CHAPTER XIX

THE ELECTION

IT cannot be denied that Dolly had a hard task before her in what she had undertaken. When Bert and Bob went back to school, she lost two very efficient helpers, and her own efforts seemed to be unavailing. Dotty was willing enough to help, but she was so quick-tempered herself, she could do little for or with Bernice.

And Bernice, herself, was most aggravating. Just as Dolly would get the girls and boys ready to do something nice for her, Bernice would break out in a pettish mood, or pick some silly quarrel, that interfered with all plans.

“There’s just this about it,” Dolly said to Dotty, one afternoon, as they sat in Treasure House, talking it over, “we’ve got to do something desperate to boom Bernie, or I’ve got to give it all up, and then she won’t ask her father to let us stay, and we’ll have to go away from Berwick.”

The tears flooded her blue eyes, and rolled down her cheeks. Dotty, overcome by the thought, burst into violent weeping.

“You shan’t go, Dollyrinda! I won’t let you! I can’t spare you!”

“But that’s nonsense, Dot. We’ve got to go, if my plan falls through. And it has about fallen.”

“You said you’d speak to Mr. Forbes, himself.”

“I know, but I can’t do that. I’ve thought it out, and I believe that would be wrong, because I know Dad wouldn’t like me to do it. But to bargain with Bernice is different. Just two girls, you know.”

“Well, let’s try some new plan. I’ll tell you, Doll, let’s make her Class President. We vote next week, you know. We’ll electioneer,—or whatever you call it,—and make the whole class vote for her.”

“Yes! Make the whole class vote for her! I think I see them doing that!”

“Well, we can get a majority, anyway. You and I can coax or bribe lots of the girls, and Tod and Tad will help round up the boys on our side.”

“Well,” and Dolly brightened a little, “maybe we could do that. Bernie is so uncertain, lately. One day she’s as sweet as pie, and then she’s queer as a spidereen! Celia won’t vote for her, I know that.”

“I bet I can make Celia vote for her. I know a way!” and Dotty wagged her head wisely.

Dolly was too busy thinking to ask what the way was. “You see,” she went on, “we mustn’t let Bernice know we’re getting votes for her, or she’ll get mad.”

“No, she needn’t know it, but we ought to get right at it, Doll.”

“Yes; let’s go to see the Rawlins now.”

* * * * *

It was uphill work from the beginning. The two D’s canvassed the whole class, and found the tide of prejudice strongly against Bernice for President. This was no more than they had expected, and they set bravely to work to induce individual members to change their minds.

Moreover the Brown boys declined to help. They were good chums of the two D’s, and they rather liked Bernice, at times, but they didn’t want her for Class President. They were nice about it, but very decided.

So Lollie Henry was the only boy whom they could depend on for assistance. But he was willing to do anything, and expressed an intention of punching the heads of the fellows who refused to do as he advised them.

“Oh, don’t do that, Lollie,” said Dolly, laughing to think what means were being proposed to aid her to gain her point. “Never mind using such strong measures,—just persuade them by argument.”

“You don’t know the fellows as I do, Dolly. They won’t listen to argument, and you just _have_ to punch them. But I’ll do it gently, if you say so.”

“Bribe them,” advised Dotty. “I got Minnie Dorlon over by giving her my fountain pen.”

“Bribery and corruption!” exclaimed Lollie. “That is much worse then punching heads!”

“Oh, all ways are all right, if they work,” Dolly declared. “The little bribes we offer won’t hurt anybody. I’m going to get Celia Ferris’s vote by means of my portfolio.”

“Dotty!” cried Dolly, “your new leather portfolio?”

“Yep. Celia is just daffy over it, and says she’ll vote for Bernice if I give her that, and on no other condition. Oh, I don’t mind. And it’s no harm to bribe in a little election like this. If the girls want these things, they might as well have ’em, and then we get their votes.”

“Not a bad idea,” said Lollie, musingly. “I bet Jim Lee would vote for anybody, if I gave him my last year’s skates. And I don’t want them.”

“That’s it,” said Dotty. “Try every means, Lollie, and then we _must_ get the election.”

Bernice knew that she was a candidate for the Presidency, but she did not know how Dolly and Dotty were working for her election. She remarked to Dolly, that if she should be made President of the class she should consider it a mark of popularity more than almost anything else.

“And you’ll remember our bargain,” said Dolly, eagerly.

“Yes, I will. If I’m President, it’ll be because the class likes me, of course, and I’m quite ready to admit that I owe that liking in great part to you.”

“And you’ll do what you promised?”

“Of course I will. I can easily make father arrange for your father to stay here. I sounded him, and I found out he’ll do it if I say so.”

“Oh, Bernice, then I think you might do it, whether you get elected or not! For I’ve done everything I could for you, and I can’t help the result.”

“No,” and Bernice shut her lips tightly together; “I won’t speak to father about it at all, if I’m not made President. A bargain is a bargain.”

* * * * *

So Dolly redoubled her efforts. But the trouble was, the opposing candidate was a favourite of all, Molly Mooney, a girl who lived over on the other side of town, was not in the Two D’s set, but she was a merry, good-natured girl, whom everybody liked. And so, many of the class declared their intention of voting for Molly Mooney, and couldn’t be persuaded to alter their decision.

It was a very trying situation, for Dolly couldn’t explain _why_ she was so desperately anxious to have Bernice elected; and many of her best friends laughingly refused to listen when she urged them to vote on her side.

The contest promised to be a close one. Up to the very day of the election, Dolly and Dotty never ceased trying to turn the tide in their favour.

The two girls felt sure they would win, but Lollie said he was doubtful. He had persuaded Joe Collins to help him in his electioneering, and Joe was doing it for the fun of the thing.

“I don’t care a red cent,” Joe said, “who is President. It’s only a figurehead position anyway, when a girl holds it. The Committee decides everything. But if you two girls want Bernice so terribly, why I’ll help all I can. She is in our set, and Molly Mooney isn’t. Though Molly is an awful nice girl.”

So Joe hustled around, and announced the day of the election, that he had secured two more votes that morning. “But some are backing out,” he added. “The fellows promise, and they go back on their word. Awful mean, but they do, all the same. Now, Hy Landon, he told me yesterday he’d vote for Bernice, and to-day he told Lollie he didn’t intend to at all! So you can’t tell.”

The election was to take place directly after school was out in the afternoon. All day, Dolly and Dotty were in a state of nervous excitement. Usually most exemplary of conduct in school hours, this day found them writing notes and whispering in the class rooms, and so preoccupied were they with the one idea, that each missed a lesson.

“But,” poor Dolly thought to herself, “it doesn’t matter if I do miss my lessons, if I’ve got to move away from Berwick!” and then the tears would force themselves to her eyes, and she had to dab furtively with her handkerchief.

After school, the two candidates went home. It was not the custom for them to stay to the election.

Molly Mooney went off, laughing, and calling back to her friends to stand by her, and elect her.

Bernice, on the other hand, walked off without a word; her head tossing haughtily, as if she had no concern in the matter.

“The worst thing she could do!” fumed Dotty. “The ones ‘on the fence’ will be put out at her manner, and will vote for Molly!”

Some other business was transacted and then the election began.

Even at the last minute a note was thrust into Dotty’s hand. It was from Tod Brown and it said:

“If I vote for Bernice, will you give me all the dances at the High School Christmas Dance?”

“How perfectly ridiculous!” exclaimed Dotty to herself. And looking over at Tod, she said a noiseless but unmistakable “No!”

“All right,” Tod signalled back, “then I vote for Molly.”

“Oh, goodness!” thought the distracted Dotty, “what shall I do? It would be idiotic to dance every dance with him, and yet—if it means the casting vote—”

She hastily scribbled a note which said, “I’ll give you half.”

“Honest?” asked Tod, from across the room. “Cross your heart?”

Hastily Dotty “crossed her heart” and Tod signified assent to voting for her candidate.

“For,” Dotty reasoned, “if Bernice isn’t elected and Dolly goes away, I shan’t go to the dance. And if Dolly stays, I’ll be so glad I won’t care _who_ I dance with!”

The votes were taken and the tellers went into another room to count up.

Breathlessly the Two D’s awaited the result. It seemed as if the word would never come. At last, the door opened and the tellers came back. As soon as she saw their jubilant faces, Dolly knew her doom. They all wanted Molly, and it must be that Molly was elected judging from their smiling looks.

And sure enough, the result, as stated, was that Molly Mooney was elected Class President by a majority of three.

“How awfully close!” said everybody, and there was general rejoicing, for many of those who had promised to vote for Bernice and who did vote for her, really preferred Molly.

Dolly said no word, but went to the cloakroom for her wraps. Dotty followed and two more gloomy, sad little countenances you never saw. They started homeward, alone, for they had hastened out before the others who went their way.

“Where you going?” said Dotty, as Dolly turned a corner.

“To see Bernice. I told her I’d come and tell her the result.”

“Want me to go with you?”

“Yes, of course. Oh, Dot, she’ll be awful mad.”

“I know it, but we did our best.”

“That doesn’t matter. She’ll be mad at me, all the same.”

And Bernice was. When the girls told her that Molly was Class President, she turned on Dolly like a little termagant. “I knew you couldn’t run that thing, Dolly Fayre! You think yourself so smart, bossing everybody around, but you couldn’t do just that one little thing!”

“Don’t you talk like that, Bernice,” said Dotty, herself quite as angry. “Dolly worked like everything, and so did I. If you aren’t the most popular girl in the class, we can’t help it!”

“I know you can’t,” said Bernice, dully, “but Dolly _said_ she could. That’s what makes me mad; she said she’d accomplish something and she didn’t do it.”

“No, I didn’t, Bernice,” admitted Dolly, “and I’m sorry. I suppose now you won’t ask your father—”

“Of course I won’t! A bargain is a bargain. I said if I won the election, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did.”

“Well, I didn’t win it, did I?”

“No.”

“Then that’s all there is about it, _I_ think.”

“And you’re not going to ask your father—”

“I’m not going to ask my father anything. You haven’t done what you said you would, for me, and I’m not bound to do anything for you!”

“All right, Bernice, good-bye,” and Dolly got up and left the room and went out of the house.

She was so blinded by her irrepressible tears, that she didn’t notice that Dotty wasn’t with her. She stumbled home, and going to her room, she flung herself on her bed and had her cry out.

Then she got up, bathed her eyes, and sat down to think it over. But there seemed to be nothing more to think of. She had tried her best and had failed. There was no other way to try, and no hope for remaining in Berwick now. To be sure she had said she would appeal to Mr. Forbes for her father’s retention in his present position, but that plan didn’t seem right, and she abandoned it.

* * * * *

Meantime, Dotty had stayed behind with Bernice.

“You can do anything you please,” Dotty said, her eyes blazing with anger, “but I’m going to tell you what I think of you! The idea of letting Dolly Fayre do all she has done for you and then refusing to use your influence with your father for her just because you lost the election! You ought to be ashamed of yourself!”

“It isn’t only that, but Dolly said she would make me one of the most popular girls in town and she hasn’t done it. A bargain is a—”

“Don’t say that over again! You make me so mad. I _know_ a bargain is a bargain, but of course all Dolly could do, was to _try_ to make you popular, and she has done that. If she couldn’t succeed, it’s your fault, not hers!”

“But I’ve tried too, Dotty.”

At this speech muttered in an humble voice, Dotty looked up in astonishment. Had she struck a right chord at last?

“Have you, Bernie?” she said gently. “Perhaps if we _all_ tried again, we might yet win out. Not the presidency, that’s settled, but there are other sorts of popularity.”

“I know. I don’t care so much about the election, but it shows that nobody likes me.”

“No, it doesn’t. It shows that you’re very nearly as popular as Molly Mooney. For there was only a majority of three.”

“Only three! Why, you didn’t tell me that! Why, Dotty, if that’s all the difference there was in the count, it’s almost as good as being elected! Only _three_!”

“Yes, that’s all. I didn’t know you’d care what the count was, if you didn’t win.”

“Why, of course I care! Don’t you see that to come as close as that, shows that lots of them did want me?”

Dotty knew it didn’t show quite this, but still it was an indication of willingness to have Bernice, no matter for what reason. She followed up the advantage. “Then Bernice, if you realise that, don’t you see that next time it might be a winning vote for you?”

“Yes, it encourages me to keep on trying. Oh, Dotty, I have tried,—tried, I mean, to be so nice and gay and pleasant that they would like me.”

“I believe you have, Bernice. And I want you to promise me to keep on trying. Now, see here, give Dolly and me another chance. You bargained with her that she should have till the first of January to keep her part of the bargain. Now, here you’re turning her down in the middle of December!”

“That’s so. That isn’t fair.”

“No, it isn’t. And you’re always fair. Will you stick to your own bargain, and give her till the first of the New Year?”

“Of course I will. You tell her so. And, say, Dotty, I do want to do this thing right, you know. I want to be liked for myself, not because Dolly’s booming me. Don’t you think I can?”

“Of course you can, Bernie. You’ve only to be your own self,—your nicest self, you know,—and not give way to those stuck-up airs you used to show so much. Just be affable and willing to chum, and people will like you fast enough. Now, I must run. I want to tell Dolly what you’ve said, before she cries her eyes out. Good-bye, and thank you lots for this little talk,—we’ll have another some day soon.”