Yesterday girlhood offered Teola Graves happy hours of peaceful meditation--to-day, the new day brought the woman its ceaseless silent agony of regret and remorse, strong forces of which she had known nothing.
If Dan were only glad that she loved him, if he loved her in return. Suddenly tears welled into the dark eyes; Teola Graves hid her face from the new world of painful joy--and forgot in sleep.
Teola's next hour with her lover was the most embarrassing one of her life. Dan took her hands in silence, and the seriousness of his face bespoke his heart pain.
"Sweetheart, is there anything in all the world that I can say to you to make you love me more--precious, precious little darling!"
"Only say that you do love me, Dan," breathed Teola, "and--and--"
"Don't turn your eyes away from me, sweetheart--love you, Teola? I'll study so hard, dearest, and when I finish college we'll get married, and go away and have a home of our own. Teola, forgive me and have faith in me! Will you, sweet?"
"Yes," murmured the trembling lips--and Teola buried her flushed face upon the broad breast of Dan Jordan and was happy.
* * * * * Frederick Graves had been made president of the freshman class, a short time after entering the "Cranium" fraternity. He was considered by most of his fellow students a serious, earnest worker and had been taken many times into consultation with the upper classmen concerning plans for the development of the society.
In past years at the end of every January, the freshmen had held a banquet in the opera-house of the city. This event called forth practical jokes of all descriptions upon the first-year men from the sophomores and seniors, giving many anxious and worried moments to the younger students over the outcome of the one important event of the year. It had also been the custom to try to capture the president of the freshman class and hold him in seclusion until after the banquet, thereby making his opening speech impossible. The dread that they should lose their leader became more and more apparent among the banquet holders as the days advanced, and extensive plans had been made to protect Frederick Graves from his class enemies. For one whole month previous he had not been allowed to walk alone about the town, and it had been ordered that he should sleep at the fraternity house instead of at the Rectory, in order that the young president might be guarded against any surprise concocted by the sophomores.
One evening at the Cranium Society several freshmen were seated in the billiard-room.