longer.你无法继续伪装下去了。
• Pretense invariably impresses only the pretender.弄虚作假欺骗不了真正的行家。

8 hoof   

n.(马，牛等的)蹄

参考例句：

• Suddenly he heard the quick,short click of a horse's hoof behind him.突然间，他听见背后响起一阵急骤的马蹄的得得声。
• I was kicked by a hoof.我被一只蹄子踢到了。

9 unbearable   

adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的

参考例句：

• It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
• The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。

10 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

11 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

12 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

13 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。