The Sans, however, were oblivious to everything save the fact that they
had gained their point. Leslie Cairns was radiant over the victory and
gave an elaborate dinner that evening at the Colonial in honor of
Elizabeth. Besides the Sans, Alida Burton and Lola Elster, twenty-two
freshmen were invited. She engaged the restaurant for the evening and
spared no pains and expense to make the dinner what she termed "a
howler."
Following on the heels of her triumph strode calamity. The mail next
morning brought her a letter which lashed her into a furious rage. It
was a terse summons to appear at Doctor Matthews' office at eleven
o'clock that morning. More, the four lines comprising it had been
penned, not typed. Her instant surmise was that the summons had to do
with the recent accident of Katherine Langly. She could think of no
other reason for it, unless--Leslie turned pale. There was another
reason, but she preferred not to give it mind room. She boldly decided
that she would ignore the letter that morning. She would receive a
second summons. It would be easy enough to assert that she had not
received a first. This would give her time to see a certain person and
perhaps gain an inkling of what was in the wind.
An interview with the "certain person" yielded nothing. That person was
unable to throw light upon the reason for the summons. Two days elapsed,
then Leslie received a second communication too austere to be
disregarded. She went to the president's office in considerable
trepidation and emerged from it an hour later, her heavy features set in
anger. Undertaking to assume her usual nonchalant pose, she had been
brought with alarming suddenness to a wholesome respect for Doctor
Matthews' dignity. She had also received a lecture on reckless driving
which she was not likely to forget.
"While it seems unfair to deprive students who are careful drivers of
the privilege of using their automobiles at college, simply because
careless young women like you will not conform to the traffic
conditions, it will come to that." Doctor Matthews was a study in cold
severity as he made this threatening statement. "I shall take drastic
measures if another accident occurs as a result of speeding or reckless
driving on the part of a student. I have been informed, Miss Cairns,
that you are in the habit of exceeding the speed limit. It is a
particularly dangerous proceeding on the highways adjacent to the
college on account of the number of students who make a practice of
walking. Referring to the accident to Miss Langly. What restitution
could you have made if her back had been permanently injured? There is
nothing more pitiful than a helpless invalid. Remember that and see that
you are not the one to cause lifelong unhappiness or death by an act of
sheer lawlessness. Let this be the last offense of this kind on your
part."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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