for mimi, the next few days rolled slowly into a week. there was constant fear that madge would yet develop flu or pneumonia. frail appearing people were not always delicate, mimi concluded when a week passed and madge had not so much as sneezed. mimi, in her concern, had hovered near for days. just like an old hen with one chicken, mimi told herself. she could better understand how mother dear fussed and fumed over her when she had “been exposed.” all week, too, she had her eyes peeled for a letter postmarked in germany. it was too soon to hear from daddy but she couldn’t keep from watching and hoping. the second semester was well under way and the routine of a new schedule was becoming habit.
“betsy,” mimi exclaimed the third saturday after the skating party, “i have to do something exciting or bust!”
“i feel a fit coming on, too,” betsy agreed sprawling on the bed in a grotesque pose.
“let’s do something about it,” mimi laughed.
“name it. ‘barkus is willing.’”
“yes. name it. what is there to do within these four walls that we have not tried? we have raided the kitchen at all hours, cooked after light bell, invaded college hall, used the telephone without permission, cut assembly—all of it.”
“none of that is very devilish. i want to do something wild and woolly.”
“like slip away from the campus!”
once the words were out mimi clapped her hand over her mouth. it was too late. she had said the very thing both of them were thinking.
“would we dare?” betsy breathed. her blue eye was glittering, her brown eye clouded with fear.
“dare? madam! is that a challenge? did i ever take a dare?”
“not since i’ve known you.”
“this will not be an exception. let the ‘ways and means committee’ meet at once.”
“uh—oh! what’s up?” sue cried as she and chloe came in. sue slung her books at the table. chloe put hers in a neat stack. “dirty work afoot at the cross roads. i can tell by the smooth and oily waves,” she made rippling motions with her arms and hands, “that a storm is brewing. why are your heads so close together, amigas mias? confess.”
betsy and mimi flushed guiltily.
“we’d better tell them so that if anything happens——”
her pert face a question mark, mimi was looking at betsy.
“yes, we’d better,” betsy agreed.
“we are breaking jail,” mimi said tersely.
“when?” from sue.
“how?” from chloe.
“right after lunch.” from betsy.
“disguised and out the servant’s entrance.” from mimi.
“well blow us down!” from sue and chloe.
“don’t stand there paralyzed,” mimi ordered. now that the decision was made she was eager for action. “y’all will have to help us borrow our disguises but first, cross your hearts and promise not to tell a soul.”
the promise was given. they wished they had courage to join in but they were ruled out at the first suggestion. four people would be too conspicuous. two might prove too many.
mimi could hardly swallow her lunch. the fated hour of two o’clock would never come. this was the hour washwomen waited for girls to claim laundry and to pay.
as soon as the bread pudding dishes were empty and every possible taste of chocolate sauce scraped up, the four occupants of tumble inn hastened to their suite and closed the door.
“shall we lock it?” chloe asked.
“no,” betsy answered promptly. “pile things against it so that it would take a minute or two to get in but don’t lock it. if mrs. cole tried it and it didn’t open she’d ‘smell a mouse’ sure enough.”
mimi laughed aloud as she had a mental picture of mrs. cole wrinkling up her nose and sniffing. any kind of conspiracy intrigued her and she set about changing her appearance in high glee.
from girls larger than they, they had borrowed skirts and long coats. even their shoes were so large and run over, mimi’s feet flapped like charlie chaplin’s as she moved nearer the mirror.
“my own mother wouldn’t know me,” she commented.
“no, but mrs. cole will unless you do something about that unruly mop of red hair,” sue contradicted.
here was a problem. a beret would expose her features. the hair was not long enough to tuck under a hat with a brim and stay up. regardless of the number of bobby pins put in, drake tails kept slipping down around mimi’s neck.
then chloe had an inspiration.
“wear a veil. lots of the colored people do.”
there was a fifteen minute search for a veil. at that, a makeshift was used. chloe draped a piece of black georgette around the crown of the hat and let it hang over where the red hair shone the brightest.
by the time mimi was ready, betsy was practically losing her skirt. when she moved toward the door it fell at her feet. another five minute search. sue dashing about borrowing safety pins. now betsy switched her hips rapidly like a spanish dancer but the skirt stayed in place.
looking more like caricatures or comic valentines than bona fide servants, the two girls ventured forth.
mimi trembled and held her breath while sue opened the door and peered down the hall. getting safely from tumble inn to the service entrance was the most hazardous part of the whole journey. once they reached the entrance they could run—oh how they could run—if there was danger of being recognized.
“the coast is clear,” sue announced.
looking squarely into each other’s eyes, the two silently pledged loyalty and secrecy. mimi understood as clearly as if betsy had said aloud, “no matter what happens, we are in this together.”
not taking any one’s word, mimi looked both up and down the hall herself. then grabbing betsy’s hand she jerked her over the threshold of tumble inn to the middle of the corridor. they walked by the second door of their suite as if they had never seen it before.
when they were halfway to the turn, they heard chloe and sue giggling behind them.
“go back, meanies,” betsy hissed. “do you want to get us caught?”
“yes,” sue hissed back. “if you’re caught before you get out we could say we were playing. afterwards, well—it’s your funeral, but don’t say we didn’t warn you.”
mimi wavered but betsy walked determinedly ahead and mimi was soon in step with her again.
if they could get downstairs without being seen, they were temporarily safe. at least mimi could breathe deeply then. she had to hold to the rail to keep from stumbling in her floppy shoes and heavy skirts. this was harder than high heels and a junior bridesmaid’s dress, only then she couldn’t hold to the bannister. betsy clutched her arm. she dared not speak. someone was coming up stairs. they would meet on the landing. it was too late to flee.
“don’t let it be mrs. cole. don’t let it be mrs. cole.”
mimi was concentrating again.
the girls separated to single file, mimi two or three steps ahead. she held her head down and as far to one side as she dared, but she was rolling her eyes frantically to see who was coming up. it wasn’t mrs. cole. she was sure of that now, but it was someone she knew. it was olivia!
mimi’s first thought was to stop her and confess and pledge her to secrecy. her second thought was better. she would test her disguise. slow feet stepping down, down, down. hurried feet stepping up, up, up. they met. olivia brushed past and did not recognize either of the girls. mimi breathed easier. however, it wasn’t a fair test, for olivia was mumbling: “the drawbridge dropped with a surly clang, and over it a charger sprang, bearing the maiden knight, sir launfal.”
mimi should be studying too. she had memory work piling up again.
“olivia didn’t know us,” betsy was whispering with a sigh of relief. “you go on out and walk slowly and i’ll catch up with you before you get out the drive.”
her pulse pounding, her whole body smothered with excitement and borrowed clothes, mimi edged her way through the half dozen or more servants and opened the door. true, they eyed her queerly and one large negress snickered out, but if they knew anything was amiss, they did not tell. they had seen stranger “goin’ ons” than this in the years they had worked for the school girls.
as badly as she wanted to run, mimi shuffled along slowly until betsy was beside her. then quickening their gaits, they left the campus behind and turned down college avenue toward town.
“we did it!” mimi exclaimed.
“don’t crow yet.” betsy cautioned. “let’s get off this main street. the chemistry prof lives two blocks down.”
silently they turned down a side street; mimi recognized it immediately. this was the way the taxi driver had brought her to sheridan. that day seemed so far away now. it was as if all her life had been lived on a sheridan schedule.
“now, whew!”
betsy relaxed.
“omigosh! that’s the longest short distance i ever traveled.”
“now that we are out, what are we going to do?”
“go to the picture show and sit in the balcony.”
when mimi said, “o. k.” she did not realize that they were going to the one place they would be most likely to be caught. when she realized it later, she shuddered.
the girl at the ticket window stared at them with open curiosity, but since neither betrayed the slightest facial emotion, the girl did not comment.
in the semi-darkness of the lobby, mimi felt safe for the first time since leaving tumble inn. groping up the steps to the balcony, they giggled and giggled. when they were seated and when their eyes were adjusted to the light, betsy punched mimi and pointed. two rows in front of them were five preps and a faculty chaperon!
the culprits slid down in their seats. suppose? no, don’t! nothing to do but watch, and when the other preps left, pull hats down and duck heads. keeping one eye on everyone who went out was very distracting. this was one show mimi could not tell about afterwards. they had stayed through practically all of it before the other preps left, and the faculty member, to their immense relief, passed without seeing them.
when the great garbo posed in the open window and let her hair fall forward half hiding her face, mimi punched betsy.
“this is where we came in.”
“sh-sh-sh.” betsy cautioned.
then mimi heard the familiar voices too. from the rear, her hat was knocked over on her nose. sheridan girls chaperoned by mrs. cole were filling the row behind them. mrs. cole was sputtering and giving orders regardless of the fact that she was disturbing the entire balcony. mimi and betsy froze to their seats. no matter what happened, they could not leave now. without speaking to each other, they agreed to stay still until these girls saw the show and left.
mimi never knew how long a show could be until she sat through this one the second time. betsy despaired and went to sleep! how could she? every nerve in mimi’s body was taut. suppose? no, don’t. why had she ever come? why didn’t she think how heartbroken mother and daddy would be if she were suspended? if she did get back to sheridan and slip in without being caught she would never, never be so foolish again. never!
what time was it now? it must be late. two o’clock plus two whole shows. omigosh! suppose they were absent from supper? but if mrs. cole and her girls were there, mimi and betsy would be too. giving them only a two-minute start, the culprits flung caution to the wind and ran for the side street. it was almost dark.
“let’s phone chloe and sue to meet us at the back of the campus with our uniforms.”
“never,” betsy snapped. “don’t you know we couldn’t talk to them without giving our life history first. then someone would likely listen in. there is always the chance that one is phoning for a boy and making a date. no,” betsy decided, “the only way back in is the way we came out. let’s cut across.”
every minute counted. provided they got back in, they had to change clothes before they could go to supper.
when they reached the edge of the campus, sue and chloe rushed up. they were all but hysterical.
“thank heavens, you’re back. we’ve been worried to death.”
“out of our way. we never saw you before,” betsy said without slowing up.
“run lay our uniforms out so we can get dressed.”
“you have six minutes,” chloe said as she and sue sped to tumble inn. anything to help.
“please let me get in safely,” mimi prayed under her breath. “i’ll never slip out again. i’ll study the——”
before she finished praying she was safely through the door and running down the hall. if she met anyone, she did not remember. she was inside again. she had not been caught.
study hall that night was a haven. relieved and safe again, mimi pored over her books. for several days to come, she had perfect recitations.
