01 the twins at st clares

8/20/2019 01 the Twins at St Clares

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/01-the-twins-at-st-clares 1/52

The Twins Make Up Their MindsOne sunny summer afternoon four girls sat on the grass by a tenths-court, drinking lemonade.

Their rackets lay beside them, and the six white balls were scattered over the court.Two of the girls were twins. sabel and !atricia O"#ullivan were so alike that only a few peoplecould tell which was !at and which was sabel. $oth girls had dark brown wavy hair, deep blueeyes and a merry smile, and the rish lilt in their voices was very pleasant to hear.The twins were staying for two weeks with friends of theirs, Mary and %rances &aters. The fourgirls were talking, and !at was frowning as she spoke. #he took up her racket and banged it hardon the grass.'t"s (ust too bad that Mummy won"t let us go to the same school as you, now that we have all left)edroofs #chool together. &e"ve been friends so long and now we"ve got to go to a differentschool, and we shan"t see each other for ages.' 't"s a pity that )edroofs only takes girls up tofourteen,' said sabel. '&e could have stayed on together and it would have been fun. lovedbeing head-girl with !at the last year and it was fun being tennis-captain, and !at being hockey-captain. *ow we"ve got to go to another school that doesn"t sound a bit nice - and begin at thebottom+ &e"ll be the young ones of the school instead of head-girls.' ' do wish you were comingto )ingmere #chool with us+' said %rances. 't"s such a nice exclusive school, our mother says.ou know - only girls of rich parents, very well-bred, go there, and you make such nice friends.&e have a bedroom to ourselves and our own study, and we have to wear evening dress at night,and they say the food is wonderful+' 'nd we are going to #t. lare"s, where anybody can go, and

the dormitories take six or eight girls and aren"t nearly as nicely furnished as the maids" bedroomsare at home+' said !at in a disgusted voice.' can"t imagine why Mummy made up her mind to send us there instead of to )ingmere,' saidsabel. ' wonder if she has /uite decided. &e"re going home tomorrow and we"ll both do our veryvery best to make her say we can go to )ingmere, Mary and %rances+ &e"ll ring you up in theevening and tell you.' '&e"ll (ump for (oy if you have good news,' said Mary. 'fter all, whenyou"ve been head-girls at a marvellous school like )edroofs, and had your own lovely bedroomand the best study with the best view, and a hundred girls looking up to you, it"s awful to have tostart again in a school you don"t want to go to a bit+' '&ell, do your best to make your parentschange their minds,' said %rances. 'ome on -- let"s have another set before tea+' They all

(umped up and tossed for partners. sabel was a splendid player, and had won the tennischampionship at )edroofs. #he was really rather proud of her game. !at was nearly as good, butmuch preferred hockey.

'They don"t play hockey at #t. lare"s, they play lacrosse,' said !at, dismally. '#illy game,lacrosse playing with nets on sticks, and catching a ball all the time instead of hitting it+ That"sanother thing "ll tell Mummy -- that don"t want to play lacrosse after being hockey-captain.' Thetwins thought hard of all the reasons they would put before their parents when they got home thenext day. They talked about it as they went home in the train.'"ll say this, and you say that,' said !at. 'fter all, we ought to know the kind of school that wouldbe best for us -- and #t. lare"s does sound too fierce for words+' #o the next evening the girlsbegan to air their thoughts about schools. !at began, and, as was her way, she attacked at once.'Mummy and 0addy+' she said. 'sabel and have been thinking a lot about what school we"re togo to next, and, please, we don"t want to go to #t. lare"s. 1very one says it"s an awful school.'Their mother laughed, and their father put down his paper in surprise.'0on"t be silly, !at,' said Mrs. O"#ullivan. 't"s a splendid school.' '2ave you /uite decided aboutit3' asked sabel.

'*ot absolutely,' said her mother. '$ut 0addy and both think it will be the best school for younow. &e do think that )edroofs spoilt you a bit, you know -- it"s a very expensive and luxuriousschool, and nowadays we have to learn to live much more simply. #t. lare"s is really a verysensible sort of school, and know the 2ead and like her.' !at groaned. ' sensible school+ 2ow do bate sensible things - they"re always horrid and ugly and stupid and uncomfortable+ Oh,Mummy - do let us go to )ing-mere #chool with Mary and %rances.' 'ertainly not+' said Mrs.O"#ullivan at once. 't"s a very snobbish school, and %m not going to have you two girls cominghome and turning up your noses at everything and everybody.' '&e wouldn"t,' said sabel,frowning at !at to make her stop arguing for a while. !at lost her temper very easily, and thatdidn"t do when their father was there.



'Mummy dear - be a pet - (ust let"s try at )ingmere for a term or two, and then, if you think we"returning into snobs, you can take us away. $ut you might let us try.They play hockey there, and we do so like that. &e"d hate to have to learn a new game, (ustwhen we"ve got so good at hockey.' Mr. O"#ullivan rapped with his pipe on the table. 'My dearsabel, it will be good for you to start at the beginning again, and learn something new+ "vethought the last year that both you girls have become very conceited, and thought far too much of yourselves. f you have to learn new things, and find you"re not so wonderful as you thought youwere, it will be very good for you both+' The twins went red. They were angry and hurt and almostready to cry. Mrs. O"#ullivan felt sorry for them.'0addy doesn"t mean to be unkind,' she said. '$ut he is /uite right, my dears. ou"ve had awonderful time at )edroofs, bad things all your own way, been head-girls and captains, and reallylived in luxury. *ow you must show us what kind of stuff you are made of when you have to startas youngsters of fourteen and a half in a school where the top classes are eighteen years old+'!at looked sulky. sabel"s chin shook as she answered.'&e shan"t be happy, and we shan"t try to be+' she said.'4ery well. $e unhappy+' said their father, sternly. 'f that"s the sort of silly attitude you"ve learnt at)ed-roofs, "m sorry we let you stay there so long. wanted to take you away two years ago, butyou begged so hard to stay, that didn"t. *ow say no more about it. shall write to #t. lare"smyself tonight and enter you for next term. f you want to make me proud of you, you will cheer upand make up your minds to be good and hardworking and happy at your next school.' Their

father lighted his pipe and began to read his paper again. Their mother took up her sewing. Therewas no more to be said. The twins left the room together and went into the garden. They foundtheir own secret place behind the thick old yew-hedge and flung themselves down on the ground.The evening sun threw its slanting golden rays around them, and they blinked in its brightness.Tears shone in sabel"s eyes.' never thought Mummy and 0addy would be so hard,' she said. '*ever+' 'fter all, we ought tohave some say in the matter,' said !at, furiously. #he took a stick and dug it hard into the ground.' wish we could run away+' '0on"t be silly,' said sabel. 'ou know we can"t. nyway, it"s cowardlyto run away. &e"ll have to go to #t. lam"s. $ut how shall hate it.' '&e"ll both bate it,' said !at.'nd what"s more, "m (olly well going to turn up my nose at everything there+ "m not going to letthem think we"re babies of fourteen, (ust come from some silly prep school. "ll soon let them knowthat we were head-girls, and tennis- and hockey-captains. 2ow horrid of 0addy to say we areconceited+ &e"re not a bit. &e can"t help knowing that we"re good at nearly everything, besides

being pretty and /uite amusing.' 't does sound a bit conceited when you talk like that,' saidsabel. '&e"d better not say too much when we get to #t. lare"s.' '"m going to say all like, andyou must back me up,' said !at. '!eople are going to know who we are, and what we can do+ llthe mistresses are going to sit up and take notice of us too. The O"#ullivan twins are going to be#OM1$O01#+ nd don"t you forget it, sabel.' sabel nodded her dark head with its black wavesof hair. ' won"t forget it,' she said. '"ll back you up. My word, #t. lare"s will get a few surprisesnext term+' The Twins rrive t #t. lare"s The time soon came when the twins had to leave for the winter term at #t. lare"s. Their mother had had a list of things they were to take with them, and the twins examined it carefully.'t"s not nearly such a long list as we had for )ed-roofs,' said !at. 'nd golly - how few dresseswe are allowed+ Mary and %rances said that they were allowed to take as many frocks as theyliked to )ingmere -- and they had both got long evening dresses like their mother+ &on"t they

show off to us when they see us again+' 'nd look - lacrosse-sticks instead of hockey-sticks+' saidsabel in disgust. 'They might at least play hockey as well as lacrosse+ didn"t even bother to lookat the lacrosse sticks Mummy bought for us, did you3 nd look -- we are even told what to bringin our tuck boxes+ &e could take what we liked to )edroofs.' '5ust wait till we get to #t. lare"s.&e"ll show that we can do as we like,' said !at. '&hat time is the train tomorrow3' 'Ten o"clockfrom !addington,' said sabel. '&ell -we shall get our first glimpse of the #t. lare girls there. betthey"ll be a /ueer-looking crowd+' Mrs. O"#ullivan took the twins to 6ondon. They taxied to!addington #tation, and looked for the #t.lare train. There it was, drawn up at the platform, labelled #t. lare. On the platform werescores of girls, talking excitedly to one another, saying good-bye to their parents, hailing



mistresses, and buying bars of chocolate from the tea-wagons. simply-dressed mistress came up to the twins. #he knew that they were #t. lare girls becausethey had on the grey coats that were the uniform of the school. #he smiled at Mrs. O"#ullivan, andlooked at the list in her band.'These are new girls,' she said, 'and am sure they must be !atricia and sabel O"#ullivan,because they are so exactly alike. "m your form-mistress, Miss )oberts, and "m very pleased tosee you.' This was a nice welcome and the twins liked the look of Miss )oberts. #he was youngand good-looking, tall and smiling - but she bad a firm mouth and both !at and sabel felt surethat she wouldn"t stand much nonsense from her form+ 'our carriage is over here, with the rest of your form,' said Miss )oberts. '#ay good-bye now, and get in. The train will be going in twominutes.' #he went off to talk to some one else and the twins hugged their mother. '7ood-bye,'said Mrs. O"#ullivan.'0o your best this term, and do hope you"ll be happy at your new school. &rite to me soon.' Thetwins got into a carriage where three or four other girls were already sitting and chattering. Theysaid nothing, but looked with interest at the scores of girls passing by their compartment to theirplaces farther up the t their last school the twins bad been the oldest and biggest there - but now they were amongthe youngest+ t )edroofs all the girls bad looked at !at and sabel with awe and admiration -- the twowonderful head-girls -- but now the twins were looking at others in the same way+ Tall, dignified

girls from the top form walked by, talking. Merry-voiced girls from other forms ran to get theirplaces, calling out to one another. ounger ones scrambled into the carriages as the guard wentalong to warn one that the train was about to go.The (ourney was /uite fun. 1very one had packets of sandwiches to eat at half-past twelve, andthe train steward brought bottles of ginger-beer and lemonade, and cups of tea. t half-past twothe train drew in at a little platform. big notice said 'light here for #t. lare"s #chool'.There were big school-coaches waiting outside and the girls piled themselves in them, chatteringand laughing. One of them turned to !at and sabel.'There"s the school, look+ Up on that hill there+' The twins looked. They saw a pleasant whitebuilding, built of large white stones, with two towers, one at each end. t looked down into thevalley, over big playing-fields and gardens.'*ot nearly so nice as )edroofs,' said !at to sabel. '0o you remember how sweet our old schoolused to look in the evening sun3' ts red roof was glowing, and it looked warm and welcoming --

not cold and white like #t. lare"s.' %or a few minutes both girls were homesick for their oldschool and their old friends. They knew nobody at #t. lare"s at all. They couldn"t call out '2alo,there+' to every one as they had done each term before. They didn"t like the look of any of thegirls, who seemed much more noisy and boisterous than the ones at )edroofs. t was all horrid.'nyway, we are lucky to have got each other,' said sabel to !at. ' would have hated to comehere all alone. *obody seems to talk to us at all.' t was the twins" own fault, if they had butknown it. They both looked 'stuck-up' as one girl whispered to another. *obody felt much inclinedto talk to them or make friends.Them was the same rush of unpacking and settling in as there is at all boarding-schools. The bigdormitories &ere full of girls putting away their things, hanging up their dresses and puttingphotographs out on their little dressing-tables.There were a good many dormitories at #t. lare"s. !at and sabel were in number 8, where therewere eight white beds, all exactly alike. 1ach was in its own cubicle surrounded by curtains that

could be drawn open or closed, (ust as the girls pleased. !at"s bed was next to sabel"s, much totheir (oy.&hen the girls had unpacked a tall girl came into the dormitory calling out, 'ny new girls here3'!at and sabel nodded their heads. '&e are new,' said !at.'2allo, twins+' said the tall girl, smiling, as she looked at the two sisters so exactly alike, 're you!atricia and sabel O"#ullivan3 Matron wants to see you.' !at and sabel went with the girl towhere the school matron sat in her comfortable room, surrounded by cupboards, chests andshelves. #he was a fat, (olly-looking person, but her eyes were very sharp indeed.'ou can"t deceive Matron over anything,' whispered their guide. '9eep in her good books if youcan.' Matron checked over sheets, towels and clothes with them. 'ou will be responsible for



mending all your own belongings,' she said.'7ood gracious+' said !at. 'There were sewing maids at our other school to do that.' '#hocking+'said Matron, briskly. '&ell, there are no sewing-maids here. #o be careful of your things, andremember that they cost your parents money.' 'Our parents don"t need to worry about tornclothes,' began !at. '&hy, once at )edroofs got caught in some barbed wire, and everything had on was torn to bits. They were so torn that the sewing-maid said she couldn"t mend a thing,and...' '&ell, would have made you mend every hole, every rent, every tear,' said Matron, hereyes beginning to sparkle. 'There"s one thing can"t bear, and that"s carelessness and waste.*ow mind you. ..&hat is it, Millicent3' nother girl had come into the room with a pile of towels,and the twins were very glad that Matron"s attention was no longer given to them. They slippedout of the room /uietly.' don"t like Matron,' said !at. 'nd "ve a (olly good mind to tear something so badly that it can"tbe mended, and that would give her something to think about+' '6et"s go and see what the schoolis like,' said sabel, slipping her arm into !at"s. 't seems much barer and colder somehow thandear old )edroofs.' The twins began to explore. The classrooms seemed much the same as anyclassrooms, and the view from the windows was magnificent. The twins peeped into the studies.

t their old school they had shared a fine study between them, but here there were no studiesexcept for the top form girls and the fifth form. The younger girls shared a big common room,where there was a wireless, a gramophone and a big library of books. #helves ran round thecommon room and each girl shared part of a shelf, putting her belongings there, and keeping

them tidy.There were small music rooms for practising, a fine art room, an enormous gym, which was alsoused for assembly and concerts, and a good laboratory. The mistresses had two common roomsand their own bedrooms, and the )ead lived in a small wing by herself, having her own bedroomin one of the towers, and a beautiful drawing-room below.'t"s not so bad,' said !at, after they bad explored everywhere. 'nd the playing-fields are fine.There are many more tennis courts here than )edroofs - but of course it"s a much bigger school.'' don"t like "big schools,' said sabel. ' like smallerschools, where you are somebody, not (ust alittle nobody tucked away among heaps of others+' They went into the common room. Thewireless was on and a dance-band was playing cheerful music, which was almost drowned by thechatter of the girls. #ome of them looked up as !at and sabel came in.'2allo, twins+' said a cheeky-looking girl with curly golden hair. '&hich is which3' '"m !atriciaO"#ullivan and my twin sister is sabel,' said !at.

'&ell, welcome to #t. lare"s,' said the girl. '"m 2ilary &entworth, and you"re in the samedormitory as am. 2ave you been to boarding-school before3' 'Of course,' said !at. '&e went to)edroofs.' 'The school for snobs+' said a dark-haired girl, looking up. 'My cousin went there - anddidn"t she fancy herself when she came home+ 1xpected to be waited on hand and foot, andcouldn"t even bear to sew a button on a shoe+' '#hut up,' said 2ilary, seeing that !at went red.'ou always talk too much, 5anet. &ell, !atricia and sabel, this isn"t the same kind of school as)edroofs - we work hard and play hard here, and we"re (olly well taught to be independent andresponsible+' '&e didn"t want to come here,' said !at. '&e wanted to go to )ingmere #chool,where our friends were going. *obody thought much of #t. lare"s at )edroofs.' '0ear, dear,dear, is that so3' said 5anet, raising her eyebrows till they were almost lost in the dark hair on herforehead. '&ell, the point is, my dear twins -- not what you think of #t. lare"s -- but what #t.dare"s thinks of you+ :uite a different thing. !ersonally, think it"s a pity that you didn"t gosomewhere else. "ve a feeling you won"t fit in here.' '5anet, do be /uiet,' said 2ilary. 't"s not fair

to say things like that to new girls. 6et them settle in. ome on, !atricia -- come on, sabel -- "llshow you the way to the 2ead"s room. ou"ll have to go and say how-do-you-do to her beforesupper.' !at and sabel were almost boiling over with rage at what dark-haired 5anet had said.2ilary pushed the twins out of the room. '0on"t take too much notice of 5anet,' she said. '#healways says exactly what she thinks, which is very nice when she thinks complimentary thingsabout people, but not so good when she doesn"t. ou"ll get used to her.' ' hope we shan"t,' said!at stiffly. ' like good manners, something that was taught at our school anyway, even if it"s notknown here+' 'Oh, don"t be stuffy,' said 2ilary. '6ook, that"s the 2ead"s room. 9nock on the doorfirst -- and try some of your good manners on Miss Theobald+' The twins knocked on the door. pleasant, rather deep voice called 'ome in+' !at opened the door and the twins went in.



The 2ead Mistress was sitting at her desk, writing. #he looked up and smiled at the girls.' needn"t ask who you are,' she said. 'ou are so alike that you must be the O"#ullivan twins+''es,' said the girls, looking at their new 2ead Mistress. #he was grey-haired, with a dignified,serious face that broke into a lovely smile at times. #he shook hands with each twin.' am very glad to welcome you to #t. dare"s,' she said. ' hope that one day we shall be proud ofyou. 0o your best for us and #t. lare"s will be able to do its best for you+' '&e"ll try,' said sabel,and then was /uite surprised at herself to find that she had said that. #he didn"t mean to try at all+#he looked at !at. !at said nothing but stared straight in front of her.' know your mother /uite well,' said Miss Theobald.' was glad when she decided to send you here. ou must tell her that when you write to her, andgive her my kind regards.' 'es, Miss Theobald,' said !at. The 2ead Mistress nodded at themwith a smile, and turned to her desk again.'&hat funny children+' she thought to herself. 'nyone might think they hated to be here+ !erhapsthey are (ust shy or homesick.' $ut they were neither shy nor homesick. They were (ust twoobstinate girls determined to make the worst of things because they hadn"t been sent to theschool of their choice+ $ad $eginning The twins soon found that #t. dare"s was /uite different from their old school. 1ven the bedswere not nearly so comfortable+ nd instead of being allowed to have their own pretty bedspreadsand eiderdowns to match, every girl had to have the same.

' hate being the same as everyone else+' said !at. '7oodness - if only we were allowed to havewhat we liked, wouldn"t we make everyone stare+' '&hat hate most is being one of the youngones,' said sabel, dismally. ' hate being spoken to as if were about six, when the top form orfifth-form girls say anything to me. t"s "2ere, you-get out of my way+ 2i, you+ %etch me a bookfrom the library+" t"s (ust too bad.' The standard of work was higher at #t. lare"s than at mostschools, and although the twins had good brains, they found that they were rather behind theirform in many ways, and this, too, annoyed them very much. They had so hoped that they wouldimpress the others in so many ways -- and it seemed as if they were even less than nobodies+They soon got to know the girls in their form. 2ilary &entworth was one and the sharp-tongued5anet )obins. Then there was a /uiet, straight-haired girl called 4era 5ohns and a rather haughty-looking girl called #heila *aylor, whose manners were very arrogant. The twins didn"t like her atall.' don"t know what she"s got to be so haughty about+' said !at to sabel. 't"s true she"s got a

lovely home because "ve seen a photo of it on her dressing-table -- but my goodness, shesometimes talks like our parlour maid at home. Then she seems to remember she mustn"t talklike that and goes all haughty and silly.' Then there was 9athleen 7regory, a frightened lookinggirl of fifteen, who was the only one who really tried to make friends with the twins the first week.Most of the other girls left them alone, except for being polite, and telling them the ways of theschool. They all thought that !at and sabel were-very 'stuck-up'.'9athleen is funny,' said sabel. '#he seems so eager to make friends with us, and lend us booksand shares her sweets. #he"s been at #t. lare"s for a year, and she doesn"t seem to have anyfriends at all. #he keeps asking me to walk with her when we go out, and keep saying can"tbecause "ve got you.' ' feel rather sorry for her somehow,' said !at. '#he reminds me of a lostdog trying to find a new master+' sabel laughed. 'es, that"s (ust it+ think of all the girls that like2ilary the best in our form. #he"s so natural and (olly -- a real sport.' The twins were very much inawe of the older girls. who seemed very grown-up to them. The top form especially seemed

almost as old and even more dignified than the mistresses+ The head-girl, &inifred 5ames, spokea few words to the twins the first week. #he was a tall, clever-looking girl with pale blue eyes andpretty ;8 soft hair. #t. lare"s was proud of her, for she had passed many difficult exams. with flyingcolours.'ou are the new girls, aren"t you3' she said. '#ettle in and do your best. ome to me if you are inany difficulty. "m the head-girl and should like to help you if ever+ can.' 'Oh, thank you,' said thetwins, feeling /uite overcome at being addressed by the head-girl. &inifred went off with herfriends, and the twins stared after her.'#he"s rather nice,' said sabel. 'n fact, think most of the top form girls are nice, though they"re



awfully serious and proper.' They liked their form-mistress, Miss )oberts, too, though she wouldstand no nonsense at all. #ometimes !at would try to argue about something, and say, "&ell,that"s what was taught at my old school +' Then Miss )oberts would say, ')eally3 &ell, do it thatway if you like -- but you won"t get very far up your form+ 0o remember that what suits one schoolwon"t work in another. #till, if you like to be obstinate, that"s your own look out+' Then !at wouldstick out her lower lip, and sabel would go red, and the rest of the form would smile to itself.Those 'stuck-up' girls were having to learn a lesson+ The art-mistress, Miss &alker, was a merrysoul, young and (olly, and very good at her work. #he was pleased to find that both twins coulddraw and paint well. !at and sabel loved Miss &alker"s classes. They were very go-as-you-please, much more like their old school. The girls were allowed to chatter and laugh as theyworked, and it was often a very noisy class indeed.Mam"<elle was not so easy-going. #he was very strict, elderly, conscientious and fierce. #he worepince-ne< glasses on her nose, and these were always slipping off when she was cross, whichwas fairly often. #he had enormous feet, and a rather harsh voice that the twins hated at first. $utMam"<elle bad also a great sense of fun, and if anything tickled her she would go off intoenormous roars of laughter that set the whole class laughing too.!at and sabel came up against Mam"<elle very much at first, for although they could speak andunderstand %rench /uite well, they had never bothered very much about %rench grammar andrules. nd Mam"<elle bothered a great deal about those+ 'ou girls, !atricia and sabel+' shecried. 't is not enough to speak my language+ ou write it abominably+ #ee this essay -- it is

abominable, abominable+' 'bominable' was Mam"<elle"s favourite ad(ective. #he used it foreverything - the weather, a broken pencil, the girls, and her own eye-glasses when they slippedoff her big nose+ !at and sabel called her 'Mam"<elle bominable' between themselves, andwere secretly more than a little afraid of the loud-voiced, good-hearted big %rench-woman.2istory was taken throughout the school by Miss 9ennedy, and her classes were a riot. !oor Miss9ennedy was a frump, and could not manage any class of girls for more than five minutes. #hewas nervous and serious, always tremendously polite, listened to every /uestion that was put toher no matter how silly, and explained every difficulty at great length. #he never seemed to seethat half the time the girls were pulling her leg.'$efore Miss 9ennedy came we had her friend Miss 6ewis,' said 2ilary to the twins. '#he wasmarvellous. Then she fell ill in the middle of last term, and asked the 2ead to have her friend,Miss 9ennedy, until she was well enough to come back. Old 9enny has got umpteen degrees,and is supposed to be even cleverer than the 2ead -- but my word, she"s a goose+' $it by bit the

twins sorted out the various girls andmistresses, grew to know the classes and the customs of theschool, and settled in. $ut even when two weeks had gone by they had not got used to being'nobodies in-stead of somebodies' as !at complained.One thing they found most annoying. t was the custom at #t. lare"s for the younger girls to waiton the two top forms. The fifth- and sixth-form girls shared studies, two friends having a studybetween them.They were allowed to furnish these studies themselves, very simply, and, in cold weather, to havetheir own fire there, and to have tea by themselves instead of in the hall with the others.One day a girl came into the common room where the twins were reading and called to 5anet,'2i, 5anet - 9ay 6ongden wants you. ou"re to light her fire and make some toast for her.' 5anetgot up without a word and went out. !at and sabel stared after her in surprise.'7olly+ &hat cheek of 9ay 6ongden to send a message to 5anet like that+ "m (olly sure wouldn"tgo and light anybody"s fire+' said !at.

'nd neither would +' said sabel '6et one of the maids light it - or 9ay herself.' 2ilary &entworthlooked up from her embroidery. 't will be your turn next+' she said. '6ook out next week forsudden messages, twins. f the fifth or sixth want anything doing, they expect us to do it. t"s thecustom of the school - and anyway, it doesn"t hurt us. &e can have our turn at sending messagesand ordering the lower forms about when we"re top-formers ourselves+' ' never heard of such athing+' cried !at, furiously. ' (olly well won"t go and do a thing for any one. Our parents didn"t sendus here to wait on la<y top-formers. 6et them light their own fires and make their own toast+ sabeland won"t do a thing+ nd they can"t make us either+' '2oity-toity+' said 2ilary. ' never knewsuch a hot temper. 7et further away from me, !at, you"re scorching me+' !at slammed down herbook and flounced out of the room. sabel followed her. ll the other girls laughed.



'diots+' said 2ilary. '&ho do they think they are, anyway3 &hy don"t they get some sense3 Theywouldn"t be at all bad if only they would shake down. vote we knock some of their corners off,else we shall hate them like anything+' 'O.9.,' said 4era. '"m willing. say, what a shock for themwhen they find they"ve got to wait on the top-formers too. hope they get $elinda Towers. had towait on her last term, and my word, didn"t she make me skip around+ #he got it into her head that was la<y, and "m sure lost a whole stone rushing round in circles after her one week+' The girlslaughed. #heila *aylor spoke haughtily. 'The worst of people who think they are somebodies isthat so often they are (ust nobodies. "m sure shouldn"t even trouble to know !atricia and sabelat home.' 'Oh, come off the high horse, #heila,' said 2ilary. 'The twins aren"t as bad as all that.

nyway, there are a few shocks in store for them+' #o there were -- and they came the very nextweek+

6ittle Trouble %or The Twins One day, about half-past five, when the twins were writing home, one of the fourth-formerspopped her head in at the door.'2i, there+' she said. '&here are the O"#ullivan twins3 $elinda Towers wants one of them.' !atand sabel looked up. !at went red. '&hat does she want us for3' she asked.'2ow should know3' said the messenger. '#he"s been out over the fields this afternoon, somaybe she wants her boots cleaned. nyway, (ump to it, or you"ll get into a row+' The messengerdisappeared. The twins sat still. 2ilary looked at them.

'7o on, idiots,' she said. 'One of you must go and find out what $elinda wants. 0on"t keep herwaiting, for goodness" sake. #he"s got about as hot a temper as you have, !at.' '"ll go,' saidsabel, and got up. $ut !at pulled her down.'*o, don"t,' she said. '%m not going to clean anybody"s boots+ nd you"re not, either.' '6ook here,!at, don"t be goofy,' said 5anet. '$elinda may want to tell you something. 7olly, she might want toask you if you"ll play in a match. #he"s captain, you know.' 'Oh,' said !at. "&ell, shouldn"t thinkit"s that because cause neither sabel nor have ever played lacrosse before, and we were prettybad at it yesterday.' "&ell, do 7o+' said 2ilary. 'ou"ve got to go in the end, so why not go now3'

nother girl popped her head in at the door. ' say+ $elinda"s foaming at the mouth+ &here arethose O"#ullivan twins3 They"ll get it hot if one of them doesn"t go along+' 'ome on,' said !at tosabel. '&e"ll go and see what she wants. $ut "m not doing any boot-cleaning or fire-lighting,that"s certain. nd neither are you+' The two got up and went out of the room. 1verybody giggled."&ish could go and see what happens+' said 5anet. ' love to see $elinda in a rage+' $elinda

Towers was in her study with !amela 2arrison, the girl who shared it with her. !at opened thedoor.'9nock, can"t you+' cried $elinda. '$arging in like that+ nd should (olly well like to know whyyou"ve been all this time coming. sent for you ages ago.' !at was rather taken aback, and sabeldid not dare to say anything.'&ell, haven"t you a tongue between you3' said $elinda. 'My goodness, !am, did you ever seesuch a pair of boobs3 &ell, as you"ve both come, you can both do a spot of work for me. wantmy boots cleaned and !am"s too. nd make up my fire for me and put the kettle on to boil. ou"llfind water (ust down the passage. ome on, !am -- we"ll go and collect our prep and by that timethe kettle will be boiling and we"ll make tea.' The two big girls walked to the door. !at, very redand angry, stopped them.' didn"t come to #t. lare"s to wait on the older girls,' she said. '*either did my twin. &e shan"tclean your boots nor put on the kettle, nor make up the fire.' $elinda stopped as if she had been

shot. #he stared at !at as if she was some particularly nasty insect. Then she turned to !am.'0id you hear that3' she said. 'Talk about cheek+ ll right, my girl - no walks down the town foryou. 5ust remember that+' The twins stared at $elinda in dismay. The #t. are girls were allowedto go down to the town in twos to buy anything they needed, or to look at the shops, or even to goto the cinema if they had permission. #urely $elinda hadn"t the power to stop them doing that3' don"t think you"ve any right to say that,' said !at.' shall go to &inifred 5ames and tell her what you"ve said and ask her about it.' '&ell, "mblessed+' said $elinda flaring up angrily, her red hair seeming to flame too. 'ou do want takingdown a peg, don"t you3 )un off to &inifred, by all means. Tell your little tales and see whathappens.' !at and sabel went out of the study. sabel was very much upset, and wanted to stay



and do what $elinda had ordered, but !at was furious. #he took hold of her twin"s arm andmarched her off to &inifred"s study. The head-girl had her own study, which she shared with noone. !at dared not go in without knocking. #o, she knocked /uietly.'ome in+' said &inifred"s voice. The twins went in.&inifred was working at a table, '&hat is it3' she said. '"m rather busy.' '!lease, &inifred,' said!at, '$elinda Towers ordered us to clean her boots, make up her fire and put her kettle on. ndwhen we said we wouldn"t she said we weren"t to go down into the town. #o we"ve come to askyou about it.' ' see,' said &inifred. '&ell, it"s the custom of this school to get the (uniors to waiton the seniors within reason. t doesn"t hurt them. &hen you go to )ome, you must do as )omedoes, you know.' '$ut we didn"t want to come to #t. dare"s, so we don"t want to follow sillycustoms of that sort,' said !at. '0o we, sabel3' sabel shook her head. #he couldn"t think how!at could dare to speak to &inifred like that. 2er knees were shaking as she stood+ #he wasnever so brave as !at.' think should wait a little while before you call our customs silly,' said &inifred. '*ow listen -can"t you clean boots3 0on"t you know how to make up a fire32ave you never put a kettle onto boil3' '&e never had to at )edroofs,' said !at, obstinately. 'ndwe don"t at home either.' ' don"t think "d know how to clean muddy boots+' said sabel, thinkingthat perhaps if she said that, &inifred would let them off.'7ood heavens+' said &inifred in disgust. 'To think you"re nearly fifteen and you don"t know howto clean boots+ 2ow shocking+ ll the more reason why you should learn at once. 7o back to

$elinda"s study and try to do what she tells you. know she"s hot-tempered and will tick you offproperly, but honestly think you both deserve it. 0o have a little common sense.' &inifred turnedback to her books. The twins, red in the face, went out of the room and closed the door /uietly.They stood outside and looked at each other.' shan"t clean her beastly boots, even if have to stay in the school grounds the whole of theterm and not go down into the town once,' said !at, angrily.'Oh, !at+ do want to get a new set of hair-grips and some chocolate,' said sabel, in dismay.'ome on -we"d better do it. The others will think we"re terribly silly if we kick up such a fuss. Theylaugh at us enough already.' '&ell, you can do it if you like, but "m not going to+' said !at, andshe stalked off, her nose in the air, leaving sabel by herself.sabel stood for a little while, thinking. '#upposing go and do the (obs that $elinda wants done,'she thought. 'That means that can go down into the town if+ want to - and as !at is so exactlylike me, she can go down too, if we each go at different times, with somebody else. *o one will

ever know+ That will trick $elinda nicely+' sabel went to $elinda"s study. t was empty. On the floor lay two pairs of very muddy boots. The owners had evidently been across sonic very clayeyfields. sabel picked them up. 7oodness, however did anyone set about cleaning boots like that3#he heard some one passing and went to the door. #he saw 9athleen 7regory and called her.'9athleen+ 6ook at these awful boots+ 2ow do clean them3' 9athleen stopped at once, lookingdelighted. #he was pleased that sabel should ask her help. 'ou want to scrape them first andget all the clay off,'" she said. 'ome on, "ll help you.' #oon the two girls were cleaning themuddy boots thoroughly. They took /uite a time. 9athleen talked hard all the time, pouring out allkinds of information about how her mother spoilt her at home, and what a lot of presents she wasalways getting from her parents, and how much money they sent her for her birthday.sabel listened politely, grateful for 9athleen"s help, but thinking that she was rather silly. fter all,every one got presents for their birthdays, and every one had money on their birthdays+ &hen theboots were finished she put them neatly together on the shoe-shelf, and made up the fire.

9athleen showed her where to fill the kettle and set it on to boil. 5ust then $elinda and !am cameback.'Oh, so you decided to be sensible, see,' she said. '&here"s your twin3 0id she help you3''*o,' said sabel '&ell, tell her from me that there"s to be no going down to the town till she doesher bit,' said $elinda, flinging herself down in a chair ' won"t have new girls behaving as if theyowned the place+ s the kettle boiling yet3 My goodness, the water"s cold+ 2ow long has this kettlebeen on3' '"ve only (ust this minute put it on, $elinda,' said sabe6 ' suppose it didn"t occur toyou that it would be a good idea to make up the fire and put the kettle on first, before you did theboots3' said $elinda, sarcastically.' suppose you thought it would be a great pity if the kettle boiled whilst you were doing the



boots3 don"t know what you kids are coming to nowadays. &hen was your age had a lot morecommon sense. lear out now. nd see that you come running next time send a message+'sabel went out of the room. 5ust as she was closing the door $elinda yelled to her again. 'ndmind you tell that obstinate twin of yours what said. f she disobeys "ll report her to MissTheobald.' sabel fled. #he felt upset and angry and very foolish. &hy, why, why hadn"t she putthe kettle on first3 *o wonder that $elinda had thought her stupid.sabel told !at what had happened. 'nd she says you"re not to go down to the town until you doyour bit,' she said. '$ut you can, !at -- because no one will know if it"s you or me going+ don"tthink anyone can tell the difference between us yet.' 'll right,' said !at, ungraciously. '$ut don"tthink much of you for giving in like that, sabel %ancy cleaning those dirty boots+' '&ell, ratheren(oyed it,' said sabel. '9athleen helped me. %irst we. . .' 'Oh, shut up,' said !at, rudely. '7oand write an essay about how to clean boots and boil kettles if you want to, but don"t preach tome+' sabel was hurt. $ut !at could not be angry with her twin for long. $efore an hour had goneby she had slipped her arm through sabel"s. '#orry, old thing,' she said. ' wasn"t really angrywith you. was furious with $elinda, and took it out on you. *ever mind+ "ll trick $elinda all rightand go down to the town whenever like, pretending that am you.' !at was as good as herword+ #he slipped down to the town with one or other of the girls, pretending that she was sabel,and nobody knew the difference+ 2ow the twins giggled about their trick+ nd then somethinghappened. !at had gone down to the town with 9athleen after tea, when a messenger came tothe common-room. sabel was winding up the gramophone, and she (umped when she heard

!at"s name called.'!atricia O"#ullivan+ $elinda wants you+' '&ell -- must pretend to be !at,' thought sabel.'$ut why does $elinda want !at3 "m the one that does her (obs (ust now. #he knows !atdoesn"t.' #he soon knew what $elinda wanted. The sports-captain was making out a list and shelooked up as sabel came in.'!at O"#ullivan, you played well in the lacrosse practice yesterday,' she said. ' was watching.ou"re a silly, obstinate kid, but "m not counting that against you where lacrosse is concerned. "mputting you down for the match on #aturday.' sabel stared in surprise. 2ow pleased !at wouldbe+ sabel muttered a thank you and sped, longing for !at to come back so that she might tell herthe good news.&hen !at heard she stood speechless. 'n a match already+' she cried. '2ow decent of $elinda+f she"d been spiteful she"d have left me out for months.' Then she became silent and went awayby herself.

sabel knew /uite well what she was thinking, because she was worrying about the same thingherself #oon !at came over and put her aim through sabel"s. ' feel a beast now,' said !at. '"velet you do all the (obs -- and "ve gone down to the town all wanted to, (ust to #pite $elinda. thought we were being rather clever to play a trick like that. $ut now don"t think so.' '*or do ,'said sabel ' (ust feel mean and dishonest. t was decent of $elinda to stick you in the match,although she must have felt furious with you -- but we haven"t been decent. nd, you know, !at, don"t really mind doing anything for the top-formers. They are awfully good sorts, really. fter all,why should anyone mind putting a kettle on to boil and making toast3 $elinda talks to me /uite alot now, and like her, though "m a bit afraid of her hot temper.' !at rubbed her nose andfrowned. #he always did that when she felt uncomfortable. #he suddenly got up and went to thedoor. '"m going to tell $elinda "ve played her a trick,' she said. '"m not playing in the match on#aturday knowing "ve been mean.' #he ran out. #he went to $elinda"s study and knocked on thedoor. $elinda yelled, 'ome in+' #he looked surprised when she saw !at.

'2allo, sabel+' she said. ' didn"t send for you.' '"m not sabel, "m !at,' said !at. '"ve comeabout the match on #aturday.' "&ell, there"s nothing more to tell you than told you (ust now,' said$elinda.'That"s (ust it. ou didn"t tell me (ust now -- you told my twin, sabel,' said !at ' was down in thetown. know you said wasn"t to go -- but "m so like my twin that knew nobody would everknow.' ')ather a mean trick, !at,' said $elinda, in a scornful voice.' know,' said !at, in a troubled voice. '"m sorry for that. "ve come to say thank you for puttingme in the match, but of course don"t expect to play now. nyway, couldn"t have you beingdecent to me if was playing a trick (ust to pay you out. nd "ll take my share of the (obs withsabel now. was silly before. That"s all, $elinda' '*o - not /uite all,' said $elinda, in an



unexpectedly gentle voice. '"ve something to say too. ou"ve done something rather mean, butyou"ve been big enough to put it right. &e"ll say no more about it -- but you"ll play in the match on#aturday+' !at flew off to tell sabel, her heart leaping for (oy. 2ow decent $elinda was+ 2ow couldshe ever have thought her beastly and horrid3'"ll boil her old kettle and clean her old boots and even scrub the floor now+' thought !at. 'ndmy word "ll shoot a do<en goals on #aturday, see if don"t+' #he didn"t - but she shot one verydifficult one - and how pleased she was to hear both sabel and $elinda shout, '&ell done, !at+Oh, good shot, good shot+' $attle with Mam"<elle 1very week the twin"s form had marks for different sub(ects. !at and sabel had been used tobeing top in most things at )edroofs, and it was with shame and dismay that they found theywere nearer the bottom than the top at #t. lare"s.2ilary saw them looking unhappy about it and she spoke to them. 'ou"ve got to remember thatyou are the only new girls in your form,' she said. 'The rest of us have been in the form at leasttwo terms, and we are used to #t. lare ways. heer up+' t was 'Mam"<elle bominable' whoreally upset the twins. #he would not make allowances for them, and when they sent in badlywritten %rench essays, she was very angry.#he had the pile of %rench books on the desk before her, all neatly marked with 'Tr=s bien' or'$ien' or '1xcellent'. $ut when she took out !at"s book and sabel"s they were both marked thesame. 'bominable+' 'This will not do+' cried Mam"<elle, banging her big hand down on the

books. '"est abominable+ ou will write the whole essay again today, and you will bring it to meafter supper.' '&e can"t write it again today, Mam"<elle,' said sabel, politely. '&e"ve got art thisafternoon, and after tea we"ve got permission to go to the cinema together. &e shan"t have timeto rewrite it. an we do it tomorrow3' 'Oh, /ue vous >tes insupportable+' raged Mam"<elle,stamping her foot on the floor, and making the books on her desk (ump and slide. '2ow dare youtalk to me like this+ ou present me with a shocking, yes, a shocking essay, and then you talk ofgoing to the cinema. ou will not go+ ou will stay behind and write the essay for me. nd if thereis more than one mistake you will write it all over again+ That is certain+' '$ut -- but - we"ve got thetickets,' said sabel. '&e had to book our seats. &e. ..' ' do not care about seats, do not careabout book-lag+' shouted Mam"<elle, now /uite losing her temper. 'll care about is that youshould learn good %rench, which is what am here for. ou will bring me the essays tonight.'sabel looked ready to cry. !at looked mutinous, and stuck out her lower lip. 1very one elseen(oyed the row and a few of the girls were secretly very pleased to see the twins taken down a

peg. *obody dared to be inattentive after that, and the lesson went very smoothly, though !atwas sulky and (oined in the lesson as little as she dared.&hen the lesson was over the twins had a few words together. "m going to the cinema+' said !at.'Oh, no, !at+' said sabel, shocked. '&e can"t do that. &e"d really get into a terrible row. &e"dbetter stay behind and do the work again. %or goodness" sake let"s+' '"m 7O*7 to the cinema+'said !at, obstinately. '"ll fit in the beastly essay somehow, and you must too. 6et"s do it directlyafter dinner. don"t care how badly do it either.' $ut after dinner they had to go to a meeting oftheir form to plan nature rambles, so there was no time then.

rt took up the whole of the afternoon. sabel began to be worried. #uppose !at insisted on goingto the cinema even if they hadn"t rewritten their essays3 #he could not imagine what Mam"<ellewould say.'6et"s miss our tea,' said sabel to !at as they ran down the stairs after the art lesson. '&e coulddo our essays then.' 'Miss my tea+ *o, thank you+' said !at. '"m (olly hungry don"t know why art

makes me hungry, but it always does. nd know 5anet has got a big pot of plum (am sent to herthat she"s opening this tea time. "m not going to miss my share+' sabel was hungry too, and sheweakly gave way. #he knew that if they were going to get into the cinema in time they wouldn"thave a moment to spare for anything after tea, let alone rewriting essays+ ' really shan"t go to thecinema,' she thought. ' daren"t. 2onestly, think Mam"<elle bominable would go up in smoke ifshe heard we"d gone.' $ut after tea !at dragged sabel off to the dormitory to get her hat andcoat. "&e"re not really going, !at, surely+' cried sabel.'ndeed we are+' said !at, sticking out her lower lip. 'ome on.' '$ut, !at -- we"ll really get into asimply enormous row+' said sabel 't isn"t worth it. !erhaps Mam"<elle will give us an hour"s extrawork every day or something like that. 5anet told me that once she had to stop in after tea for a



whole week and write out %rench verbs for checking Mam"<elle (ust a little bit. nd she wouldn"tcount this a little thing.' '0on"t be a coward, sabel,' said !at. 'rye got a plan. Mam"<elle said wewere to take our essays to her after supper, didn"t she3 $ut she didn"t say what time after supper+#o when we"re in bed and think the others are asleep, we"ll slip down to the common room in ourdressing-gowns, rewrite our essays then - and give them to Mam"<elle when they"re finished+''!at+ "d never dare to+' cried poor sabel. 'Think of going to find Mam"<elle at that time of night inour dressing-gowns. ou must be mad.' "&ell, Mam"<elle has made me feel mad,' said obstinate!at. 'nyway, don"t care what happens. ou know we never wanted to come to #t. lare"s - andif it"s going to treat us like this, "m (olly sure won"t stay. "ll get expelled+' '!at, you"re not to saythings like that+' said sabel.'Think what Mummy and 0addy would say+' "&ell it"s their fault for sending us here,' said !at,who really was in a great rage.'es, but, !at - think how awful it would be if )ed-roofs heard that we"d been sent away from #t.lare"s,' said sabel in a low voice.!at"s eyes filled with tears. #he didn"t want to think of that. 'ome on,' the said, gruffly. '"m notgoing to change my mind now. f you"re coming with me, come. f not, you can (olly well be acoward by yourself+' $ut sabel was not going to be left by herself. #he put on her hat and coat.5anet came into the room as the twins were going out.'2alo, ballot' she said. '#o you are going to the cinema after all+ &henever did you find time torewrite your %rench3' '&e haven"t done it,' said !at. 5anet gave a long whistle and stared at the

twins in surprise.' wouldn"t like to be in your shoes tomorrow when you tell Mam"<elle that+' she said. 'ou reallyare a couple of idiots. can"t think why you should go out of your way to make things difficult foryourselves+' The twins did not answer. They ran downstairs and were soon in the town. $utneither of them really en(oyed the show, although it was a fine nature-film. They had to leave alittle before the end to get back to supper in time. There was a debate afterwards that they had togo to, and they both wished they could miss it. $ut it was taken by &inifred 5ames, the head-girl,and neither of the twins dared to ask if they might miss it.*ine o"clock was the bedtime for their form and the two forms above them. hattering andlaughing, the girls went upstairs and undressed. Usually a mistress came to see that all the girlswere in bed, and switched off the lights - but tonight 2ilary announced that she was to see to this.'Miss )oberts is with Miss Theobald,' she said, 'so "m on duty tonight. 2urry, all of you, becausethe light will go off in five minutes" time, and you"ll have to finish in the dark if you"re not ready.'

Two girls, 5oan and 0oris, began to have a pillow-fight when they heard that Miss )oberts wasnot coming. $ang-thud went the two pillows, and the girls shrieked with laughter. $ut it wasn"t/uite so funny when one of the pillows split and feathers poured out into the air+ '7olly+' said5oan. '6ook at my pillow. 2ilary, for goodness" sake don"t turn the lights off yet must pick upsome of these feathers+' '#orry,' said 2ilary. 'ou"ll have to do it in the morning. 6ights are goingout now+ Miss )oberts will be along to see we"re all right in an hour"s time, so let"s hope she won"tspot the feathers all over the place. #he"ll think the cat"s been chasing hens in our dormitory+' Thelights snapped out. ll the girls were in bed except 5oan and 0ons, who were still groping forfeathers. They bad to finish undressing and cleaning their teeth in the dark. 5oan upset her tooth-mug and 0oris banged her ankle on her chest-of-drawers and groaned deeply.5anet giggled, and 9athleen 7regory went off into a spasm of laughter that gave her hiccups.'#hut up, 9athleen,' ordered 2ilary. 'ou"re hiccupping on purpose. know you+' '"m not+' said9athleen, indignantly, and gave such an enormous hiccup that her bed shook. 5anet couldn"t stop

giggling. 1very lime she tried to stop, poor 9athleen hiccupped again and 5anet went off intomore gurgles.1ven the twins, anxious though they were to have every one going to sleep /uickly, could nothelp laughing. 2ilary lost her temper and sat up in bed.'ou"re all meanies+' she cried. 'f any one comes along and hears you making this row "ll beblamed because "m head of the dormitory. #hut up, 5anet -- and 9athleen, for goodness" sakeget a drink of water. 2ow do you suppose we"re going to sleep with you hiccupping like that3''#orry, 2ilary,' said 9athleen, with another hiccup.'"ll get up and get some water.' '7et into bed, 5oan and 0oris,' said 2ilary, snuggling downagain. ' don"t care if you"ve cleaned your teeth and brushed your hair or not. 71T *TO $10+' n



five minutes" time there was peace in the dormitory except for an occasional small and subduedhiccup from 9athleen and a smothered giggle from 5anet.The twins lay awake, listening for the others to go to sleep. They were worried because Miss)oberts was coming in about an hour"s time. They could not wait a whole hour before going downto the common room. %or one thing, Mam"<elle would have gone to bed by the time they hadfinished their essays+ 'sabel+' whispered !at at last. 'sabel+ think they"re all asleep. 7et up andput on your dressing-gown.' '$ut Miss )oberts hasn"t been in yet,' whispered back sabel.'&ell put our bolsters down our beds, so that they"ll look like our bodies,' said !at. 'ome on+'They got up /uietly and slipped on their dressing-gowns. They pushed their bolsters down theirbeds and hoped that Miss )oberts wouldn"t notice anything different when she came. Then out ofthe door they went, and down the dimly-lit stairs to the common room, which was (ust below theirown dormitory.!at shut the door and turned on the light. The two girls sat down and took out their %rench books.Mam"<elle had marked all the mistakes, and carefully and laboriously the two girls wrote out theessays again."&ell, mine had fifteen mistakes before, and hope it hasn"t got more than five now+' said sabel.'$low Mam"<elle bominable+ "m so sleepy. nd oh, !at -dare we go and find Mam"<elle now, doyou think3 My knees are shaking at the very thought+' 'Oh, don"t be stupid,' said !at. '&hat canshe say to us, anyway3 &e"ve done the essays again -- and she said give them to her aftersupper - and we are going to do that, aren"t we3' The essays were finished. *ow they had to find

Mam"<elle &here would she be3 n one of the mistresses" common rooms - or in her ownbedroom -- or where3"&ell, come on,' said !at, at last. '&e must go and find her. heer up, sabel.' The twins slippedout of the common room and went to the first of the mistresses" moms. The light was out and theroom was /uite dark. *o one was there at all. s they went on their way to the second commonroom, they heard Mam"<elle"s voice in one of the classrooms+ &hat luck+ '#he"s in the upper thirdclassroom,' whispered !at.' don"t know who"s there with her, but it doesn"t matter.The art mistress, expect - Mam"<elle"s awfully friendly with Miss &alker.' They knocked at theupper third door. surprised voice called 'ome in+ &ho"s there3' !at opened the door and thetwins went in. nd oh my goodness, who should be with Mam"<elle, studying a big %rench chart,but the 2ead, Miss Theobald herself+ The twins were so shocked that they stood and stared withwide eyes. Mam"<elle cried 'Tiens+' in a loud and ama<ed voice, and Miss Theobald said nothing

at all.Mam"<elle recovered first. '&hat is wrong3' she cried. 're you ill, mes petites3' '*o.' said !at,in rather a trembling voice. '&e"re not ill. &e"ve brought you our re-written essays. ou said wewere to bring them after supper, so here they are.' '$ut why bring them so late3' asked MissTheobald, in her deep, serious voice. 'ou must have known that Mam"<elle meant you to bringthem before you went to bed.' "&e hadn"t time to rewrite the essays till (ust now,' answered !at,suddenly feeling very foolish indeed. '&e got out of bed and went down to the common room todo them.' 'h the bad children+ They went to the cinema after all, instead of doing my essays+'cried Mam"<elle, guessing everything at once. 'h, Miss Theobald, these twins send my hair grey+The work they do+ t is impossible that they have gone to a school before they came here+ Theirwork is abominable.' "&e did go to a school, and it was a (olly fine one+' cried !at, indignantly.'Much better than #t. lares+' There was a silence after this. Miss Theobald looked thoughtful.Mam"<elle was speechless.

' think we won"t decide anything tonight or talk about this,' said Miss Theobald at last. 't is toolate. 7o to bed, twins, and come and see me at ten o"clock to morrow morning. sk Miss )obertsto excuse you for fifteen minutes then.' #o back to bed with their %rench books went the twins,subdued and dismayed. &hat bad luck to have run into the 2ead herself like that+ *ow what wasgoing to happen to them3 They didn"t like to think of ten o"clock in the morning+ !oor Miss 9ennedy+ 2ilary was awake when they got back into bed and she sat up and demanded to know wherethey had been.'Miss )oberts came in and turned on the light and woke up,' said 2ilary. ' spotted that you"d putbolsters down your beds, but Miss )oberts didn"t. &hatever have you been doing3' !at told her.



2ilary listened in ama<ement. '&hatever will you two do next3' she said. '2onestly, think you"remad. *obody would ever think you"d been head-girls in your old school. ou behave like a coupleof babies+' The twins were annoyed with 2ilary, particularly as they each had a kind of feeling thatshe was right. They got into bed and lay thinking. t was all very well to be defiant and daring --but it wasn"t so funny afterwards+ They asked Miss )oberts to excuse them at ten o"clock. Miss)oberts had evidently been told to expect this, for she nodded her bead at once, and did not askany /uestions. The twins went off together to Miss Theobald"s room.The head was making out time-tables and she told them to sit down for a minute. t was ratherdreadful waiting for her to finish what she was doing. $oth the twins felt much more nervous thanthey pretended. !at began to wonder if the 2ead would write home about them to their parents.Much as she had grumbled about going to #t. lare"s, she didn"t want the 2ead to report her formisbehaviour at the school.

t last Miss Theobald was ready. #he swung her chair round and faced the twins. #he lookedvery serious, but not angry.' have been looking through the reports that your father sent me from your last school,' the 2eadbegan. 'They are very good, and you seem to have been responsible and conscientious childrenthere. can"t imagine that you can have completely changed your characters in a few weeks, so am not going to treat you as naughty irresponsib;e girls. know there must be a good reasonbehind all your /ueer behaviour last night. )eally, my dears, you gave Mam"<elle and me /uite ashock when you walked into the classroom in your blue dressing-gowns.' The 2ead smiled. The

twins felt most relieved, and !at began to pour out what had happened in the %rench class.'The %rench isn"t the same as at our old school. t isn"t much use our trying to do well, becausewe always get everything wrong. t isn"t our fault. nd Mam"<elle was simply furious with usyesterday, and...' Miss Theobald heard !at patiently to the end.'&ell, your %rench difficulties can easily be put right,' said the 2ead Mistress. ' have spoken toMam"<elle, and she says that you speak well and understand well, but that you have not beenwell grounded in the writing of %rench. #he has offered to give you half an hour"s extra %rench aday until you have caught up the others. This is very kind of her because she is extremely busy.

ll this bother has come from the fact that you were behind your class in one thing -- and if youare willing to help to put it right by working hard with Mam"<elle, there is no need to say any moreabout your rather silly behaviour last night.' The twins stared at Miss Theobald with mixedfeelings They were most relieved that nothing more was to be said -- but oh dear, oh dear - extra%rench each day+ 2ow tiresome+ nd yet how decent of Mam"<elle bominable to be willing to

help them.'Thank you, Miss Theobald,' said !at at last. '&e"ll try. Once we catch up the others, we #han"tfeel so angry and ashamed when we are scolded in front of the class.' '&ell, you won"t bescolded if Mam"<elle really feels you are trying,' said Miss Theobald. '*ow go to her and arrangewhat time will be best each day for the extra lesson. nd don"t go marching through the corridorsin your dressing-gowns at half-past ten anymore+' '*o, Miss Theobald,' said the twins smiling atthe 2ead. Things seemed suddenly brighter. &hat they had done didn"t any longer seem adreadful piece of misbehaviour likely to be punished in dire ways but (ust a silly bit of nonsensethat they were both heartily ashamed of They went out of the room, and skipped down thepassage to the common room Mam"<elle was there, correcting piles of %rench essays, andmuttering to herself as she ticked the pages 'Tr=s bien, ma petite 2ilary+ h, this dreadful girl5oan + h... come in+' The twins went into the mistresses" common room Mam"<elle beamed atthem, and patted them on the shoulder. lthough she had an extremely /uick and hot temper, she

was, very good hearted and kind.'h, now we will see how clever you can be at catching up the others,' she said. '1very day youwill work with me, and we shall be good friends, nest ce pas3' 'Thank you, Mam"<elle,' said !at.'&e were rather idiots yesterday. &e won"t be again+' 'nd thank you for saying you"ll help useach day,' said sabel.#o that was that, and the classes with Mam"<elle went much more smoothly. Mam"<elle waspatient with the twins, and they tried hard.$ut nobody tried hard with poor Miss 9ennedy+ 5anet was a born tease and leg-puller, and shegave the unfortunate history-teacher a terrible time. 5anet had a wonderful collection of trick-pencils, all of which she tried on Miss 9ennedy with enormous success.



One pencil had a point that was made of rubber, so that it wobbled to one side when Miss9ennedy took it to write with. nother pencil had a point that slipped right inside the pencil assoon as any one wrote with it. The girls all watched with intense eagerness as the unfortunatemistress unwarily used these pencils, and ga<ed at them in surprise when they behaved so/ueerly.Then 5anet produced a pencil that wouldn"t write at all, although it appeared to have a mostmarvellous point. To see poor Miss 9ennedy pressing hard with the pencil, trying her best to write'4ery good' with it, sent the whole class into fits of giggles.'7irls, girls+ !lease make less noise+' Miss 9ennedy said. 'Turn to page eighty-seven of yourhistory books. Today want to tell you how the people lived in the seventeenth century.' The classat once began to turn over the pages of their history books in a most feverish manner, making anoise like the whispering of trees in the wind. They went on and on turning over the pages,muttering 'eighty-seven, eighty-seven' to themselves all the time."&hat number did you say, Miss 9ennedy3' asked 9athleen, innocently, though she knew verywell indeed.' said page eighty-seven,' said Miss 9ennedy, politely. #he was always polite, never rude likeMam"<elle or sarcastic like Miss )oberts.'Oh, eighty-seven+' said all the girls at once, and immediately began to turn over their pages theother way, very busy and very serious -- until 5anet let out a giggle, and then the whole classroared. Miss 9ennedy rapped on the desk.

'!lease, please,' she said, ' do beg you to be /uiet and let us get on with the lesson.' '!lease,Miss 9ennedy, did the people wear clothes in the seventeenth century, or (ust skins3" asked5anet, in an innocent voice. Miss 9ennedy looked surprised.'#urely you know that they wore clothes,' she said. ' have a picture here of the kind of clothesthey wore. ou should know that they didn"t wear skins then.5anet.' '*ot even their own skins3' asked 5anet. This wasn"t really at all funny, but the class wasnow in a state to giggle at anything, and the twins and every one else (oined in the laughter.'!erhaps they had (umped out of their skins and that"s why they didn"t wear any,' said 2ilary.More giggles followed this, though half the class didn"t even catch what 2ilary had said.'7irls, can"t have this, really can"t,' said Miss 9ennedy. ' shall have to report you.' 'Oh, please,please, !61#1, Miss 9ennedy+' chanted the class in a chorus, and one or two girls pretendedto sob.!oor Miss 9ennedy+ #he had to deal with this sort of thing every time, though the upper forms

were better behaved. The lower forms did not mean to be cruel or unkind, but they loved a (okeand did not stop to think about Miss 9ennedy and what she must be feeling. They (ust thoughtshe was silly and asked for trouble.One morning, when the class was especially riotous, 5anet caught every one"s eye. 9athleengiggled, for she knew what had been planned. &hen 5anet gave the signal every girl was to dropher history text book flat on the floor+ 5anet nodded, and each girl let go her book.rash+ Miss 9ennedy (umped in. fright and the next minute the door opened and in came Miss)oberts+ #he had been taking a class in the next room, and when the crash of twenty historybooks had sounded, like a gunshot, she had decided it was time to investigate.'Miss 9ennedy, don"t know if there are any girls" names you would like to report to me,' saidMiss )oberts, in a very cold voice, 'but shall be glad to have them after morning school. amsure you find it as difficult as l do to teach with all this noise going on.' Miss )oberts glared at theform, and they sat silent, half the girls going red. Miss 9ennedy went red too.

'"m so sorry for the noise, Miss )oberts,' she said. 'ou see...' $ut Miss )oberts was goneshutting the door after her very firmly indeed.'9enny won"t report any one,' whispered 5anet to sabel. 'f she did, she"d have to report thewhole class, and she would be ashamed to do that.' Miss 9ennedy reported no one -- but in thesecrecy of her bedroom that night she worried and tossed all night long. #he had come to #t.lare"s because her friend, Miss 6ewis, who thought so much of her, was ill -- and now Miss9ennedy felt that she was letting her down because the girls were /uite out of hand, and she wassure that not one of them had learnt any history worth mentioning that term+ nd Miss )obertshad come in like that and been so cold and horrid -- and had hardly spoken to her in the commonroom afterwards. #upposed pose she complained about her to Miss Theobald3 t was dreadful to



feel herself a failure, and poor Miss 9ennedy did not see how she could possibly turn her failureinto anything like success.'"m afraid of the girls, that"s why+' she said to herself. 'nd ; do bate reporting them, because if do they will hate me, and then my classes will be worse than ever.' nd in the dormitory 5anetwas planning other tricks to plat on poor unsuspecting Miss 9ennedy+ 5anet had brothers,monkeys all of them, and they sent her all kinds of tricks which they themselves tried out in theirown classes.'!at+ sabel+ re you asleep3' whispered 5anet. ' say+ My brothers are sending me some fire-cracks+ 2ave you ever heard of them3' '*ever,' said the twins. '&hatever are they3' '&ell, youthrow them on the fire and they crack and spit and hiss,' whispered 5anet, in glee. 'My seat isnext to the fire-so watch out for some fun next week+ expect the parcel will come tomorrow.' Thetwins giggled. &hatever would 9enny say when the fire began to spit and hiss and crack3 Theyhugged themselves and pictured Miss 9ennedy"s alarmed expression.'5anet+' whispered !at. '6et"s...' $ut 2ilary, head of the dormitory, put an end to the whispering.'#hut up+' she said. 'ou know the rules, don"t you3 %or goodness" sake, go to sleep+' 5anet is up to Tricks The parcel of 'fire-cracks' duly arrived for 5anet #he giggled when she took it from the post-rack, and winked at the twins.'"ll undo it m the dormitory after breakfast,' she id. '#ay you"ve forgotten something and getpermission to go up before prayers.' 5anet and the twins scurried up stairs to the dory

immediately after breakfast, and for five minutes they gloated over the contents of the parcel.There s a box inside, and this contained about fifty s/uib crackers small and innocent-looking,coloured red and yellow.'$ut will they really make much noise3' asked !at taking one up. ' shouldn"t think they"d domuch more than make a gentle pop.' '0on"t worry+ "ll throw about a do<en on at a time+' said5anet. 'There"ll be /uite an explosion, promise you. 7olly+ &e"ll have some sport+' &ith manygiggles the girls hurried downstairs as the bell for prayers went. They could hardly wait for thehistory-lesson to come. t came after the mid-morning break. 5anet told some of the other girlswhat she was to do, and the whole form was in a great state of expectation 1ven Miss )obertsfelt there was something up, though the class tried to work well. t the end of the maths lesson,

(ust before break, Miss )oberts spoke a few dry words to her form."fter break you will have your history lesson as usual expect you to work as well for Miss9ennedy as you do for me. f you don"t, shall have something serious to say to you all. There is

to be no disturbance at all this morning. 0O OU 21) M1, 5*1T3' 5anet (umped. #hecouldn"t imagine why Miss )oberts had suddenly picked her out. #he did not know that she hadbeen looking extremely guilty+ 'es, Miss )oberts,' said 5anet, thinking that, alas, she would notbe able to play her fire-crack trick after all.$ut the rest of the form crowded round her during break, and insisted that she carried out herpromise.They couldn"t bear not to have the treat of seeing Miss 9ennedy (ump and stare with wide eyes atthe fire"s extraordinary behavior.'ll right,' said 5anet, at last. '$ut for goodness" sake don"t give me away to Miss )oberts, that"sall, if she hears anything. nd 0O promise not to laugh too loudly. 2onestly, we"ll get into an awfulrow if Miss )oberts hears us. nd she"ll be /uite near, you know.' '*o, she won"t,' said 9athleen.'#he"s taking the sixth for something. heard her say so. nd they"re right at the other end of theschool+ #he won"t hear a thing.' '7ood,' said 5anet, feeling more comfortable. '&ell, watch out+

&e"ll hear some fine spitting and hissing, can tell you+' The whole form were in their places as/uiet as mice when Miss 9ennedy came in to give them their usual history lesson. #he wasfeeling even more nervous than usual, for she had not forgotten how the form had behaved thelast time she had taken them. #he was most relieved to see them sitting so /uietly in their places.'7ood morning, girls,' said Miss 9ennedy, sitting at her desk.'7ood morning, Miss 9ennedy,' chorused the form, and the lesson opened. Miss 9ennedy had toturn to the blackboard to draw a history chart, and immediately every girl turned her head towards5anet. The time had come+ 5anet"s seat was (ust by the fire. The box of fire-cracks was in herdesk. autiously she lifted the lid, and took out about a do<en. #he threw them into the heart ofthe fire.



1very one waited tensely. %or a moment nothing happened at all except that the fire flamed up alittle. Then the excitement began+ rack+ #pit+ 2iss+ 2alf the fire-cracks went off at once, andsparks (umped up the chimney and leapt out of the fire on to the floor.)9+ #ssssssssss+ 1very one watched and listened, their eyes on poor Miss 9ennedy, wholooked as surprised and as startled as could be+ 'Miss 9ennedy+ Oh Miss 9ennedy+ &hat"shappening+' cried !at, pretending to be frightened.'t"s all right, !at -- it"s probably a very gassy piece of coal,' said Miss 9ennedy. 't"s all over now-- but it really made me (ump.'? ')9+ )9+' some more fireworks went off, and a showerof sparks flew out of the fire. 5anet (umped up, took the blackboard-cleaner, and began to beatout the sparks with an enormous amount of /uite unnecessary noise.'5anet+ 5anet+ #top+' cried Miss 9ennedy, afraid that the next class would hear the noise.$y this time the class bad begun to giggle, though they had tried hard to keep serious and tosmother their laughter. &hen the fire-cracks went off once more the class nearly went intohysterics, which were not made any better by the sight of 5anet again pretending to beat outsparks on the floor by flapping about with the blackboard-cleaner, making an enormous dust.Miss 9ennedy went pale. #he guessed that some trick had been played, though she couldn"timagine what. #he stood up, locking unexpectedly dignified, though bits of straight hair fell ratherwildly from the two knots at the sides of her head.'7irls+' she said. 'There will be no history lesson this morning. refuse to teach an unruly classlike this.' #he went out of the room, her face white and her eyes swimming with tears.

#he would have to go to the 2ead and give up her (ob.#he couldn"t possibly take fees for teaching girls who simply played the whole of the time. $ut itwas no use going when she felt so upset. #he would wait until the end of the morning and gothen. #he hurriedly scribbled a note to Miss )oberts, and sent it to her by one of the schoolmaids.'m afraid feel unwell, and have had to leave your form for a while,' said the note.Miss )oberts was surprised to get the note. #he debated with herself whether to let the first formcarry on by itself - surely Miss 9ennedy would have left them some work to do3 Or should sheleave the sixth form to get on by themselves, and go back to the first3 #he decided to give thesixth some /uestions to answer, and leave them. They would behave themselves, of course - butshe wasn"t so sure about her own form.#o she began to write out /uestions on the board, wondering meanwhile what the first form wasup to.

They had been rather taken aback when Miss 9ennedy walked out. #ome of the girls felt guiltyand uncomfortable, but when the fire began to hiss and spit again, it all seemed terribly funnyonce more, and 0oris, 5oan, 9athleen and the rest began to giggle again.'0id you see old 9enny when the first crack went off3' cried 5oan. ' thought should die, tryingnot to laugh. had an awful stitch in my side, can tell you.' '5anet, those fire-cracks are simplymarvellous+' cried 2ilary. '!ut some more on - 9enny won"t be back. ll hope is that #he doesn"tgo and tell Miss Theobald.' '#he didn"t go towards the 2ead"s room,' said 5anet.'#he went the other way. ll right "ll slick some more on. &atch out, everyone+' 5anet shook thebox over the fire, meaning to throw out about a do<en of the little s/uibs - but the whole lot wentin+ 5anet laughed.'7olly+ They"ve all gone in. &e"ll have some fun+' 0oris was at the door of the classroom, keepingguard in case a teacher came along. #uddenly she gave a cry.'6ook out+ Miss )oberts is coming+ 7et to your seats, /uick+' 1very one scurried to their seats at

once. They pulled open their history books, and by the time that Miss )oberts came into theroom, the class looked fairly peaceful, though it was rather surprising to see so many bent heads.Miss )oberts became suspicious at once usually the girls all looked up when she came into theroom+ 'ou seem very busy,' she said, drily. '0id Miss 9ennedy leave you history work to do3'*obody answered. 5anet gave an anxious glance at the f ire. Those fire-cracks+ 2ow she wishedshe hadn"t put so many on+ The fire began to flare up a little. Miss )oberts spoke sharply.'an"t somebody answer me3 0id Miss...' $ut she did not finish her /uestion, because abouttwenty fire-cracks went off at once with the most tremendous hissing, spluttering and cracking+#parks flew out and huge flames shot up the chimney.'7ood heavens+' said Miss )oberts. '&hat in the world is going on there3' gain nobody said a



word. There was no giggling or laughing this time, no smothered gurgles. 1veryone lookedscared.rack+ #ssssss+ rack+ #ome of the fireworks shot themselves up the chimney and explodedthere, bringing down showers of soot. t was hot soot, and flew out over the room. 5anet and thegirls nearest the fire began to cough and choke.ome away from the fire, 5anet,' ordered Miss )oberts. 'Those sparks will set fire to your tunic.'The soot flew out again, and black specks began to descend on to books, papers, desks andheads. Miss )oberts" mouth went very straight and thin. #he looked round the class.'#ome one has been putting fireworks into the fire,' she said. 'The class will dismiss. am goingto the common room across the passage. expect the girl who played this stupid and dangerous

(oke to come and own up at once.' #he left the room. 1very one stared in dismay. t was all verywell to play a (oke on stupid old 9enny - but Miss )oberts was a different matter altogether+ Miss)oberts knew a great many most annoying punishments.'7osh+ "m in for it now+' said 5anet, gloomily. '"d better go and get it over.' #he went to the door.The twins stared after her. !at ran to the door too.'5anet+ &ait+ "m coming too. was as much to blame as you, because egged you on. "d haveput those fire-cracks on if you hadn"t+' 'nd ll come as well,' said sabel at once.'Oh, say+ That is decent of you+' said 5anet, slipping her arm through !at"s, and holding out herother hand to sabel.Then 2ilary spoke up too. '&ell, "ll come along as well. s a matter of fact, we"re all to blame. t"s

true you got the s/uibs and put them on - but we all shared the (oke, and it"s not fair that only youshould be punished.' #o it ended in the whole of the class going to the common room, lookingvery downcast and ashamed. Miss )oberts looked up, surprised to see so many girls crowdinginto the room.'&hat"s all this for3' she asked, sternly.'Miss )oberts, may tell you3' said 2ilary. '"m bead of the form.' ' want the person who playedthe trick to own up,' said Miss )oberts. '&ho did it3' ' did,' said poor 5anet, going rather white.2er knees shook a little, and she looked on the f loor. #he could not bear to meet Miss )oberts"sharp ha<el eyes.'$ut we were all in it,' said 2ilary. '&e wanted 5anet to do it, and we shared in it.' 'nd may askif you also treated Miss 9ennedy to the same silly trick3' asked Miss )oberts, in her mostsarcastic voice.'es,' said 5anet, in a low voice.

'#o that explains it,' said Miss )oberts, thinking of the note that Miss 9ennedy had sent her.'&ell, you will all share the expenses of the chimney being swept and you will all spend two hourseach washing down the walls and scrubbing the floor and desks after the sweep has been. Thatmeans that you will work in batches of five, each giving up two hours of your free time to do it.''es, Miss )oberts,' said the class dolefully.'ou will also apologi<e to Miss 9ennedy, of course,' went on Miss )oberts. 'nd should like tosay that am ashamed of you for taking advantage of somebody not able to deal with you as can+' The form trooped out. Miss )oberts telephoned for the sweep and Miss 9ennedy wassurprised to find relays of girls waylaying her, offering her humble apologies for their behaviour.They did not tell her what had happened, so Miss 9ennedy had no idea that Miss )oberts hadexperienced the same startling explosions from the fire, but had dealt with the whole matter with afirm hand. #he really thought that the girls were offering their apologies of their own accord, andshe felt almost happy.

' shan"t give in my resignation to Miss Theobald after all,' she thought. 'nyway, if did, wouldhave to say why, and shouldn"t like to give the girls away after they had said they were sorry insuch a nice way.' #o the matter rested there for a while and batches of dismal girls washed andscrubbed that afternoon and evening, instead of playing lacrosse, and going to a concert+ Onegood thing came out of the row - and that was that the twins" form liked them a great deal better.'t was decent of !at and sabel to go after 5anet like that and say they"d share the blame,' said2ilary. '7ood for them+' The 7reat Midnight %east Miss )oberts kept a very tight hand indeed on her form for the next week or two, and theys/uirmed under her dry tongue. !at and sabel hated being spoken to as if they were nobodies,



but they did not dare to grumble.'t"s simply awful being ticked off as if we were in the kindergarten, when we"ve been used tobossing the whole school at )edroofs,' said sabel ' shall never get used to it+' ' hate it too,'said !at. $ut all the same, can"t help liking Miss )oberts, you know. do respect her awfully, andyou can"t help liking people you respect.' '&ell, wish she"d start respecting us, then,' said sabelgloomily, 'Then maybe she"d like us, and we wouldn"t get such a hot time in class. 7olly, when forgot to take my maths. book to her this morning you"d have thought she was going to "phone upthe police station and have me sent to prison+' !at laughed. '0on"t be an idiot,' she said. '$y theway, don"t forget to give half a crown towards buying Miss Theobald something on her birthday."ve given mine in.' 'Oh, my+' groaned sabel. ' hope "ve got half a crown+ had to give sixpencetowards the sweep, and gave a shilling to the housemaid for cleaning my tunic for me in caseMatron ticked me off about it -- and we had to give sixpence to the $abies" onvalescent 2omelast week. "m (ust about broke+' #he went to her part of the shelf in the common room and tookdown her purse. t was empty+ '7olly+' said sabel in dismay. '"m sure had two shillings in mypurse. 0id you borrow it, !at3' '*o,' said !at. 'Or "d have told you. t must be in your coat-pocket, silly.' $ut the two shillings were nowhere to be found. sabel decided she must have lostthem, and she had to borrow some money from !at to give towards buying the 2ead a present.Then 5anet had a birthday, and every one went down to the town to buy a small present for her allbut 2ilary, who discovered, to her dismay, that the ten-shilling note that her 7ranny had sent her,had disappeared out of her pocket+ 'Oh, my, a whole ten shillings+' wailed 2ilary. ' was going to

buy all sorts of things with it. really must get some new shoelaces, and my lacrosse stick wantsthendleg. &here in the world has it gone3' 5oan lent 2ilary a shilling to buy a present for 5anet,and on her birthday 5anet was most delighted to f ind so many gifts. #he was very popular, in spiteof her bluntness. The finest gift she had was from 9athleen 7regory, who presented her with agold bar-brooch, with her name inscribed at the back.' say+ ou shouldn"t have done that+' said 5anet, in ama<ement. "&hy, it must have cost you amint of money, 9athleen+ really can"t accept it. t"s too generous a gift.' '$ut you must accept it,because it"s got your name inside,' said 9athleen. 't"s no use to any one else+' 1very oneadmired the little gold brooch and read the name inscribed on the back. 9athleen glowed withpleasure at the attention that her gift produced, and when 5anet thanked her again, and slippedher arm through hers, she was red with delight.'t was very generous of 9athleen,' said 5anet to the twins, as they went to the classroom. '$ut can"t understand why she went such a splash on me+ Usually she"s awfully mean with her gifts -

either gives nothing at all, or something that costs half a farthing+ t isn"t as if she likes me such alot, either. "ve gone for her heaps of times because she"s such a goof+' 5anet had a marvelloustuck hamper sent to her for her birthday, and she and 2ilary and the twins unpacked it with glee.'ll the things love+' said 5anet. ' big chocolate cake+ #hortbread biscuits+ #ardines in tomatosauce+ *estle"s milk. nd look at these peppermint creams+ They"ll melt in our mouths+' '6et"shave a midnight feast+' said !at, suddenly.'&e once had one at )edroofs, before we were head girls. don"t know why food tastes so muchnicer in the middle of the night than in the daytime, but it does+ Oh, 5anet - don"t you think it wouldbe fun3' 't might be rather sport' said 5anet. '$ut there"s not enough food here for us all. Therest of you will have to bring something as well. 1ach girl had better bring one thing - a cake orginger-beer or chocolate. &hen shall we have the feast3' 'Tomorrow night,' said sabel, with agiggle. 'Miss )oberts is going to a concert. heard her say so. #he"s going to stay the night with afriend and get a train that brings her back in time for prayers.' 'Oh, good+ Tomorrow"s the night

then+' said 5anet. '6et"s tell every one.' #o the whole form was told about the 7reat feast, andevery one promised to bring something. !at bought a (am sponge sandwich. sabel, who againhad to borrow from !at, bought a bar of chocolate. 5oan brought candles, because the girls werenot allowed to put on the electric light once it was turned out except for urgent reasons, such asillness.The most lavish contribution was 9athleen"s+ #he brought a really marvellous cake, with almondicing all over it, and pink and yellow sugar roses on the top. 1very one exclaimed over it+ '7olly.9athleen+ 2ave you come into a fortune or something+' cried 5anet. 'That cake must have costyou all your pocket-money for the rest of the term+ t"s marvellous.' 'The prettiest cake "ve everseen,' said 2ilary. '5olly decent of you, 9athleen.' 9athleen was red with pleasure. #he beamed



round at every one, and en(oyed the smiles that she and her cake received.' wish could have got something better than my silly little bar of chocolate,' said sabel. '$ut even had to borrow from !at to get that.' 'nd can only bring a few biscuits had left from a tinthat Mother sent me a fortnight ago,' said 2ilary.'"m /uite broke since lost my ten shilling note.' 'nyway, we"ve got heaps of things,' said 5anet,who was busy biding everything at the bottom of a cupboard (ust outside the dormitory. '7olly, hope Matron doesn"t suddenly take it into her head to spring-clean this cupboard+ #he would besurprised to see what"s in it. 7oodness -- who brought this pork-pie3 2ow marvellous+' The wholeform was in a state of excitement that day.t was simply gorgeous to have a secret and not to let any of the other forms know. 2ilary knewthat the upper third had had a midnight feast already that term, and it had been a great success.#he meant to make theirs even more of a success+ Miss )oberts couldn"t think why the first-formgirls were so restless. s for Mam"<elle, she sensed the underlying excitement at once, and grewexcited too.'h, now, mes petites, what is the matter with you today+' she cried, when one girl after anothermade a mistake in the %rench translation. '&hat is in your thoughts3 ou are planning something- is it not so3Tell me what it is.' 'Oh, Mam"<elle, whatever makes you think such a thing+' cried 5anet. '&hatshould we be planning3' '2ow should know3' said Mam"<elle. 'll know is that you are notpaying attention. '*ow, one more mistake and send you to bed an hour earlier than usual+'

Mam"<elle did not mean this, of course - but it tickled the girls, who were all longing for bedtimethat night, and would have been /uite pleased to go early. 5anet giggled and was nearly sent outof the room.

t last bedtime came, and every one undressed.'&ho"s going to get the stuff out of the cupboard3' said !at.'ou and land 2ilary and sabel,' said 5anet. 'nd for goodness" sake don"t drop anything. f youdrop the pork-pie on the linoleum there will be a mess.' 1very one laughed. They snuggled downinto bed. They all wanted to keep awake, but it was arranged that some of them should take it inturns to sit up and keep awake for half an hour, waking the next girl when it was her turn. Then, atmidnight, they should all be awakened and the %east would begin+ %irst 5anet sat up in bed forhalf an hour, hugging her knees, and thinking of all the things in the cupboard outside. #he wasnot a bit sleepy. #he switched on her torch to look at the time. The half-hour was (ust up. #heleaned across to the next bed and awoke 2ilary.

t midnight every one was fast asleep except for the girl on watch, who was !at. s she heardthe big clock striking from the west tower of the school, !at crept out of bed. #he went from girl togirl, whispering in her ear and shaking her.'2ilary+ t"s time+ &ake up+ sabel+ t"s midnight+ 5oan+ The %east is about to begin. 9athleen+9athleen+ 0o wakeup+ t"s twelve o"clock+' t last every girl was awake, and with many smotheredgiggles, they put on their dressing-gowns and slippers.The whole school was in darkness. !at lighted two candles, and placed them on a dressing-tablein the middle of the dormitory #he had sent sabel to waken the rest of the form in the nextdormitory, and with scuffles and giggles all the girls crept in. They sat on the beds nearest to thecandles, and waited whilst !at and the others went to get the things out of the cupboard.!at took her torch and shone it into the cupboard whilst the others took out the things. tin ofsweetened milk dropped to the floor with a crash. 1very one (umped and stood stock-still. Theylistened, but there was no sound to be heard - no door opened, no one switched on a light.

'diot+' whispered 5anet to sabel. '%or goodness" sake don"t drop that chocolate cake. &here didthat tin roll to3 Oh, here it is.' t last all the eatables were safely in the dormitory, and the doorwas shut softly. The girls looked at everything, and felt terribly hungry.'7olly+ !ork-pie and chocolate cake, sardines and *estl@"s milk, chocolate and peppermintcreams, tinned pineapple and ginger-beer+' said 5anet. 'Talk about a feast+ bet this beats theupper third"s feast hollow+ ome on-let"s begin. "ll cut the cake.' #oon every girl was munchinghard and thinking that food had never tasted /uite so nice before. 5anet took an opener andopened a ginger-beer bottle. The first one was /uite all right and 5anet filled two tooth-glasses.$ut the next ginger-beer bottle fi<<ed out tremendously and soaked the bed that 5anet was sittingon. 1veryone giggled. t went off with a real pop, and sounded /uite loud in the silence of the



night. '0on"t worry+ *o one will hear that,' said 5anet.'2ere, !at -- open the sardines. "ve gOt some bread and butter somewhere, and we"ll makesandwiches.' The bread and butter was unwrapped from its paper. 5anet had brought it up fromthe tea-table+ 1very girl had taken a piece from the plate at tea-time, and hidden it to give to5anet.'6ook -- take a bite of a sardine sandwich, and then a bite of pork-pie, and then a spoonful of*estl@"s milk,' said !at. 't tastes gorgeous.' The chocolate was saved till last. $y that time thegirls were all unable to eat any more and could only suck the sweets and the chocolate. They satabout and giggled at the silliest (okes.'Of course, the nicest thing of the whole feast was 9athleen"s marvellous cake,' said 2ilary. 'Thealmond icing was gorgeous.' 'es -- and had one of the sugar roses,' said 5oan. '6ovely+2owever much did you pay for that cake, 9ath3 t was (olly decent of you.' 'Oh, that"s nothing,'said 9athleen. '%m most awfully glad you liked it.' #he looked very happy. There had not been/uite enough cake to go round and 9athleen hadn"t even tasted the marvellous cake. $ut shedidn"t mind at all.#he sat /uite happily watching the others feast on it.Then the girls began to press 0oris to do her clown-dance. This was a dance she had learntduring the holidays at some special classes, and it was very funny. 0oris was full of humour andcould make the others laugh very easily. The clown dance was most ridiculous, because 0orishad to keep falling over herself. #he accompanied this falling about with many groans and

gurgles, which always sent the audience into fits of laughter.'&ell, don"t laugh too loudly this time,' said 0oris, getting up. 'ou made such a row last time did it in the common room that $elinda Towers came in and ticked me off for playing the fool.'#he began the dance with a solemn face. #he fell over the foot of the bed, on purpose of course,and rubbed herself with a groan. The girls began to chuckle, their hands over their mouths.0oris loved making people laugh. #he swayed about, making comical faces, then pretended tocatch one leg in another, and fell, clutching at !at with a deep groan.&ith a. giggle !at fell too, and knocked against the dressing-table. The table shook violently, andeverything on it slid to the floor+ $rushes, combs, photograph frames, tooth-mugs, a ginger-beerbottle - goodness, what a crash+ The girls stared in horror. The noise sounded simply terrific+':uick+ lear everything up and get in to bed,' cried 5anet, in a loud whisper. '7olly+ &e"ll havehalf the mistresses here.' The girls belonging to the next dormitory fled out of the door at once.The others cleared up /uickly, but very soon heard the sound of an electric light being switched

on in the passage.'nto bed+' hissed 2ilary, and they all leapt under the sheets. They pulled them up to their thinsand lay listening. 2ilary remembered that they had left two ginger-beer bottles out in the middle of the floor and they hadn"t had time to clear up the remains of the porkpie either. !ork-pies were sountidy, and would scatter themselves in crumbs every time a bite was taken+ The door opened,and some one was outlined against the light from the passage outside. !at saw who it was -old9enny+ &hat bad luck+ f she discovered anything she would be sure to report it after the badbehaviour of the form. $ut perhaps she wouldn"t switch on the dormitory light.Miss 9ennedy stood listening. One of the girls gave a gentle snore, making believe that she wasfast asleep -but that was too much for 9athleen, who was already very strung up. #he gave asmothered giggle, and Miss 9ennedy heard it. #he switched on the light.The first thing die saw were the two ginger-beer bottles standing boldly in the middle of the floor.Then she saw the remains of the pork-pie. #he saw the paper from the chocolate. #he guessed

immediately what die girls had been up to. little smile came over her face. &hat monkeys girls were+ #he remembered the thrill of amidnight feast herself and how she and the others bad been caught and severely punished. #hespoke in a low voice to 2ilary, the bead of the dormitory.'2ilary+ re you awake3' 2ilary dared not pretend. #he answered in a sleepy voice. '2allo, Miss9ennedy+ s anything wrong3' ' thought heard a noise from this dormitory,' said Miss 9ennedy.'"m in charge of it tonight as Miss )oberts isn"t here. $ut may have been mistaken.' 2ilary satup in bed and saw the ginger-beer bottles. #he glanced at Miss 9ennedy and saw a twinkle in her eye.!erhaps you were mistaken, Miss 9ennedy,' she said. '!erhaps -- perhaps -- it was mice or



something.' '!erhaps it was said Miss 9ennedy. 1r -- well. don"t see that there"s anything toreport to Miss )oberts -- but as you"re bead of the dormitory, 2ilary, you might see that it"s tidybefore Matron goes her rounds tomorrow morning. 7ood night.' #he switched off the light, shutthe door and went back to her room. The girls all sat up in bed at once and began to whisper.'My goodness+ 9enny"s a sport+" '7olly+ #he saw those awful ginger-beer bottles all right+ ndfancy agreeing that that terrific noise we made might have been mice+' 'nd she as good as saidwe were to remove all traces of the feast, and she promised not to report anything to Miss)oberts.' 'Though old )oberts is a sport too, in her way.' #aid 0oris 'es, but we"re in her badbooks at the moment, don"t forget, and anything like this would (ust about finish things+' saidsabel. '7ood old 9enny+' 6acrosse Match -- and a !u<<le

The only bad effects of the 7reat Midnight %east, as it came to be called, were that sabel, 0orisand 4era didn"t feel at all well the next day. Miss )oberts eyed them sharply.'&hat have you been eating3' she asked.'Only what the others have,' answered 0oris, /uite truthfully.'&ell, go to Matron and she"ll dose you,' said Miss )oberts. The three girls went off dolefully.Matron had some most disgusting medicine. #he dosed the girls generously and they groanedwhen she made them lick the spoon round.Then 5oan and 9athleen felt ill and they were sent to Matron too.' know these symptoms,' said

Matron. 'ou are suffering from Midnight %east llness+ ha+ ou needn"t pretend to me+ f you willfeast on pork-pies and sardines, chocolate and ginger-beer in the middle of the night, you canexpect a dose of medicine from me the next day.' The girls stared at her in horror. 2ow did sheknow3'&ho told you3' asked 5oan, thinking that Miss 9ennedy had told tales after all.'*obody,' said Matron, putting the cork back firmly into the enormous bottle. '$ut haven"t beenMatron of a girls" school for twenty-five years without knowing a few things+ dosed your motherbefore you, 5oan, and your aunt too. They couldn"t stand midnight food any more than you can.7o along now -- don"t stare at me like that. shan"t tell tales - and always say there"s no need topunish girls for having a midnight feast, because the feelings they get the next day arepunishment enough+' The girls went away. 5oan looked at 9athleen. 'ou know, simply loved thepork-pie and the sardines last night,' she said, gloomily, 'but the very thought of them makes mefeel sick today. don"t believe "ll ever be able to look a sardine in the face again.' $ut every one

soon forgot their aches and pains, and the feast passed into a legend that was told throughoutthe school. 1ven $elinda Towers heard about it and chuckled when she was told how everythingfell off the dressing-table at the last.t was 9athleen who told $elinda. t was rather strange how 9athleen had altered during the lastfew weeks. #he was no longer nervous and apologetic to every one, but took her place happilyand laughed and (oked like the rest. #he could even talk to tall $elinda Towers withoutstammering with nervousness+ #he was waiting on $elinda that week, and rushed about /uitehappily, making toast, running errands and not even grumbling when $elinda sent for her in themiddle of a concert rehearsal.9athleen was to play in an important lacrosse match that week, and so was sabel. They were theonly first-form girls chosen - all the others were second formers. t first !at bad been by far thebetter of the two, but sabel soon learnt the knack of catching and throwing the ball in the easiestway, and had outstripped her twin. The match was to be against the second form of a nearby day

school, and the girls were very keen about it.'9athleen"s goalkeeper,' said !at to sabel. '$elinda told her today. say, isn"t 9ath different3 /uite like her now.' 'es - and she"s so generous+' said sabel. '#he bought some sweetsyesterday and shared the whole lot round without having even one herself. nd she bought somechrysanthemums for 4era - they must have cost a lot+' 4era was in the sick-bay, recovering froma bad cold. #he had been very surprised and touched when 9athleen had taken her six beautifulyellow chrysanthemums. t was so unlike 9athleen, who had always been rather mean before.9athleen got sabel to practise throwing balls into the goal, so that she might get even better atstopping them. #he was very /uick. Then she and sabel practised catching and throwing the balland running with it and dodging each other.



'f only, only l could shoot two or three goals on #aturday.' sabel said a do<en times a day. 2ilarylaughed. sabel asked her why.'"m laughing at you,' said 2ilary. '&ho turned up her nose at lacrosse a few weeks ago3 ou did+&ho said there wasn"t any game worth playing except hockey3 ou did+ &ho vowed anddeclared she would never try to be any good at a silly game like lacrosse3 ou did. That"s why%m laughing+ have to sit and bear you raving about lacrosse now, talking it all day long. tsounds funny to me.' sabel laughed too, but she went rather red. ' must have seemed rather anidiot,' she said.'ou were a bit of a goof.' said 5anet, (oining in. 'The stuck-up twins+ That"s what we used to callyou.' 'Oh,' said sabel, ashamed. #he made up her mind to play so well on #aturday that herwhole form would be proud of her. The stuck-up twins+ &hat a dreadful name+ #he and !at mustreally do something to make the form forget that.#aturday came, a brilliantly fine winter"s day. The first form were excited. The girls from tire day-school were coining to lunch and they bad to entertain them. 0inner was to be sausages andmashed potatoes, with treacle pudding to follow, a very favourite meal.'*ow look here, sabel and 9athleen, (ust see you don"t eat too much,' ordered 2ilary. "&e wantyou to play your best. ou"re the only ones from the first form who are playing -- all lire rest aresecond-formers. &e"ll stuff the other school all right - give them so much to eat that they won"t beable to catch a ball+' 'Oh, say+ an"t have two sausages3' said sabel in dismay. 'nd alwayshave two helpings of treacle pudding.' '&ell, you won"t today,' said 5anet, firmly. '$ut if you play

well and we win, the whole form will stand you cream-buns at tea-time. #ee3' #o sabel cheeredup and went without a second help lag of treacle pudding /uite amiably. t was a pleasant lunch.The guests were all (olly, friendly girls, and how they laughed when they were told the story of the7reat %east+ '&e can"t have fun like that,' said one of the day-girls. '&e always go home at night.&hat"s your lacrosse team like3 ny good3 &e"ve beaten you each time we"ve played you so far.''nd bet well beat them again,' cried the captain, a tall girl with flaming red hair.'ream-buns for you if you stop their goals, 9athleen+' cried 5anet, and every one laughed.

ll the first, second and third forms turned out to watch the match. The fourth form were playing amatch of their own away from home, and the sixth rarely bothered to watch the (uniors. #ome ofthe fifth turned up, among them $elinda Towers, who arranged all the matches and the players,for she was sport-captain, and very keen that #t. lare"s should win as many matches possible.The players took their places. sabel was tremendously excited. 9athleen was /uite cool andcalm in goal. The match began.

The day girls made a strong team, and were splendid runners. They got the ball at once, andpassed it from one to another whenever they were tackled. $ut sabel (umped high into the airand caught the ball as it flew from one day girl to another+ Then she was off like lire wind, racingdown the field.

girl came out to tackle and tried to knock the ball off sabel"s net -- but sabel (erked it neatlyover her head into the waiting net of another #t. lare girl -- and she was off down the field too.sabel sped behind - and caught the ball again neatly as the other girl threw it when tackled.$ut a very fast girl was after sabel and took the ball from her. $ack the other way raced the day-girl, making for the goal. #he passed the ball, to another girl, who passed it to a third - and thethird one shot straight at the goal, where 9athleen stood on guard. #wift as lightning 9athleen puther net down towards the ball, caught it and threw it to sabel who was waiting not far off.'5olly well saved, 9athleen+' roared every one of the #t. lare girls, and 9athleen went red withexcitement and delight.

#o the match went on till half-lime, when lemon /uarters were taken round on plates to all the hotand panting players. 2ow they loved sucking the cool sour lemon+ 'The score is three-one,' saidthe umpire. 'Three to the day-girls of #t. hristopher"s and one to #t. lare"s.' '!lay up, #t.lare"s+' cried $elinda. '!lay up. *ow, sabel, score, please+' The second half of the matchbegan. The players were not /uite so fast now, for they were tired. $ut the excitement ran veryhigh, especially when #t. lare"s shot two goals in /uick succession. one of them thrown bysabel.9athleen hopped about on one leg as tire play went on down the other end of the field. #he hadsaved seven goals already. 0own the field raced the players, the ball flying from one to anotherwith grace and ease. 9athleen stood tensely, knowing that a goal would be tried.



Tire ball came down on her, hard and swift. #he tried to save the goal, but the ball shot into thecorner of the net. 7oal+ %our-three -and only five minutes to go+ Then #t. lare"s scored a mostunexpected goal in the next two minutes and that made the score e/ual.'Only one and a half minutes more+' panted sabel to a #t. lare girl as sire passed her the ball.'%or goodness" sake, let"s get another goal and win+' The bail came back to her. day girlthundered down on sabel, a big, burly girl. sabel swung round and dodged, the ball still in hernet. #he passed it to another girl, who neatly passed it back as soon as she was tackled. ndthen sabel took a look at the goal, which, although a good way away, was almost straight in front.t was worth a shot+ #he threw the bail hard and straight down the field. The goalkeeper stoodready - but somehow she missed the ball and it rolled into the net, (ust before the whistle went fortime+ 2ow the #t. lare girls cheered+ !at leapt up and down like a mad thing, $elinda yelled tillshe was hoarse, and 2ilary and 5anet thumped one another on the back, though neither of them/uite knew why+ '7ood old sabel+ #he saved the match (ust in time+' cried !at. 'ream-buns forher+' 2ot and tired and happy, all the girls trooped off the field to wash and tidy themselves beforetea. 5anet ran to get her purse to rush off on her bicycle to buy the cream-buns.$ut her purse only had a few pence inside+ 2ow strange+ 5anet knew /uite well that it had hadfive shillings in it that very morning - and she certainly hadn"t spent any of it.' say+ My money"s gone+' sire said in dismay. ' can"t get the cream-buns. 0ash+ &here"s itgone3' '%unny,' said sabel. 'Mine went a little while ago -and so did 2ilary"s. *ow yours hasgone.' '&ell, don"t discuss it now,' said 5oan. '&e"ve got to entertain the day-girls. $ut it"s a pity

about the cream-buns.' '"ll buy them+' said 9athleen. '"ll give you the money, 5anet.' 'Oh, no+'said 5anet. '&e wanted to buy them for you and sabel because you did so well in the match. &ecan"t let you buy them for yourselves+' '!lease do,' said 9athleen, and she took some moneyfrom her pocket. '2ere you are. $uy buns for every one+' '&ell -- it"s (olly decent of you,' said5anet, taking the money. 'Thanks awfully.' #he sped off on her bicycle whilst the other girls gotready for tea.'&ell played, kids,' said $elinda Towers, strolling up. 'ou stopped some pretty good goals,9athleen -and you (ust about saved the match, sabel, though all the rest did (olly well too.' 1veryone glowed at the sports-captain"s praise. Then they sat down to tea, and soon the big piles ofbread and butter and (am, currant buns and chocolate cake disappeared like magic. 5anet wasback in a few minutes with a large number of delicious-looking cream-buns. The girls greetedthem with cheers.'Thanks. 9athleen+ ou"re a brick, 9athleen+' everyone cried, and 9athleen beamed with delight.

'&ell, did en(oy today+' said sabel to !at, as they went off to the common room together, afterseeing the day-girls off. '#imply marvellous+ 1very bit of it.' '*ot /uite every bit,' said !at, rathergravely. '&hat about 5anet"s money3 #omebody took that, sabel. nd that"s pretty beastly. &hoin the world could it be3' ' simply can"t imagine,' said sabel *either could anyone else. The girlstalked about it together, and wondered who had been near 5anet"s coat. #he had hung it on a pegin the sports pavilion, and most of the first and second form had been in and out. $ut surely,surely no #t. lare girl could possibly do such a thing+ 't"s stealing, (ust plain stealing,' said2ilary. 'nd it"s been going on for some time too, because know besides myself and 5anet andsabel have lost money. $elinda lost ten shillings too. #he made an awful row about it, but shenever found it.' 'ould it be one of the maids3' said 5oan.'#houldn"t think so,' said 2ilary. 'They"ve been here for years. &ell - we must all be careful of ourmoney, that"s all, and, if we can"t find the thief, well make it difficult for her to be one+'

4ery Muddled 7irl One afternoon )ita 7eorge, one of the big girls, sent for 9athleen to give her some instructionsabout a nature ramble she was getting up. 9athleen was head of the nature club in her form. #heasked !at to finish winding the wool that sabel was holding for her, and ran off.'#han"t be long,' she said, and disappeared. !at wound the wool into balls and then threw theminto 9athleen"s work-basket. #ire looked at her watch.' hope 9ath won"t be long,' she said. '&e are due for gym in five minutes. "d better go andremind her. oming, sabel3' The twins went out, and made their way to )ita"s study, meaning tosee if 9athleen was still there. $ut when they arrived outside they stood still in dismay.#ome one was sobbing and crying inside+ #ome one was saying, 'Oh, please forgive me+ Oh,



please don"t tell anyone+ !lease, please, don"t+' '7racious+ That"s not 9athleen, is it3' said !at,horrified. "&hat"s happened3' They did not dare to go in. They waited, hearing more sobs, pitiful,heartbroken sobs, and they heard )ita"s rather deep voice, sounding very stem. They could nothear what she said.Then the door opened and 9athleen came out, her eyes red, and her cheeks tear-stained. #hesobbed under her breath, and did not see the twins. #he hurried towards the stairs that led to herdormitory.!at and sabel stared after her. '#he"s forgotten about gym.,' said !at. ' don"t like to go to her incase she hates any one seeing her cry.' 'Oh, let"s go and comfort her,' said sabel. "&ell get intoa row for being late for gym. - but it"s awful to see any one in trouble like that and not see if wecan help.' #o they ran up the stairs to the dormitory. 9athleen was lying on her bed, her faceburied in her pillow, sobbing, '9athleen+ &hatever"s happened3' asked sabel, putting her handon 9athleen"s shoulder. 9athleen shook it off.'7o away+' she said. '7o away+ 0on"t come peeping and prying after me.' '&e"re not,' said !at,gently. '&hat"s the matter3 &e"re your friends, you know.' 'ou wouldn"t be, if told you what hadhappened.' sobbed 9athleen. 'Oh, do go away. %m going to pack my things and leave #t.lare"s+ "m going this very night+' '9athleen+ 0o tell us what"s happened+' cried sabel '0id )itatick you off for something3 0on"t worry about that.' 't"s not the ticking off "m worrying about - it"sthe thing did to get the ticking off,' said 9athleen. #he sat up, her eyes swollen and red. '&ell, lltell you - and you can go and spread it all round the school if you like - and every one can laugh

and (eer at me - but "ll not be here+' #he began to cry again. !at and sabel were very muchupset. sabel slipped her arm round the sobbing girl. 'll right -- tell us,' she said. '&e won"t turnon you, promise.' 'es, you will, yes you will+ &hat "ve done is so dreadful+' sobbed 9athleen.'ou won"t believe it+ hardly believe it myself. "m -"m-"m a thief+' '9athleen+ &hat do youmean3' asked !at, shocked. 9athleen stared at her defiantly. #he wiped her eyes with a handthat shook.' took all the money that"s been missing+' she said. '1very bit of it - even your two shillings,sabel. couldn"t bear never having any money of my own, and saying no when people wantedsubscriptions, and not giving any nice birthday presents to any one, and being thought mean andselfish and ungenerous. did so want to be generous to everybody, and to make friends. do solove giving things and making people happy.' The twins stared at 9athleen in surprise and horror.They could hardly believe what she said. #he went on, pouring out her troubles between hersobs.

' haven"t a mother to send me money as you and the other girls have. My father is away abroadand only have a mean old aunt who gives me about a penny a week+ hated to own up to sucha miserable bit of money - and then one day found a shilling belonging to some one and bought something for somebody with it -- and they were so terribly pleased -- and l was so happy. can"t tell you how dreadful it is to want to be generous and not to be able to be+' '!oor9athleen+' said sabel, and she patted her on the shoulder. '*obody would have minded at all ifonly you had told them you hadn"t any money. &e could all have shared with you.' '$ut was tooproud to let you do that,' said 9athleen. 'nd yet wasn"t too proud to steal. Oh, can"t think how did it now+ took 5anet"s money - and 2ilary"s - and $elinda"s. t was all so easy. nd thisafternoon l -- -- ...' #he began to cry so bitterly that the twins were /uite frightened. '0on"t tell usif you"d rather not,' said !at.'Oh, "ll tell you everything now "ve begun,' said poor 9athleen. 't"s a relief to tell somebody.&ell, this afternoon when went to )ita"s study, she wasn"t there -- but saw her coat hanging up

and her purse sticking out of it. nd l went to it -- and oh, )ita came in /uietly and caught me+ ndshe"s going to Miss Theobald about it, and shall be known all over the school as a thief, and "llbe expelled and...' #he wept again, and the twins looked at one another helplessly. Theyremembered all 9athleen"s sudden generosity - her gifts - the marvellous cake with sugar roseson it - the fine chrysanthemums for 4era - and they remembered too 9athleen"s flushed cheeksand shining eyes when she saw her friends en(oying the things she had bought for them.'9athleen - go and wash your face and come down to gym.,' said pat at last.'%m not going to,' said 9athleen, obstinately. '"m going to stay here and pack. don"t want to seeanybody again. ou two have been decent to me, but know in your heart of hearts that yousimply despise me+' '&e don"t, 9ath dear,' said sabel "&e"re terribly, terribly sorry for you - and



we do understand why you did it. ou so badly wanted to be generous - you did a wrong thing tomake a right thing, and that"s never any good.' '!lease go, and leave me alone,' said 9athleen.'!lease go.' The twins went out of the dormitory. 2alfway to the gym. sabel stopped and polledat !at"s arm.'!at+ 6et"s go and find )ita if we can. 6et"s say what we can for poor old 9athleen.' 'll right,' said!at. The two of them went to )ita"s study, but it was empty. '$low+' said !at. ' wonder if she"sgone to Miss Theobald already.' '&ell, come on - let"s see,' said sabel #o to the 2ead"s roomthey went -- and coming out of the door, looking very grim indeed, was )ita 7eorge+ '&hat areyou two kids doing here3' she said, and went on her way without waiting for an answer. !atlooked at sabel '#he"s told Miss Theobald,' she said. '&ell - dare we go in and speak to the2ead about it3 do really think 9athleen isn"t an ordinary kind of thief-and if she gets branded asone, and sent away, she may really become one, and be spoilt for always. ome on - let"s go in.'They knocked, and the 2ead called them to come in. #he looked surprised to see them.'&ell, twins,' she said. '&hat is the matter3 ou look rather serious.' !at didn"t /uite know how tobegin. Then the words came in a rush and the whole story came Out about how 9athleen hadstolen all the money, and why.'$ut oh, Miss Theobald, 9athleen didn"t spend a penny on herself.' said !at. 't was all for usothers. #he certainly took our money -- but we got it back in gifts and things. #he isn"t (ust anordinary, contemptible sort of thief. #he"s terribly, terribly upset. Oh, could you possibly doanything about it - not send her away - not let the school know3 "m /uite sure 9athleen would try

to repay every penny, and sabel and would help her all we could never to do such a thingagain.' 'ou see, it was all because 9athleen got hardly any pocket-money and she was tooproud to say so - and she hated to be thought mean and selfish because really she"s terriblygenerous,' said sabel.Miss Theobald smiled a very sweet smile at the earnest twins. 'My dears,' she said, 'you tell mesuch a different story from )ita, and "m so very glad to hear it. )ita naturally sees poor 9athleenas a plain thief. ou see her as she is - a poor muddled child who wants to be generous andchooses an easy but a very wrong way. am sure would not have got any explanation from9athleen, and might have written to her aunt to take her away. nd then dread what might havehappened to her, poor, sensitive child+' 'Oh. Miss Theobald + 0o you mean that you will let9athleen stay3' cried !at.'Of course,' said the 2ead. ' must talk to her first, and get her to tell me all this herself. shallknow how to deal with her, don"t worry. &here is she3' 'n her dormitory, packing,' said !at. Miss

Theobald stood up. '"ll go to her,' she said. '*ow you go off to whatever lesson you aresupposed to be at and tell your teacher please to excuse your being late, but that you have beenwith me. nd (ust want to say this -- am proud of you both+ ou are kind and understanding,two things that matter a great deal.' $lushing with surprise and pleasure, the twins held open thedoor for Miss Theobald to go out. They looked at each other in delight 'sn"t she a sport3' said!at. 'Oh, how glad am we dared to come in and tell her. believe things will be all right for 9athnow+' They sped off to gym., and were excused for being late. They wondered and wondered how9athleen was getting on with Miss Theobald. They knew after tea when 9athleen, her eyes stillred, but looking very much happier, came up to them.'"m not going,' said. '"m going to stay here and show Miss Theobald %m as decent as anyoneelse. #he"s going to write to my aunt and ask for a proper amount of pocket money to be paid tome -- and l shall give back all the money took -- and start again. nd if can"t be as generous as"d like for a little while, "ll wait patiently till can.' 'es - and don"t be afraid of owning up if you

haven"t got money to spare,' said !at. '*obody minds that at all. That"s (ust silly pride, to beafraid of saying when you can"t afford something. Oh. 9ath - "m so glad you"re not going. sabeland had (ust got to like you very much.' 'ou"ve been good friends to me,' said 9athleen,s/uee<ing their arms as she walked between them. 'f ever can return your kindness, will.. ouwill trust me again, won"t you3 t would be so awful not to be trusted. couldn"t bear that.' 'Ofcourse we"ll trust you,' said !at. 'f you go on like that "ll get a hundred pounds out of the bankand ask you to keep it for me+ 0on"t be such a silly-billy +' Miss 9ennedy gain The twins were really beginning to settle down well at #t. lare"s. They were getting used tobeing in the lowest form instead of in the top one, and they were no longer called the 'stuck-up



twins'. Mam"<elle had helped them a great deal with their %rench writing, and they bad caught upwith the rest of the form. Miss )oberts found that they had good brains and occasionally threwthem a word of praise, which they treasured very much.9athleen was their firm Mend. #he really was a very generous-hearted girl, and although she nowhad no longer plenty of money to spend, she gave generously in other ways - mended !at"sstockings for her, stuck together a favourite vase of Mam"<elle"s that got broken, and spent whattime she could with 0oris and 2ilary when they bad to go to the sick-mom with "flu'. #he knewthat she would never be dishonest again, and she held her head high and tried to forget the sillythings she had done, which were now put right.Miss 9ennedy had a bit better time, for since she had been so nice over their 7reat %east, thefirst-formers behaved better. $ut the second form were not so good.They had discovered that Miss 9ennedy was terrified of cats, and it was perfectly astonishing thenumber of cats that appeared at times in the second-form classroom.The second form found every cat they could lay hands on, and secreted them somewhere in theclass-room before their history lesson. They bad a big cupboard, and this was a good place tohide a cat.One morning Miss )oberts was not well. #he felt sure that she had 'flu' coming, and she retiredto bed, hoping to ward it off /uickly. #o poor Miss 9ennedy had to tackle both first and secondforms together. The first-formers went into the second-form classroom, as it was much biggerthan theirs.

They entered in an orderly line. Miss 5enks, the second-form mistress, was there, and she gavethem their places. '*ow sit /uietly till Miss 9ennedy comes,' she said, and went off to takeneedlework with another form.

s soon as she had gone, a perfect babel of noise broke out, and to the enormous astonishmentof the first-formers, a large black cat was produced from the passage, where Tessie, a girl of thesecond form, had hidden the cat in a cupboard.The cat was most amiable. t arched its back and purred, sticking its tail up in the air. The twinsstared at it in surprise.'&hy the cat3' asked !at. 's it a member of your class, by any chance3' '2a ha+ %unny (oke, don"t think,' said !am, stroking the cat. '*o, !at - t"s (ust going to give old 9enny a fine surprise,that"s all+ 0idn"t you know she was terrified of cats3 &e"re going to shut old $lackie up in ourhandwork cupboard over there - and then, at a good moment Tessie, who sits near, is going topull the door open -- and out will walk dear old $lackie, large as life and twice as natural - and

he"ll make straight for 9enny, you see if he doesn"t+' The first-formers began to giggle. This wasmarvellous - even better than fire-cracks+ '#h+ #he"s coming+' came a cry from the door, wheresome one was keeping guard. 'To your places+ !ut the cat into the cupboard, /uick, Tessie+' Thecat went into the cupboard with a rush, much to its ama<ement. The door was shut on it.9athleen, who was passionately fond of animals, began to ob(ect.' say -- can the cat breathe properly in there3 Ought we to...' '#hut up+' hissed Tessie, and atthat moment in walked Miss 9ennedy, her pile of books under her arm. #he smiled at the girlsand sat down. #he felt very nervous, for she did not like handling two forms at once. lso she feltsomething was in the air, and did not like the one or two chuckles that she heard from the backrow. 2er bock dropped to the floor and she bent to pick it up -- and her belt snapped undone, andflew off.This really wasn"t very funny, but it seemed most humorous to the girls in the front row, and theybent over their books, trying not to laugh. Miss 9ennedy knew that they were laughing and she

determined to be firm for once.'ny girl who disturbs the class by laughing or playing will stand the whole of the time,' sheannounced in as firm a voice as she could. 1very one was astonished to hear the mild Miss9ennedy make such a statement, and for a while the lesson went smoothly.Tessie was to let the cat out about half-way through the class - but the cat thought otherwise. thad lain down on the handwork, and had got itself mixed up with the coloured raffia that was usedby the girls for their basket-making. t tried to lick the raffia off its back legs, but couldn"t.t stood up and shook itself. t turned round and round -- but the more it turned, the moreentangled it got, and at last it became frightened.t (umped about on the shelf, and some curious noises came from the cupboard. t first Miss



9ennedy could not imagine what the noise was. The girls knew /uite well that it was the cat, andthey bent their heads over their exercise books, doing their best not to laugh.The cat got excited. t leapt into the air and knocked its head against the shelf above. Then itscrabbled about and bit savagely at the entangling raffia.'&hat is in that cupboard3' said Miss 9ennedy at last.'The handwork, Miss 9ennedy,' answered Tessie.' know that,' answered Miss 9ennedy, impatiently. '$ut handwork doesn"t make a noise. &hatcan be causing all that disturbance3 t must be mice.' t certainly wasn"t mice. t was (ust poor old$lackie going completely mad. 2e tore round and round the big shelf, the raffia catching his legsall the time. The whole class began to giggle helplessly.'This is too much+' said Miss 9ennedy, angrily. #he walked /uickly to the handwork cupboard andflung open the door. $lackie was thrilled, and leapt out with an enormous yowl. Miss 9ennedygave a shriek when she saw the big black animal springing out, and she rushed to the door.$lackie went with her, thinking she was going to let him out. 2e rubbed against her ankles andMiss 9ennedy went white with fright, for she really was /uite terrified of cats.$lackie and Miss 9ennedy went out of the door together, parted, and fled in opposite directions.The girls put down their heads on their desks and almost sobbed with laughter. Tears trickled outof 9athleen"s eyes, and as for the twins, they had to hold their sides, for they each got dreadfulstitches with laughing so much.Tessie staggered to the door and shut it, in case any other mistress came by. %or at least five

minutes the girls let themselves go and laughed till they cried. s soon as they stopped, someone started them off again.'Oh, say - did you see $lackie when he shot out3' cried Tessie, and every one giggled again.'t must be mice+' said 0oris, imitating Miss 9ennedy"s voice. #hrieks of laughter again.'#h+' said Tessie, wiping her eyes. '#ome one will hear us. say - wonder what"s become of old9enny3 #he disappeared into the blue. 0o you suppose shell comeback and finish the lesson3'$ut no Miss 9ennedy came back. #he was sitting in one of the empty common rooms, drinking aglass of water, and looking very pale. #he was afraid of cats as some people are afraid of beetlesor bats - but that was not all that made her feel worried and ill. t was the thought of the girlsplaying the trick on her, knowing that she would so easily fall into the trap.'"m absolutely no good at taking a class,' thought Miss 9ennedy, putting down her glass. 't wasall very well when coached one or two girls at a time - but this (ob is too much for me. nd yetthe money does come in so useful now. Mother is ill. #till, it"s no use. must give it up.' #he

decided to go down to the town and meet a friend of hers at tea-time. #he would talk over thematter with her, then come back and give in her notice to Miss Theobald, confessing that shecould neither teach nor keep discipline.#o down to the town she went at four o"clock, after telephoning to her friend, Miss )oper, to meether at the tea-shop.

nd to the same shop went the twins and 9athleen, having tea there by themselves as a greattreat+ The tea-shop was divided into little cosy partitions with red curtains, and the three girls werealready sitting eating buttered buns when Miss 9ennedy and Miss )oper came in.They chose the partition next to the three girls, and sat down. The girls could not see them, but itwas possible to hear the voices. nd they recogni<ed Miss 9ennedy"s at once+ '6isten+ There"sold 9enny+ bet she"s going to talk about the black cat+' chuckled 9athleen. The girls had nointention of eavesdropping, but they could not help hearing what was said. nd, as they thought,9enny began to talk about the morning"s happenings.

$ut she talked of something else too -- of her old mother, ill and poorA of the money that herteaching had so unexpectedly brought inA of the bills she had to pay. #he spoke with sadness ofher failure to hold the girls in class.'"m a fraud,' she told her Mend. ' take the school"s money for teaching the girls, and don"tteach them a thing, because can"t manage them, and they (ust rag me the whole time. 0on"t youthink should tell the head this, lara3 t"s not honest of me to go on, leaving my classes becausethey rag me. Miss 6ewis, the school"s history specialist, can"t possibly come back till the end ofnext term -- but don"t see how can honestly take her place till then.' '$ut you do so badly needthe money to help your mother whilst she"s ill,' said Miss )oper. 't"s bad luck, my dear, thosegirls must be wretches.' The three girls listened, stricken dumb. They were horrified. &hat



seemed (ust teasing and ragging to them, meant losing a (ob to somebody else, meant being afailure -- not being able to help a mother when she was ill.'6et"s go,' muttered !at, in a low voice. "&e oughtn"t to overhear this.' They crept out, unseen byMiss 9ennedy, paid their bill and went back to school. They all felt unhappy.They couldn"t let Miss 9ennedy give up her post. #he was a silly in many ways, but she was kind,and a real sport. nd they, the girls, were wretches+ 'Oh, dash, do feel mean+' said 9athleen,sitting down in their common room. ' (ust hate myself now. loved the (oke this morning -- but a

(oke"s not a (oke when it means real unhappiness to somebody else.' '&e can"t let 9enny go toMiss Theobald,' said !at, suddenly. 't would look awful. 6ook here - we"ve got to do something,for goodness sake. Think hard+' sabel looked up. 'There"s only one thing to do, really,' she said."&e ought to get all our form to sign a letter, and the second form too, apologi<ing for the trick,and swearing we won"t rag 9enny again. nd well have to stick to that' 'That"s not a bad idea atall,' said !at. '9ath, you go to the second form - they"re having a meeting - and tell them /uiteshortly what"s happened. "ll write out the letter-and each one of us can sign it.' 9athleen sped off.!at took a pen and some notepaper, and she and sabel wrote out the letter. This is what it saidB 01) M## 91**10, &e are all ashamed of our behaviour this morning, and we do ask youto accept our very humble apologies. &e didn"t mean the cat to (ump out at you. !lease forgiveus. f you will, we promise never to rag you again, but to behave much better, and work hard. &ethought you were a great sport not to split on us about ou 9now &hat.ours sincerely,

and then all the names of the girls were to follow, written out by each girl The second formcame in to sign their names. '&hat"s "ou 9now &hat"3' asked Tessie, curiously.'t"s our 7reat Midnight %east,' answered !at. '#he knew we bad one and didn"t tell. *ow, hasevery one signed3 ou haven"t, 6orna. !ut your name at the bottom.' ll the girls felt ratherashamed when they heard 9athleen"s tale of what they bad overheard.'ou shouldn"t really have listened,' said 2ilary, reprovingly. 't"s mean to overhear things.' 'know,' said !at. '$ut we really couldn"t help it, 2ilary. nd anyway, "m glad we did. &e can stop9enny giving up her (ob, anyway.' t did prevent Miss 9ennedy from going to Miss Theobald whenshe came in that evening. #he saw the letter on her desk, and opened it. &hen she read it, thetears came into her eyes.'&hat a nice letter+' she thought. 'The girls are not little wretches after all+ f only they keep theirpromise+ should be happy teaching them then+' #he thanked each form the next morning, andassured them that she forgave them. nd, for the first time that term, her lessons went as

smoothly as those of the other teachers, for the girls bad no intention of breaking their word.There would be giggles now and then -- sly flippings of paper darts -- but no organi<ed ragging,and no unkindness. 9enny was happy. #he taught well now that she bad no ragging to fight, andthe girls became interested and keen.CD

"m glad we did the decent thing,' said !at, one day, after the history lesson. ' asked old 9ennyhow her mother was today, and she said she"s much better, and is coming out of the nursing

home tomorrow. &ouldn"t it have been awful if she had died because we made 9enny her (ob sothat her mother couldn"t be nursed back to health3' 'wful,' agreed sabel. nd every one in theform thought the same. $roken &indowOne morning 2ilary came into the common room most excited.' say+ 0id you know that the circus was coming to field (ust outside the town3 &ell, it is+ saw thenotices up+' '7olly+ hope we"re all allowed to go+' said !at, who loved a circus.'t"s 7alliano"s ircus,' said 2ilary, and she pulled a handbill out of her pocket. '6ook - clowns,acrobats, dancing horses, performing dogs, everything. f only Miss Theobald gives permissionfor the school to go+' Miss Theobald did. #he said that each evening two of forms might go, with



their teachers. The first form e thrilled. !at, sabel, 9athleen and 5anet went down town toexamine the big coloured posters pasted everywhere.They did look exciting. Then the girls went to see the big tents set up in the field. They leanedover the gate td watched the sleek satin-skinned horses being galloped round, and saw fiveclumsy-looking bears ambling with their trainer. They watched in wonder when a big chimpan<eedressed up in trousers and (ersey, came along hand in band with a small boy, who bad a terrier athis heels.'7racious+ 6ook at that big monkey+' cried sabel. '#ammy"s not a monkey. 2e"s a chimpan<ee,'said the boy, smiling. '#hake hands, #ammy+' The big chimpan<ee solemnly held out his band tothe girls. sabel and 9athleen were too afraid to take it, but !at put out her hand at once. #ammyshook it up and down.'re you coming to see our show3' asked the boy.')ather+' said !at. 're you in the circus3 &hat do you do3' '%m 5immy $ own and l go into thering with my famous dog, 6ucky. That"s 6ucky, (ust by your feet. #he knows how to spell andcount+' 'Oh, no+ 0ogs can"t do that+' said sabel. 5immy laughed. "&ell, mine can. ou"ll see whenyou come+ 6ook -- see that girl over there, riding the black horse -- that"s 6otta. ou"ll see her inthe ring too. #he can ride the wildest horse in the world+' The girls stared at 6otta. #he wasgalloping round the field on a beautiful black horse. s she came near she suddenly stood up onthe horse"s back and waved to the astonished girls+ 'sn"t she awfully clever+' said !at. '2ow wish could ride like that+ 0oesn"t she ever fall off3' 'Of course not,' said 5immy. "&ell, must go.

ome on, #ammy. &ell look out for you four girls when you come to the show+' 2e went off withthe chimpan<ee and the little dog.The girls made their way back to school. They were longing for the night to come when theymight go to the circus with the first and second forms.'There are two shows each night,' said !at. 'One at D.EF to C.EF, and the second at C.GH to;F.GH. wish we were going to the later one -- it would be sport getting back at eleven o"clock+''*o such luck,' said sabel 'ome on, hurry -- we shall be late for tea.' $ut a dreadful blow befellthe first form the next morning. They came into their classroom, chattering as usual -- and sawthat one big pane of the middle window was completely broken+ Miss )oberts was at her desk,locking stern.'7racious+ 2ow did the window get broken3' cried 5anet in surprise.'That is exactly what would like to know,' said Miss )oberts. '&hen was in the common room; heard a crash, and came to see what caused it. heard the sound of running feet going round

the corner of the corridor - and when came into the room saw the broken window+' '&ho didit3' said !at.' don"t know,' answered Miss )oberts. '$ut this is what broke the window.' #he held up a hardrubber lacrosse ball. ' found it still rolling across the floor when came in. #omebody must havebeen playing with it in the classroom -- and the window was smashed. t"s against the rules totake lacrosse balls out of the locker in the gym, unless you go to games, as you know.' 1very onelistened in silence. They all felt a little guilty when Miss )oberts mentioned that it was against therules to take lacrosse balls, because it was a rule nobody bothered to keep. ny girl slipped to thelocker to borrow a ball to play with at break.'*ow,' said Miss )oberts, ' want the girl who broke the window to own up now, or to come to meat break and tell me then. #he should, of course, have stayed to own up as soon as the windowwas broken -- but it is /uite natural in a moment of fright to run away.' *obody spoke. ll the girlssat perfectly still in their seats. *obody looked at any one else. Miss )oberts looked searchingly

along the rows, looking for a guilty face.$ut as half the girls were blushing with sheer nervousness, that was no help. !ractically all theclass looked guilty and ill at ease. They always did when anything went wrong."&ell,' said Miss )oberts at last, 'it is /uite evident that the culprit is not going to own up now.#he must come to me at break, without fail. ll you girls have a sense of honour, know, and notone of you is a coward. #o am /uite sure that the culprit will be brave enough to come to me. shall be in the common room, alone.' #till nobody said a word. One or two looked round at eachother, and every one wondered who the sinner was. !at and sabel smiled nervously at eachother. They had been together since breakfast, so they knew that neither of them was the sinner+The first lesson began. t was maths. Miss )oberts was not in a good temper, and nobody dared



to utter a word. 0ark and fair heads were bent busily over books, and when the form-mistressrapped out an order it was obeyed at once. 1very one knew how dangerous it would be to getinto trouble when Miss )oberts was on the warpath.

fter maths, came %rench. Mam"<elle came into the roOm, and exclaimed at the broken window.'Tiens+ The window is broken+ 2ow did that happen3' "&e don"t know, Mam"<elle,' said 2ilary.'*obody has owned up yet.' 'That is abominable+' cried Mam"<elle, looking round the class withher big dark eyes. 't is not brave+' The class said nothing. They all felt uncomfortable, for it wasnot nice to think that somebody in the class was a coward. #till, maybe the culprit would own upat break. &hoever could it be3!at and sabel thought hard. t couldn"t be 5anet or 2ilary, for both girls were brave-spirited andowned to a fault at once. t couldn"t be 9athleen, for she had been with them. t might be 4era --or #heila - or 5oan - or 0oris. *o, surely it couldn"t be any of them + They wouldn"t be cowards.

t break the first form got together and discussed the matter. 't wasn"t us,' said !at. 'sabel and were together all the time after breakfast till we went to the classroom. nd 9athleen was with ustoo.' '&ell, it wasn"t me,' said 2ilary. ' was doing a (ob for )ita.' 'nd it wasn"t me,' said 5anet. 'was cleaning the bird-table, and 0oris was helping.' One by one the girls of the first form all saidwhat they bad been doing between breakfast-time and the first lesson. pparently not one ofthem could have broken the window -- though one must be telling an untruth+ fter break the girlstook their places in their form room. Miss )oberts came in, her mouth in a thin line and her ha<eleyes cold. #he looked round the class.

' am sorry to say that no one has owned up,' she said. '#o have had to report the matter toMiss Theobald. #he agrees with me that the window must be paid for by the whole class, as theculprit hasn"t owned up.The window is made of vita-glass, and will cost twenty shillings to mend. Miss Theobald hasdecided instead of letting you go to the circus, which would cost one shilling each, she will usethe money for the window.' There was a gasp of dismay from all the girls. *ot go to the circus+That was a terrible blow. They looked round one another, angry and upset. &hy should the wholeclass suffer because one person had done a wrong thing3 t didn"t seem fair.' am sure that the one who broke the window will not want her whole class to be punished,' wenton Miss )oberts. '#o hope she will still own up, before the night comes when our form is due togo to the show -that is, on Thursday. nd trust that if any of you know who it is you will insist thatshe does her duty byher form.' '$ut Miss )oberts, suppose nobody owns up,' began 2ilary,'couldn"t we all put a shilling of our own towards the window and still go to the circus3' '*o,' said

Miss )oberts. 'There"s no argumentA 2ilary. &hat have said, stands, and will not be altered.Open your books at page eighty-two, please.' &hat a babel there was after morning school wasover, in the /uarter of an hour before dinner+ 2ow angry and indignant the girls were+ 't"s ashame+' cried 5anet. ' didn"t do it - nor did you, !at and sabel -- and we (olly well know it. #owhy should we be punished too3' '&ell, it"s the custom in schools to make a whole form suffer for one person in a case like this,' said 2ilary. 'They do it at my brother"s school too - though itdoesn"t happen often. don"t see the point of it myself, but there you are. f only knew who itwas+ &ouldn"t take them by the scruff of the neck and give them a shaking+' '6ook here -- whatabout one of us owning up to it, so that the rest can go3' said 9athleen, suddenly. ' don"t mindowning up and taking the blame. Then all you others can go.' '0on"t be an idiot,' said !at,slipping her arm through 9athleen"s. 's if we"d let you do a thing like that+' ' suppose you didn"tdo it, 9ath3' said #heila, half-laughing.'Of course she didn"t+' cried sabel. '#he was with !at and me all the time. t"s (olly decent of her

to offer to take the blame - but wouldn"t dream of it. f heard she"d owned up to save our skins"d go straight to Miss )oberts myself and tell her that 9athleen couldn"t possibly have done it+''Oh, well,' said 9athleen, ' shan"t say anything, of course, if you feel like that about it. f only weknew which of us had done it+' The whole of Tuesday slipped by and the whole of &ednesday.#till nobody bad owned up. &hen Thursday came Miss )oberts informed the class that thesecond form were to go to the circus, but not the first.The class groaned and fidgeted.'"m very sorry,' said Miss )oberts. "t"s most unfortunate. only hope that the culprit is feelingmost unhappy and uncomfortable. *ow, no more groaning please. 6et"s get on with ourgeography+'



The %our Truants

That afternoon, after tea, four girls of the first form held a secret meeting in one of the littlemusic moms.They were the twins, and 9athleen and 5anet. They were all furious because they were notallowed to go that night to the show in the town.'6ook here+ 6et"s go+' said 5anet. '&e can slip off at a /uarter past eight on our "bikes without anyone noticingA if we go down the path by the lacrosse field. nd we can get back in the dark alltight.' '$ut the school doors are locked at ten,' said 9ath.' know that, idiot+' said 5anet. '$ut what"s the matter with a ladder3 There"s one alongside thegardener"s shed. &e can easily get into our dormitory window with that.' 'es -- but the ladder willbe seen the next morning, leading up to our window+' said sabel.'Oh, golly, haven"t you any brains+' sighed 5anet. 'One of us can go up the ladder - and undo theside door to let the others in -- and we can all take the ladder back to the shed before we go in. sthat /uite clear, or shall l say it all over again3' 1very one laughed. 5anet was funny when shewas impatient. ' see,' said !at. '$ut gosh, if we were caught+ don"t like to think what wouldhappen to us' '&ell, don"t,' said 5anet, 'because we shan"t be caught+ Miss )oberts never putsthe light on at night when she comes to our dormitory now. &e shall be all right. &e must tell2ilary though. #he won"t come with us because she"s head-girl and keeps all the rules -- but shewon"t stop us going.' 2ilary didn"t stop them. 'll right,' she said. ')isk it if you want to. won"t

stop you. $ut for goodness" sake don"t get caught+' The second form went off to the circus withMiss 5enks. The first form stayed behind, sulky and angry.Only the four who were going to slip off by themselves looked at all bright Most of the first formknew what 5anet had planned, but nobody else dared to risk it.'ou"ll get expelled if you"re caught, shouldn"t wonder,' said 0oris.'&e shan"t be expelled and we shan"t be caught,' said 5anet, firmly.&hen the time came, the four girls put on their hats and coats and slipped down to the side-door.t was dark outside, but the night was dear. oming home there would be a moon. They wentsoftly to the bicycle shed.'7olly+ &hat a noise bikes make+' whispered 5anet, as the four machines clanked and rattled.'*ow - down the path by the field. ome on.' Off they all rode, their lamps shining in thedarkness. &hen they arrived at the circus field they saw the people streaming out of the gates.They had been to the D.EF performance.

'6ook Out+ 2ide by the hedge till every one"s gone+' said 5anet. '&e don"t want to run into Miss5enks+' They hid until it was safe. They pushed their bicycles behind the hedge and went to thegate, where people were already going in under the flare of acetylene lamps. The girls paid andwent towards the big circus tent. #oon they had taken their seats, well at the back in case anyone saw them. They took off their school hats.The circus was marvellous. They saw the girl 6otta, - - now dressed in a sparkling, shining frock,riding bare-back around the ring, standing on her horse, kneeling, (umping, smiling all the time.They saw 5immy and his dog 6ucky, and could not imagine how he had been trained to be soclever. They cheered the absurd clowns and the ama<ing acrobats. They loved big Mr. 7alliano,with his cracking whip and big moustaches. t was a gorgeous show and the four girls en(oyedevery minute.'&e"d better slip out a bit before the end,' whispered 5anet, watching #ammy the chimpan<eesolemnly undress himself and put on a pair of py(amas.' say -- isn"t he funny3 Oh, look -- he"s

getting into bed+' 5ust before the show was finished the girls slipped out /uietly. 1veryone wasintent on watching the five bears, ho were now playing ring-a-ring-of-roses with their trainer.'ll fall down+' chanted the trainer, and (ust as the four girls went out, down fell the five bears inthe ring, for all the world as if they were children+ '&hat a marvellous show+' said 5anet, as theymade their way to where they had left their bicycles. '&here"s my bike3 Oh, here it is.' Theymounted their bicycles and rode off. The moon was up now and they could see clearly. They weresoon back at the school. They put their bicycles into the shed as /uietly as they could, and then,with beating hearts, they tiptoed to the shed, outside which the ladder was kept.They all felt excited and nervous. 5ust suppose they were caught now+ t would be awful. $utnobody was about. dim light showed from a mistress"s bedroom in the eastern wing of the



school. t was about eleven o"clock and all the girls and some, of the mistresses would be asleep.They looked for the ladder. There were two, a small one and a much bigger one. 5anet tugged atthe smaller one.' should think this one will (ust about reach,' she said. #o the four of them carried it to wheretheir dormitory windows shone in the moonlight. They kept in the dark shadows and were as /uietas they could be.They set the ladder up gently against the wall - but to their great dismay it didn"t nearly reach tothe windowsill+ '0ash+' said 5anet. '6ook at that+ t"s much too dangerous to try and climb to thesill from the top of the ladder - it"s so far below the window. &ell -- come on, let"s take it back andget the other ladder. That"s long enough to reach to the roof, should think+' They took the smallladder back and put it down gently. $ut then they found they could not possibly carry the bigladder+ t was enormously heavy and needed two or three gardeners to handle it. The four girlscould hardly move it and certainly would not be able to set it up against the wall.They stood in the moonlight and stared at one another in dismay. '*ow what are we going to do3'asked sabel, her voice /uivering. '&e can"t stay out here all night.' 'Of course not, silly,' said5anet. '&e"ll try all the doors. Maybe we"ll find one that"s unlocked. heer up.' #o they tiptoedround the school, trying the doors, but every one of them was safely locked and bolted. Themaids did their work well+ 9athleen began to cry. #he did not want to be caught breaking therules, because she had tried very hard to be in Miss Theobald"s good books since she had beenforgiven for her fault t suddenly seemed a very dreadful thing to her to be out of doors when all

the others were in bed and asleep.'&e shall be discovered in the morning,' she whispered. 'nd we shall catch our deaths of coldstaying out here.' '#hut up and don"t be such a baby,' said 5anet fiercely ' know what we can do+&e"ll throw little pebbles up to our dormitory window+' said !at 'They will make a rattling noiseand maybe one of the girls will wake. Then she can slip down and open a door for us.' '7oodidea+' said 5anet. '!ick up tiny pebbles, everyone+' They scooped handfuls up from the gravel,and threw them up. $ut 9athleen threw very badly and her pebbles rattled against the wrongwindow -- the one above the dormitory, where Mam"<elle slept+ nd Mam"<elle awoke+ ':uick+$ack into the shadows+' whispered 5anet, urgently. 'diot - you hit Mam"<elle"s window+' The bigdark head of Mam"<elle locked out, and they heard her mutter to herself. They s/uee<ed togetherin a corner, hardly daring to breathe, terrified that Mam"<elle would see them. $ut the shadowswere black and she could see nothing. !u<<led, and yawning deeply, she went back to her bed.The girls stayed where they were for a few minutes and then began to whisper.

'This is awful+ )eally awful. &hat are we going to do3' ' do wish we hadn"t slipped off to thecircus+' '"m so cold my teeth are chattering.' Then !at clutched hold of sabel"s arm andwhispered loudly. '6ook -- look - isn"t that some one looking out of our dormitory window3' Theyall looked up -- and sure enough a girl"s head was peeping from the window. !at slipped out ofthe shadows and stood in the moonlight. 2ilary"s voice came down to her in a whisper.'!at+ 2ow late you are+ &here are the others3' '2ere,' whispered !at. 'The ladders aren"t anygood. Open the side-door here and let us in, 2ilary, /uick+ &e"re so cold.' 2ilary drew in her headand disappeared. minute later the four girls heard the key turning in the lock of the side-door,and the bolts being slipped back-and the door was open+ They crept in /uietly and 2ilary lockedand bolted the door once more.They all slipped upstairs like mice, and tip-toed in their stockinged feet to their dormitory. Oncethere they sank on to 5anet"s bed and began to giggle from sheer excitement and relief.They told 2ilary all that had happened, 0oris woke up and (oined the little group. The four truants

began to feel much better now that they were safe, and boasted of all they had done.'0id you hear our pebbles rattling on the window3' asked 5anet of 2ilary. '&hy did you come tothe window3 7olly, wasn"t glad to hear your voice3' 'our pebbles came rattling on to the floor+'said 2ilary, with a laugh. 'The window was open at the bottom. left it like that for you to climb in.&hen heard the sound of pebbles all over the lino woke up. t first couldn"t imagine what thenoise was - then switched on my torch and saw the bits of gravel. &e"ll have to sweep those upin the morning.' 5anet yawned. "Tm so tired,' she said. 'The circus was marvellous. wish youcould have seen it, 2ilary.' '#o do ,' said 2ilary. '$uck up and get undressed now, for goodness"sake. nd don"t make too much noise or you"ll wake Mam"<elle. 2er room"s (ust above,remember.' '&e know that all right+' said !at, giggling as she remembered Mam"<elle"s dark bead



sticking out of the window. '&here"s my nightie3 Oh, blow, where"s it gone3' 'ou won"t find it onmy bed, silly,' said sabel, who was already undressed and in her nightgown. 'ou"ve gotmuddled. That"s your bed, over there, and there"s your nightie on the pillow.' 'Oh, yes,' said !at,yawning. ' wish could go to sleep in my clothes+' #oon all the dormitory was /uiet once more,and every girl was asleep. The four truants slept peacefully - but there was a shock in store forthem in the morning+ 7reat 0isappointment

The four truants were extremely sleepy the next day. They could hardly wake up. &hen thedressing-bell went not one of them got out of bed.'2i, 5anet+ 9athleen+ ren"t you going to get a move on3' cried 2ilary. 'ou"ll be late. nd (ust lookat those la<y twins - they haven"t even opened their eyes+' 'nother five minutes+' murmured !at,sleepily, but the five minutes stretched into ten, and still the four girls hadn"t moved. 2ilary winkedat 0oris, and the two of them went swiftly to the four white beds and snipped off all thebedclothes, throwing them on the floor.'Oooooh+' shivered the girls, for it was a very cold morning. 'ou mean things+' 'ome on, get up,or you"ll get into a row,' said 2ilary. nd, very slowly and sleepily the four dressed, yawning all thetime. They cheered up a bit when the rest of the form clustered round them, asking whathappened the night before. They really felt almost heroines as they related their excitingadventures.

' don"t feel in the least like lessons this morning,' said 5anet. 'Oh, my goodness - Miss )oberts istaking us for algebra, isn"t she3 always am stupid about that anyhow, and shan"t be able tounderstand a thing today. hope she"s in a good temper.' The class went into their form room,and took their places. 5anet got out her algebra book and hurriedly glanced through the chaptershe had been told to learn.t seemed to her as if she had entirely forgotten every word+ $ut that was (ust because she hadhad such a short night.'2ere comes Miss )oberts+' hissed 0oris, who was at the door. The girls stood. Miss )obertscame in - and goodness, whatever could have happened+ #he looked very pleased, and her eyessparkled so that she looked really pretty.'#it, girls,' she said, and the girls sat down, wondering why their mistress looked so pleased. 2adthey done some marvellous prep. or something3'7irls,' said Miss )oberts, ' feel very happy about something this morning. have found out that

it was not any one in my form who broke the window+' The girls looked at her, ama<ed. Miss)oberts smiled round the class.'t was one of the second form,' she said. 'pparently, the ball bounced in here, the girl rushedfor it, tried to catch it, and it was knocked on to the window, which broke.' '$ut why didn"t she ownup3' cried 2ilary, indignantly. 'That was (olly mean of her+ &e missed going the circus because of that.' '&ait,' said Miss )oberts. 'The girl was :ueenie, who, as you know, is now in the sick-room with bad attack of "flu". #he was frightened when she broke the window, but meant to ownup at the end of the morning. n the middle of the morning she was taken ill and was hurried off tothe sick-room where she has been really ill for a few days. Today die is better, and her form-mistress, Miss 5enks, went to see her.' '0id she own up then3' asked 5anet.'Miss 5enks told her that the second form had gone the circus the night before, but not the firstform, and :ueenie asked why,' said Miss )oberts. "&hen she card that you had all beenpunished for something that was her fault, she was very upset and began to cry. #he told Miss

5enks, of course, and Miss 5enks came hurrying to tell me.' 'Oh+ am glad it wasn"t anybody inour form,' said 2ilary. ' did hate to think that somebody was such a mean coward+' 'nd couldn"t understand it either,' said Miss )oberts. ' think know you all pretty well - and althoughyou are sometimes very stupid, aggravating and, in fact, set of nuisances - really couldn"tbelieve that any of you were cowards+' Miss )oberts smiled as she made these remarks, and theclass laughed. They were all most relieved.'an we go to the circus after all, then3' asked 2ilary.'There"s still tonight or tomorrow.' 'Of course,' said Miss )oberts. 'ou are to go to morrow, MissTheobald says - and to make up for your disappointment, which was /uite undeserved, am totake you down into the town and give you a real good tea first+ &hat do you think of that3' The



girls thought a lot of it+ They said 'Oooh' and 'h+' and rubbed their hands together, and lookedas cheerful as possible. Tea first - a really scrumptious tea -- and then the circus - and it was sureto be good fun on the last night of all+ &hat luck that :ueenie had owned up in time+ $ut therewere four girls who were feeling most uncomfortable about the whole thing - and they were thetwins, and 9athleen and 5anet. They had played truant and seen the show+ They looked at oneanother and felt very guilty. &hy hadn"t they waited3They went to 2ilary about it afterwards. '2ilary+ &e feel awfully mean now somehow - do youthink we ought to go tomorrow3' asked !at.'&ell, if you don"t, what excuse will you make3' said 2ilary. '#ince you ask me, say you (olly welloughtn"t to go+ ou"ve had your pleasure, by breaking the rules -- well, every one breaks rulessometimes, so "m not blaming you for that. The thing is, it"s not fair that you should have asecond treat. should feel like that myself, (ust as you do. $ut if you go and tell Miss )oberts why,you certainly will get into a first-class row.' 'ould we say we don"t feel well3' said sabel. ' reallydon"t feel awfully well today - had so little sleep.' '&ell, say that tomorrow,' said 2ilary. '$ut say, it"s bad luck on you, isn"t it+ ou"ve done yourself out of a gorgeous tea, and every one knowsthat a #aturday night is the best night to see a show.' ' wish we hadn"t been so impatient now,'sighed 9athleen. ' would so love to go with you tomorrow.' The four were very sad. They talkedabout it together.'6et"s go anyhow+' said 5anet. Then almost immediately she changed her mind. '*o, we can"t. "dfeel mean all the time. nd the other girls would think us mean too." ' only hope Miss )oberts

doesn"t send us to Matron for some of her disgusting medicine, when we tell her we don"t feel welltomorrow,' said 9athleen, who was a perfect coward over taking medicine.$ut when the next day came there was no /uestion of telling a story about feeling unwell - for allfour girls had bad colds+ They had caught a chill standing about waiting to get into the school onThursday night - and how they snee<ed and coughed+ Miss )oberts noticed at once. 'ou"d better spend a day in bed,' she said. 'ou may be in for "flu". 7o along to Matron and ask her to takeyour temperatures.%our of you at once+ &herever could you all have caught such bad colds3' They didn"t tell her.They went to Matron, feeling very sad and sorry. 9athleen had a temperature, and as Matron wasnot at all sure that the whole lot were not going to have 'flu' she did the sensible thing andpopped them all into bed. #he gave them each a dose out of one of her enormous bottles, tuckedthem up, and left them in the sick-room together.'-tish-oo+' snee<ed 9athleen. '7olly, weren"t we idiots to rush off like that the other night. do

hate having a beastly cold like this.' 'nd missing that tea,' sighed !at. '2ilary said Miss )obertshad rung up the tea-shop and made sure that they had those special chocolate cakes we like.''&ell -- it"s no use grumbling+' said sabel, sensibly. '&e brought this on ourselves. *ow shut up,you others. want to read.' The first form went off at five with Miss )oberts and had a gorgeoustea. Miss )oberts bought four of the special chocolate cakes to take back to the girls in the sick-room.' think they have been perfect bricks about all this,' she said to 2ilary. '*ot a grumble, not oneword of complaint+' 2ilary said nothing. Miss )oberts would have been astonished if she badknown the real reason why the four truants were not at the circus+. $ut 2ilary was certainly notgoing to tell her.The circus was at its best that night -- and afterwards the girls were allowed to go behind the ringand see the performers at close /uarters. #ammy the chimpan<ee was delighted to see them andkept taking off his cap to them most politely. 5umbo, the enormous elephant, blew down 2ilary"s

neck and lifted her curls as if they had been blown by the wind+ 6otta let them all stroke hermagnificent horse, $lack $eauty. ltogether, it was a marvellous evening, the girls went backtired, but very happy and talkative.Miss )oberts slipped into the sick-room to see if the four girls were awake. Matron was (usttucking them up for the night.'There"s nothing much wrong with them,' she told Miss )oberts. '9athleen"s temperature is downto normal. They"ve (ust got ordinary bad colds, that"s all. s tomorrow is #unday "ll keep them inbed one more day.' '"ve brought them some of the special chocolate cakes we always have atthe tea-shop,' said Miss )oberts. ' suppose they mustn"t have them now.' 'Oh, they can if theyfeel like it,' said Matron, smiling 't won"t hurt them+' ll four girls felt like chocolate cakes



immediately, and sat up. They thought it was (olly kind of Miss )oberts to think of them. Theymunched their cakes and listened to their teacher"s recital of the evening"s happenings.'0idn"t you think #ammy the chimpan<ee was funny when he undressed himself and got intobed3' asked 9athleen eagerly, /uite forgetting that Miss )oberts had no idea she had seen thecircus. Miss )oberts stared in surprise.'9athleen saw the posters in the town,' said !at, hurriedly, glaring at the unfortunate 9athleenwith rage.' think it"s time the girls settled down now, Miss )oberts,' said Matron, coming in, luckily for thefour, at that very moment. Miss )oberts said good night at once, and went. They girls lay down,whilst Matron fussed round a bit, then turned out the light, and went.'diot, 9athleen+' said 5anet. 'ou nearly gave us all away+' '#orry,' said 9athleen, sleepily. '/uite forgot+' '*o more talking+' said Matron, putting her head round the door. 'nother word, and"ll come in and give you all a dose of my very nastiest medicine+' nd after that there wasn"t aword+

Terrible :uarrelThe weeks went /uickly by. 2alf-term came and went.The twins" mother came to see them at half-term and took them out in the car for the day. #hewas glad to see them looking so well and happy.'&ell, how are you getting on3' she asked. ' hope you"re not finding #t. lare"s /uite as bad as

you feared+' The twins blushed. 't"s not a bad school,' said !at. 't"s /uite decent,' said sabel.Their mother smiled to herself. #he knew the twins so well - and their few words meant that theyliked #t. lare"s and were happy.1very week there were lacrosse matches. #ometimes they were played by the lower forms,sometimes by the upper. The twins became very keen indeed, and used to watch all the upperform matches with great en(oyment. They thought $elinda Towers was marvellous. #he was asswift as the wind, and her catching was beautiful to watch.'0o you remember how rude we were to her at the beginning of the term3' said !at. '7olly, wonder how we dared now+' '&e were awful idiots,' said sabel. '2onestly, wonder howeveryone put up with us+' '&ell, there"s one person simply can"t put up with+' said !at. 'ndthat"s #heila *aylor. &hat is the matter with her3 #he"s so awfully haughty and conceited -alwaystalking about her marvellous home and the number of servants they keep, and her horse, andtheir three motor-cars. lways pushing herself forward and airing her opinions - which aren"t worth

twopence, anyway+' 1veryone found #heila very trying indeed. #he was always doing her best toimpress people, and to make them think that she was wonderful. ctually she was a plain andordinary girl, with rather had manners, who didn"t speak very well. ll her clothes were good, andshe went to no end of trouble to buy the best of everything - and yet she never brushed her hairreally well, and if she could forget to wash her neck, she would+ The most impatient girl in the firstform was 5anet. #he could not bear vanity, or conceit, and #heila"s airs and graces irritated herbeyond words. #he hadn"t the patience to put up with #heila, and usually #heila knew this andkept out of her way.One afternoon, (ust before tea, the first form were en(oying themselves in their common room. !atput on the gramophone, and played the same record four times running. 5anet looked up.'%or goodness" sake+ re you trying to learn that record by heart, !at3 Take it off and break it+ f have to hear it again "ll scream+' 'ou didn"t ought to talk like that,' began #heila, in a mincingvoice -- and 5anet flung down her book in a rage.

'2ark at #heila+ "0idn"t ought to+" 7ood heavens, #heila, where were you brought up3 2aven"t youlearnt by now that decent people don"t say "0idn"t ought to+" My goodness, you talk about yourservants, and your )olls )oyce cars, your horse and your lake and goodness knows what -- andthen you talk like the daughter of the dustman+' #heila went very white. !at hurriedly put onanother record. 5anet took up her book again, still angry, but rather ashamed. f #heila had saidnothing more, the whole thing might have blown over. $ut after a while #heila raised her voiceand addressed 5anet.'"m sure that if my people knew that had to put up with girls like you, 5anet, they would neverhave sent me to #t. lare"s,' she began. 'ou"ve no manners at all, you...' 'Manners+ ou talkabout manners+' raged 5anet, flinging down her book again. '7ood heavens+ &hat about your



own manners, should like to know+ ou can begin to talk about other people"s when you knowhow to wash your neck and brush your hair, and how to eat decently+ nd then you pretend youare too grand for us+ 2uh+' 5anet stamped out of the room. #heila sat perfectly still, very pale. Thetwins glanced at her, and !at put on yet another record, setting it at '6oud'. &hat an awful/uarrel+ fter a while #heila went out of the room. !at switched off the gramophone. '0idn"t shelook awful3' she said to sabel. ' wish 5anet hadn"t said all that. t"s true it"s what we"ve allthought, and perhaps said to one another in (oke -- but its rather awful to blurt it all out like that.''&ell it"s partly #heila"s own silly fault,' said 2ilary. 'f she wouldn"t swank as she does, and try tomake out she"s someone marvellous, we wouldn"t notice so easily the stupid things she does andsays mean to say -- if people swank about five different bathrooms, one pink one blue, onegreen, one yellow and one mauve, and then don"t trouble to wash their necks, you do notice itrather+' 'es -- she"s funny about her bathrooms' said sabel '#he"s funny altogether. #he"s theonly girl in the form that really and truly don"t know at all mean, don"t know if she"s generousor mean, kind or unkind, honest or dishonest truthful or untruthful, (olly or serious -because she"salways pretending about herself -- putting on airs and graces, swanking, being somebody thatshe isn"t #he might be /uite nice, for all we know' ' shouldn"t think so,' said 2ilary, who washeartily tired of #heila and her nonsense '2onestly, think she"s batty.' #heila didn"t come in fortea, but nobody missed her. &hen she didn"t attend evening preparation in the form room, Miss)oberts sent !at to find her. !at hunted all over the place, and at last came across #heila sittingin a deserted and cold little music room, all by herself.

'#heila+ &hat in the world are you doing3' asked !at. '2ave you forgotten it"s prep. tonight3'#heila sat still and said nothing. !at looked at her closely. #he looked ill.'0on"t you feel well3' asked !at. '"ll take you to matron if you like. &hat"s up, #heila old girl3''*othing.' said #heila.'&ell, what are you sitting here for, all in the cold3' asked !at. '0on"t be an idiot. f you"re not ill,come along to prep. Miss )oberts is getting all hot and bothered about you.' '"m not coming,'said #heila. ' can"t face you all again, after what 5anet said.' '&ell, really+ %ancy taking anynotice of 5anet+' said !at, feeling worried. 'ou know how she loses her temper with all of us, andsays things she doesn"t mean. #he"s forgotten all about it by now. ome along+' '#he didn"t saythings she didn"t mean. That"s the whole point,' said #heila, still in the same /uiet, rather /ueervoice. '#he said things she did mean+ Oh, hate her+' 'ou can"t hate old 5anet+' said !at. '#he"sdreadfully /uick-tempered and impatient, but she"s very kind too. #he wouldn"t really hurt you,#heila. 6ook here -- with me to Matron. !erhaps you"ve got a temperature.' '6eave me alone'

said #heila obstinately #o in despair !at left her, feeling very worried. &hat a pity 5anet hadflared out like that, and said those really dreadful things+ !at knew how she would feel if anyonesneered at her in that way in front of every one. #he wondered what to do. &hat should she tellMiss )oberts3On her way back to the form room she passed the head-girl"s study. The door was a little openand !at could (ust see &inifred 5ames bent over a book. #he hesitated outside, as a thoughtcame into her head.#he couldn"t tell Miss )oberts about the awful /uarrel. $ut could she tell &inifred3 #omethinghad got to be done about #heila, and she simply didn"t know what+ #he knocked at &inifred"sdoor.'ome in+' said the head-girl, and raised her serious face as !at came in.'2allo+ s there anything the matter3' asked &inifred. 'Oughtn"t you to be at prep3' 'es, ought.'said !at. '$ut Miss )oberts sent me to find somebody. nd "m rather worried about this girl,

&inifred, but can"t possibly tell Miss )oberts, so can l tell you3' 'Of course,' said &inifred, 'solong as it isn"t (ust telling tales, !atricia.' 'Of course it"s not, &inifred+' said !at. ' would never telltales. $ut suddenly remembered that you and this girl come from the same town, so thoughtmaybe you could help a bit.' 'This is very mysterious,' said &inifred. '&hat"s it all about3' Then!at explained about the /uarrel, and told the head-girl all that had happened. 'nd #heila looksso funny and so ill,' she said. '"m afraid it"s something worse than (ust a silly /uarrel.' &inifredlistened in silence. '"m glad you came to me,' she said. 't so happens "m the only person thatcan help a little, because know #heila"s history. ou are a sensible person, !at, so shall tell youa little. nd perhaps between us we can help #heila.' ' hope we can,' said !at. ' don"t like her,&inifred -- in fact, hardly know her at all because she"s always hidden behind conceit and



swank, if you know what mean. $ut she"s awfully unhappy and hate to see that.' '#heila"sparents were once very poor,' said &inifred. '2er mother was the daughter of our gardener. 2erfather kept a kind of village stores. 2e made a great deal of money, an enormous fortune, in fact,so they rose tremendously in the world. *ow they have a wonderful house, almost a mansion,goodness knows how many servants and cars - and they sent #heila to the best schools possiblebecause they wanted their daughter to be a lady.' 'Oh.' said !at, suddenly understanding a lot ofthings.'#o that"s why poor #heila is always swanking and being haughty and arrogant, and showing off -because she"s afraid we"ll not want to be friends with her. #he"s afraid we might sneer at her.''es -- her stupid haughtiness is (ust a sort of smokescreen to hide the plain, ordinary, ratherfrightened person she is underneath,' said &inifred. 'nd now you see what as happened. 5anethas blown away the smoke-screen and pointed out to every one (ust those things that #heila isalways trying to hide -- the manners and speech she learnt when she was very small.' '$ut howawfully silly of #heila to pretend like that+' said !at. 'f she"d told us honestly that her people hadmade a lot of money, and how pleased she was to be able to conic to #t. lare"s, and all that,we"d have understood and liked her for it. $ut all that silly conceit and pretence+ 2onestly,&inifred, it was awful.' '&hen people feel that they are not so clever, so good r so well-born asothers, they often behave like that, to hide their feelings of inferiority,' said &inifred, soundingrather learned to !at. '$e sorry for them and help them.' '&ell - how can help #heila3' asked!at. ' really don"t see how can.' '"ll go to her myself,' said &inifred, getting up. 'll want you

to do - and sabel, too - is to be extra nice to her for a week or two, and not to laugh at her orpoint out anything that might hurt her. *ow that 5anet has dragged away the wall #heila set uparound herself, and shown what a poor thing there is behind it, she will want a little friendship andunderstanding. f she"s got any common sense she"ll drop her airs and graces after this, and you"llhave a chance of finding out what the real #heila is like. $ut do give her a chance, won"t you3''Of course will,' said !at. 'Thanks awfully. &inifred. "ll go back to prep. now.' &hat &inifredIad to #heila the twins never knew The head girl was wise beyond her years, and handled theshocked and distressed girl with understanding and gentleness. #heila appeared in the commonroom that night, pale and nervous, and would not meet any one"s eyes. $ut !at came to herrescue at once.'#heila+ ou"re (ust the person wanted+ !lease tell me where "ve gone wrong in this (umper "mknitting. ou"re so clever at following patterns and get all muddied. 6ook - did go wrong there -or was it here3' #heila gladly went to !at"s side, and was soon showing her how to put the wrong

stitch right. &hen that was done, sabel called to her. '2i, #heila - will you lend me your paints3 can"t imagine what"s happened to mine.' 'es, of course,' said #heila, and went to fetch herpaints. 5anet looked up as soon as she was out of the room.'&hy all this sudden friendship for our haughty #heila3' she asked.'To make up a bit for the beastly things you said to her,' said !at. '7ive her a chance, 5anet.ou"ve bit her hard on her tenderest places, and taken all the stuffing out of her.' '7ood thingtoo,' said 5anet, gruffly. '#he needed it.'" '&ell, she"s bad it, so now give her a chance,' said !at.'0on"t be small, 5anet.' '"m not,' said 5anet. '"m (olly sorry for what said now, though you maynot think it. ll right -- "ll do my best. $ut "m not going to say "m sorry. f do it"ll get all hot andbothered again. $ut don"t mind showing "m sorry.' "$etter still,' said sabel. '6ook out -- here shecomes+' #heila came in with the paints. 'Thanks.' said sabel.'7olly, what a lovely box+' Usually #heila would have said at once what the box had cost, andwould have boasted about it. $ut she said thing. 5anet glanced at her and saw that she was still

.le. 5anet was kind-hearted and generous, although her tongue could be sharp and bitter, and her temper was a. #he got down a tin of toffees from her shelf and handed them round. #heilaexpected to be missed out and looked away.'Toffee for you, #heila, old girl3' said 5anet, in her ear, pleasant voice. #heila looked at 5anet andhesitated. #he still felt sore and angry with her. $ut 5anet"s brown eyes were kind and soft, and#heila knew that she was trying to make peace. #he swallowed her feelings, and put out herhand to take a toffee.'Thanks, 5anet,' she said, in rather a shaky voice then all the girls plunged into a discussion ofthe play they were going to prepare for hristmas, and in the in-rest of it all #heila forgot the/uarrel, sucked her toffee, and grew happier.



#he thought hard when she went to bed that night. #he shouldn"t have boasted and bragged --but she had only done it because she knew she wasn"t as good as the others and she wanted tohide it. nd all the time the girls had seen her weak spots, and must have laughed at her. &ell -- if only they would be friendly towards her and not sneer at her, she would try not to mind. #he asnot a brave girl, and not a very sensible one - but at night she was brave enough and sensibleenough see that money and servants and cars didn"t matter at all. t was the person underneaththat mattered.'nd now "ll do what &inifred said must do - show the girls the person am underneath,'thought poor #heila, turning over in bed. ' don"t think "m much of a person really -- but anyway,"ll be better than that awful conceited creature "ve pretended to be for a year+' nd that was theend of #heila"s haughty and boastful manner. The other girls followed the example of 5anet andthe twins, and were friendly to #heila, and gave her a chance. #he took the chance, andalthough, as she had feared, she wasn"t much of a person at first, nevertheless the rather mouse-like gentle #heila was much nicer than the girl she had been before. s time went on, she wouldbecome somebody real, and then as !at said, she would be worth having for a friend.' shall always give people a chance now,' !at said to sabel. '6ook at 9athleen - what a brick sheis+ nd #heila"s so different, already.' '&ell,' said 5anet, who overheard, ' should (olly well thinkyou would give people a chance+ 0idn"t we all give you two a chance+ My goodness, you werepretty unbearable when you came, can tell you. $ut you"re not so bad now. n fact, you"re /uitepassable+' !at and sabel picked up cushions and rushed at the /uick-tongued 5anet. &ith

s/ueals and shrieks she tried to get away, but they pummelled her unmercifully.'&e shan"t give you a chance, you wretch+' giggled sabel. 'ou don"t deserve one+ Ow, stoppinching, you brute.' '&ell, get off my middle then,' panted 5anet. '&ait till get hold of acushion+' $ut they didn"t wait+ They tore off to gym. with 5anet after them, bumping into half ado<en girls on the way.'Those first-form kids+' said Tessie, in disgust.'2onestly, they ought to be in a kindergarten, they way they behave+'

#heila 0oes 2er $it Only four weeks remained of the winter term. The girls were busy with plays. songs andsketches, ready for the end of the term. The first form were doing a historical play with Miss9ennedy and thoroughly en(oying themselves.Miss 9ennedy had written the play herself with the girls all helping where they could. Miss )oss,the sewing mistress, was helping with the costumes. t was great fun.

'ou know, old 9enny is a good sort,' said !at, who was busily learning her part for the play. 't"sfunny -- hardly ever think of playing about in her lesson now. suppose it"s because we"re all sointerested in the play.' '&ell, wish was as interested in our %rench play+' groaned 0oris, whose%rench accent drove Mam"<elle to despair. ' simply can *OT roll my r"s in my throat like the restof you. )-r-r-r-r-r-r-r+' 1very one laughed at 0oris"s funny efforts to say the letter r in the %renchway 0ons had no ear for either music or languages, and was the despair of both the musicmistress and Mam"<elle $ut she was a wonderful dancer, and her sense of humour sent the classinto fits of laughter half a do<en times a day.t was fun preparing for the hristmas concert. ll the different forms were doing something, andthere were s/uabbles over using the gym. for rehearsals. Miss Thomas, the gym. mistress,complained that the gym. was used for everything else but its proper purpose these days+6essons went on as usual, of course, and Miss )oberts refused to allow the hristmaspreparations to make any difference at all to the work her form did for her.

#he was very cross with !at when she found that was secretly learning her part in the play, whenshe should have been learning a list of grammar rules. #he had copied out her words, and hadneatly fitted them into her grammar book. #he had a good part in the play and was very anxiousto be word-perfect for the rehearsal that afternoon.' think, !at, that you must have got the wrong page in your grammar book,' said Miss )oberts,suddenly. '$ring it to me.' !at went red. #he got up with her book. #he dropped it purposely onthe floor so that it shut, and then picked it up, hoping that Miss )oberts would not notice thewords of the play inside. $ut Miss )oberts did, of course. 2er sharp eyes missed nothing+ 'thought so,' she said, dryly, taking out the neatly-copied play-words. '&hen is the rehearsal3''This afternoon, Miss )oberts,' said !at.



'&ell, you will learn your grammar rules instead of going to the rehearsal,' said Miss )oberts.'That seems /uite fair to me, and hope it does to you. f you learn your part in the play duringgrammar time, then it seems (ust that you should learn your grammar rules in rehearsal time.' !atlooked up in dismay. 'Oh. Miss )oberts+ !lease don"t make me miss rehearsal. "ve got animportant part in the play, you know.' 'es, and next year this form has important exams. to take,'said Miss )oberts. '&ell, "ll give you one more chance, !at. *o more of this, please+ 6earn thoserules now and say them to me at the end of the morning. f they are correct, "ll let you off. 7oback to your seat+' !at went to the rehearsal, of course+ t was (ust no good at all trying to playany tricks in Miss )oberts" class, and she had had to learn her grammar in break in order to get itperfect for Miss )oberts by the end of the morning.$ut every one liked the form-mistress. #he was strict, could be very severe and sarcastic, but shewas always perfectly (ust, and never went back on what she said or promised. Mam"<elle was notalways (ust, but she was so goodhearted that very few of the girls really disliked her.&hat with working up for the end of term exams., and the concert, the girls had very little time tothemselves, but they en(oyed every minute. 0oris was to dance a solo dance that she hadcreated herself. 4era was to play the piano, at which she was extremely good. %ive of the girlswere in the %rench play, and most of them in the history play. 1verybody was in something.1xcept one person+ #heila was in nothing+ This happened /uite by accident. t first Mam"<ellehad said she was to be Monsieur Toc-Toc in the play, so Miss 9ennedy didn"t put her in thehistory play -and then Mam"<elle changed her mind and put 5oan into the %rench play instead. #o

#heila was in neither, and as she didn"t play the piano or the violin, could not recite at all, and wasno good at dancing, she felt very left-out.#he said nothing. t first nobody noticed that she wasn"t going to be in anything, because it hadall happened accidentally. Then sabel noticed that #heila was looking mopey and asked her why.'&hat"s up3 2ad bad news from home or something3' 'Oh, no,' said #heila. '*othing"s wrong.'sabel said no more but watched #heila for a few days. #he soon noticed that she was not ineither of the plays and was not doing anything by herself either. ' say+ believe you"re miserablebecause you"re not in the concert+' said sabel. ' thought you were going to be in the %renchplay.' ' was,' said #heila, uncomfortably. '$ut then Mam"<elle chose some one else. "m not inanything, and every one will notice it, sabel. do so hate being left out.' '&ell, it wasn"t done onpurpose, silly,' said sabel, laughing.' feel as if it was,' said #heila. ' know "m not much good at anything, but it doesn"t make it anybetter when "m not even given the chance to do anything.' 'Oh, don"t be an idiot+' said sabel.

#heila looked obstinate. 6ike many weak people she could be really pig-headed.'&ell, "m fed up+' she said. ' shan"t go to the rehearsal or anything. "ll (ust go off by myself.''&ell, anyway, you might at least take an interest in what the form is doing, even if you"re notdoing anything yourself+' cried sabel, indignantly. 'That"s mean and stupid.' '"ll be mean andstupid then,' said #heila, almost in tears, and she went off by herself.sabel told !at. 'Oh blow+' said !at. '5ust as we were getting #heila to be sensible too, and givingher a chance. 0on"t let"s bother about her+ f she wants to feel she"s left out and slighted whenshe isn"t, let her+' 5anet came up and listened to the tale. #he had been very good to #heila thelast week or two, for she had really felt very guilty over her loss of temper. #he looked thoughtfulnow. '*o -- don"t let"s undo the good work we"ve been trying to do+' she said. '6et"s think ofsomething. know once was left out of a match when badly wanted to be in it, and although "mnot such a silly as #heila, still did feel pretty awful. remember thinking that the whole schoolwould be whispering about me, wondering what had done to be out of the match+' The twins

laughed. 5anet was so sensible and (olly that they couldn"t imagine her worrying about a thing likethat.'t"s all very well to laugh,' said 5anet. 'ou are twins and have always got each other to back upand laugh over things with -- but when you"re a naturally lonely person like #heila, it"s different.6ittle things get awfully big.' 'ou are sticking up for #heila all of a sudden,' said !at, in surprise.'*o, "m not. ll say is - don"t let"s spoil what we"ve been trying to do,' said 5anet, impatiently.'Oh, well -- you think of something then,' said sabel. ' can"t+' The twins went off. 5anet sat downand began to think. #he was impatient and impulsive, but once she had set her hand to anythingshe wouldn"t give up. #heila wanted help again, and 5anet was going to give it.'7osh+ "ve got it+' said 5anet to herself. '&e"ll make her prompter, of course+ &e need some one



at rehearsals with the book, ready to prompt any of us who forgets. nd my goodness, forget mywords all right+ "ll go and ask #heila if she"ll be prompter at rehearsals and on the concert nighttoo.' #he went off to find #heila. t was some time before she found her, and then at last she ranher to earth in the art room, tidying out the cupboards.' say, #heila+ &ill you do something for us3' cried 5anet. '&ill you be prompter for the play3 &eget into an awful muddle trying to prompt each other, and it would be an awful help to have someone with the book, who will follow the words and help when we go wrong.' ' wouldn"t be anygood at that,' said #heila, rather sullenly.'Oh, yes, you would, idiot+' said 5anet. 't would be such a help, #heila. !lease do. #ome of usare sure to be nervous on the concert night too, and it would be nice to know you were at theside, ready to prompt us with the words.' 'll right.' said #heila, rather ungraciously. #he had feltthat if she wasn"t in the plays, she (olly well wouldn"t "help at all. $ut that was small and mean --and #heila was doing her best not to be that.#o she became prompter, and attended all the rehearsals with the book of words. #he soonbegan to en(oy it all, and loved the play. #he did nothing but stand or sit with the book, promptingthose who forgot, whilst the others had the fun of acting. $ut she didn"t grumble or complain, andthe twins secretly thought she was behaving rather well.'7ood for 5anet to have thought of that,' said !at.'es - she thought #heila was going to refuse,' said sabel. '"m not at all sure wouldn"t havesaid no, if it had been me+' ' shouldn"t have let you+' said !at.

Two weeks before the end of the term an accident happened. 4era, a very /uiet girl in the firstform, fell during gym. and broke her arm. #he broke it (ust by the wrist and had to be taken off tohospital to have it Jrayed. t was set in plaster, and her parents decided that as it was so near theend of the term, she might as well go home, instead of staying the last two weeks.'t"s her right arm, so she won"t be able to write at all,' said her mother to Miss Theobald. 't wouldbe (ust as well for her to be /uiet at home.' #o poor 4era said good-bye and went, promising tobe back the next term with her arm mended again+ nd then there was consternation in the class,because 4era had an important part in the play+ '7olly+ &hat"s to be done3' said !at, in dismay.'*o one else can possibly learn all the words in time.4era had such a big part.' 1very one stared round in despair. Those who were not in the play feltperfectly certain that they could not possibly learn the big part in so short a time. nd then 5anetspoke.'There"s some one who does know all the words+' she cried. '#heila, you do+ ou"ve been

prompting us at every rehearsal, and you know every part+ ou"re the only one who"s beenfollowing the words page by page in the book. an"t you take 4era"s part3' #heila went bright red.

ll the girls looked at her expectantly.'7o on -- say you will,' said !at. 'ou can do it (ust as well as 4era+' ' should love to,' said#heila. '"m sure could do it+ know every word+ &ell - know every word of every part now, ofcourse - but "d (ust love to do 4era"s part. like it best of all.' '7ood+' cried !at. 'That"s settledthen. &e"ll get some one else to be prompter and you must be in the play.' '#o at the nextrehearsal #heila was not prompter, but took one of the most important parts. #he was /uite word-perfect, and because she had so often watched 4era doing the part, she was able to act it verywell.1very one was pleased. They had all known that #heila was hurt because she had been left Outof everything by accident, and had admired her for taking on the rather dull (ob of prompter -- andnow that she had had such an unexpected reward the whole form was delighted.

$ut nobody was more delighted than #heila herself. #he was really thrilled with her good luck.#he went about with a smiling face, and was so unexpectedly fly that the class could hardlybelieve it was #heila.$ut #heila did not forget to write and tell 4era how sorry she was to hear about her accident. #heremembered some one else"s disappointment in the middle of her own pleasure. es -- #heilawas well on the way to becoming somebody now+

9athleen 2as #ecret One afternoon, when !at, sabel and 9athleen were coming back from the town across thefields, they heard a whining noise from the hedge.



'That"s a dog+' said 9athleen at once, and she ran to see. The others followed - and there, in theditch, they saw a half-grown rough-haired terrier, its chest and face bleeding.'t"s been shot+' cried 9athleen indignantly. '6ook at all the pellets in its poor legs+ Oh+ t"s thathateful fanner who lives over the hill. 2e always swears he"ll shoot any dog that goes wanderingin his fields.' '$ut why3' asked !at, in surprise. '0ogs go all over the fields.' 'es - but sheep arein these fields, and soon the lambs will be born,' said 9athleen. '0ogs chase sheep, you know,and frighten them.' '&ell, this poor animal has been shot,' said !at. '&hat are we going to dowith it3' '"m going to take it back to school with me and look after it,' said 9athleen. #he was/uite cra<y over animals. The twins looked at her in astonishment.'ou won"t be able to keep him,' said !at. 'nd anyway, you ought to ring up the police andreport him.#uppose his owner is looking for him3' '&ell, "ll ring up and see if any one has been asking forhim,' said 9athleen. '$ut if you think %m going to leave a dog bleeding all by itself out in thefields, you"re (olly well mistaken+' 'll right, all right+' said sabel. '$ut how are you going to takehim home3 2e"ll cover you with blood.' 's if care about that+' said 9athleen, picking the dog upvery gently. 2e whined again, but snuggled down into the girl"s aims, knowing /uite well that theywere kind and friendly.They walked back to school with the dog. They debated where to put him. *o girl was allowed tokeep a dog, and if he were discovered he would certainly be sent off. nd 9athleen was /uitedetermined that she was going to nurse him till he was better+ 'ould we keep him in the bicycle

shed3' asked !at.'Oh, no. 2e would be much too cold,' said 9athleen, standing behind the bushes with the dog inher arms, pondering how to get him into school without being seen. '&ait a minute - let"s think.'They all thought. Then !at gave an exclamation. ' know &hat about that little box-room nearthe hot tank upstairs in the attics3 2e"d be warm there, and right away from every one. *obodyever goes there.' 'nd we"re not supposed to either,' said sabel. '0ash+ &e always seem to bedoing things we oughtn"t to do.' '&ell, this is for the dog"s sake,' said 9athleen. '"m willing to doanything. !oor darling+ 0on"t whine like that. promise "ll make you better soon.' 5anet cameround the corner and saw the three of them standing by the bushes. '2allo+' she said. '&hat"sup3 &hat have you got there3 dog+ 7oodness gracious. &hat"s wrong with him3' '2e"s beenshot,' said 9athleen. '&e"re going to keep him in the boxroom upstairs in the attics till he"s better.

re you going down to the town, 5anet3 &ell, be a sport and ask at the police station if anyonehas reported a lost dog. f they have, ask for their name and address, and "ll tell them "ve got him

safely.' 'll right,' said 5anet. '$ut lookout that he doesn"t make a noise or you"ll get into trouble.ou"re /uite batty over animals, 9athleen+ 7ood-bye+' 5anet rushed off to get her bicycle.9athleen turned to the twins. 'ou go and see that the coast is clear,' she said. 'nd let"s thinkwhat to have for a bed for him.' 'There"s an old wooden box in the gardener"s shed,' said sabel,eagerly. 'That would do nicely. "ll get it.' #he ran to get it !at went indoors to see if it was safe for 9athleen to take the dog in. #he whistled a little tune, and 9athleen ran in with the dog. The twoof them scurried up the stairs without meeting any one -but round the corner of the corridor theycould hear footsteps coming and the loud voice of Mam"<elle, talking to Miss 5enks.'Oh, crumbs+' groaned 9athleen, and she turned to go down the stairs again. $ut some one wasnow coming up. !at opened the door of a big broom cupboard and pushed 9athleen and the doginto it. #he shut the door, and then dropped on one knee, pretending to do up her shoe. 5ust asMam"<elle and Miss 5enks passed her, the dog in the cupboard gave a whine. Mam"<elle lookedround m surprise 'Tiens+ &hy do you whine like a dog3' she asked !at, and passed on, thinking

that girls were indeed funny creatures. !at giggled, and opened the door when the twomistresses had gone by.'0id you hear what Mam"<elle said3' she asked. 'ome on - it"s all right now. &e can get up theattic stairs in a trice+' They went up to the top of the school. The attics were (ust under the roof,and the boxrooms were a peculiar shape, being small, with slanting roofs, and almost im;KDpossible to stand up in. 2ere were kept the trunks and cases belonging to the girls. Theboxrooms were only visited twice a term - once when the trunks were put there, and once whenthey were brought down to be packed.

fter a moment sabel came up with the box and an old rug she had found in the lockerdownstairs in the gym. The girls chose the little boxroom next to the hot tanks. t was warm and



cosy. They set the wooden box down in a corner and tucked the old rug into it. t made a verycosy bed.Then 9athleen set to work to bathe the dog"s wounds. t took a long time, and the dog laypatiently till it was finished, licking 9athleen"s careful hands as she bathed him.'ou"re awfully good with animals,' said !at, watching her. 'nd doesn"t he love you3' '"m goingto be a vet when "m grownup,' said 9athleen. 'There you are, my beauty, you"re all right now.0on"t lick off that ointment more than you can help+ 6ie /uietly here now, and you"ll soon be allright again+ "ll bring you some water and some food.' The bell went for prep. and the three girlshurried downstairs, carefully closing the boxroom door behind them. They met 5anet as they wentinto the classroom.' asked at the police station,' whispered 5anet. '$ut they said nobody had reported a dog. hadto tell them what he was like and they wanted your name and address.' '7racious+ &hat an idiotyou are+' whispered back 9athleen, as she took her seat. '&hatever will Miss Theobald say if thepolice ring up the school and ask for me+ )eally, 5anet+' '&ell, had to give it+' whispered 5anet.'ou can"t say no to the police, can you3 nyway, don"t expect the dog will be reported, so don"tworry+' $ut 9athleen did worry. &hen she heard the telephone bell ringing that evening she was/uite sure that it was the police ringing up the 2ead Mistress. $ut it wasn"t. The girls breathedwith relief when they heard that it was a message for Miss )oberts.The dog was given water and food. 2e lay /uite /uietly in his basket and was as good as gold.'2e ought to have a run before we go to bed,' said 9athleen, anxiously. '2ow are we to manage

it3' '6et"s bundle him up in a heap of the clothes we are using for the play,' said !at. 'f anyonemeets us they will think we are (ust taking a pile of clothes for rehearsal. "ll get some+' #o, fiveminutes before bedtime the girls crept up the attic stairs with a heap of clothes. The surprised dogwas carefully tucked up in them, with (ust his nose showing so that he could breathe.Then 9athleen carried him downstairs, whispering to him so that he would lie /uiet. 2e did notwant to be /uiet at all, and struggled violently, but luckily the girls met nobody except Matron. #hewas in a hurry, and hardly glanced at them.'ou won"t be in time for bed if you aren"t /uick+' she called. The girls giggled, and went out intothe garden by a little-used door. They set the dog free in a tiny yard where the gardenerschopped firewood and logs, and he limped about (oyfully. Then they packed him up in the pile ofclothes again, and scurried indoors.This time they were not so lucky. They met $elinda Towers+ #he stopped and glared at them.'0on"t you know that your bed-time bell has gone3 &hat are you doing wandering about here3

nd what on earth is that in those clothes3' The dog struggled to get out and its head came outwith a (erk. 'Oh, we"ve been trying so hard not to let any one see him+' said 9athleen, almost intears. $elinda, he"s been shot, he"s. . .' '0on"t tell me anything about him and shan"t now,' said$elinda, who was very fond of animals too.7o on - take that pile of clothes away -- and go to your dormitory /uickly.' '7ood old $elinda+'said !at, as the three of them went up the stairs to the boxroom. 'sn"t she a sport3'talk about *elson turning the blind eye - she turned a blind eye on our dog all right+ 0o hurry,9ath. &e really shall get into a row if we"re much longer+' They tucked the dog up again in hisbasket. 2e licked their bands and wuffed a very small bark. 'sn"t he clever3' cried 9athleen, indelight. '2e even knows he that he must whisper a bark.' '&ell, it was a pretty loud whisper,' said!at. 'ome on. 6et"s go down and hope that 2ilary won"t say a word. t"s about the first time we"vebeen late, anyway. hope the dog doesn"t bark the place down in the night+' 'Of course he won"t+'said 9athleen, shutting the boxroom door carefully. '2ell sleep all night - and in he morning, very

early, ll take him for a run again.' They tore down to their dormitory, to find 2ilary getting mostexasperated with them. '&here have you been3' she demanded. 'ou know it"s my (ob to seeyou"re here on time at nine o"clock. t"s too bad of you.' '&e"ve been putting a dog to bed,'whispered 9athleen. 2ilary stared in surprise.'&hat did you say3' she asked. '!utting what to bed3' '#hall tell every one3' said 9athleen tothe twins. They nodded. t was lovely to have a secret -- but it was great fun to surprise every oneand tell it+ #o 9athleen explained about the hurt dog, and every one listened in ama<ement.'%ancy taking a dog to the boxroom+' cried 0oris. "&ell, "d never dare to do that+ #uppose Matronwent up there+ #he"d soon find him+' "&ell, we shall only keep him for a day or two till he"s /uitebetter,' said 9athleen. 'Then we"ll have found out where he belongs to and can take him back.'



$ut it wasn"t /uite as easy as all that+

The #ecret s Out+ The dog made no noise at all in the night. 9athleen managed to wake very early, and creep upto the box-room to take him for a run in the little wood-yard. 2e completely refused to be takendown all wrapped up again, so 9athleen had to put a bit of string round his neck and lead himdown the stairs. 2e made rather a noise flopping down, but nobody came to see what was thematter.t was marvellous the way his legs and chest and face bad healed during the night. 9athleen wasvery pleased. The dog fawned round her legs in the yard, and tried to (ump up to lick her hand.The girl thought he was a marvellous dog, and hoped against hope that no one would claim him.'f only l could keep him until the end of term, and then take him home+' she thought. "&ouldn"t itbe lovely+' #he took him back to the boxroom again. This time he didn"t want her to leave him,and after she had shut the door and gone back to the dormitory she felt sure she could hear himwhining and scraping against the door.The first-form"s classroom was (ust underneath the boxrooms. The room where the dog was notexactly overhead but more to the right. 9athleen listened anxiously to see if he was making anynoise during school time. 2er sharp ears heard the patter of feet and small whines, but Miss)oberts apparently heard &hen Mam"<elle came to take a %rench lesson, however, she heard the dog /uite plainly+ 2er

ears were exceedingly keen. The first time that the dog whined, she looked up in surprise.'&hat can that noise be3' she said.'&hat noise, Mam"<elle3' asked sabel, with an innocent face.'The noise of a dog+' said Mam"<elle, impatiently.'The whine, the bark+ s it possible that you have not heard it, sabel+' ll the class pretended tolisten hard. Then the girls shook their heads.'ou must be mistaken, Mam"<elle,' said 0oris, gravely.'There surely isn"t a dog in the school,' said 5oan. 'Only the kitchen cats.' Mam"<elle was reallymost astonished to think that she was the only one who heard the strange noises.'h, it must be something wrong with my ears, then,' she said, and she shook her big headvigorously. ' will get the doctor to syringe them for me. cannot have dogs barking and whining inmy head.' The class, already in a state of giggle, was glad to burst into laughter at this. Mam"<ellerapped on the desk.

'1nough+ made no (oke+ Take down dict@e, please.' The class went on with its work. The dogin the boxroom explored the place thoroughly, and, (udging by the noise, tried a good deal ofscratching at the door and the walls. Mam"<elle looked extremely pu<<led once or twice, andglanced at the girls to see if they too had noticed the noises - but one and all went serenely onwith their work, and appeared to hear nothing -- so Mam"<elle pressed her ears thoughtfully, andmade up her mind to see the doctor that very same day.The twins and 9athleen spent most of their free time in the boxroom with the dog. t was alwaysso pleased to see them, and they all grew very fond of it indeed. The only exasperating thing wasthat when they left it, it would bark and whine after them, and try to scratch the door open. Theywere always afraid that somebody would hear it then.$ut two days went by safely, and it was not discovered. The girls fed it, gave it water, and took itdown secretly for runs in the woodyard. 9athleen really adored the little creature, and indeed itwas a very intelligent and affectionate animal.

's nobody has claimed to be its owner, really think might keep it for myself, don"t you3' asked9athleen, anxiously, as she and the twins stroked the dog up in the boxroom one free half-hour 'do love him so 2e really is a darling couldn"t bear to take him to the police-station now and leavehim there, ou know, if nobody claimed him at all the police would have him put to sleep.' '&ell,you keep him then,' said !at. 'There isn"t much longer till the end of the term. $ut you"ll have tomove him out of here when the maids come up to get down our boxes for us. That"s very soon. don"t see what you"re going to do, really don"t+' 2owever, the twins and 9athleen did not need tobother about what was going to happen because the dog soon decided things for himself.One morning about "four days after he had been found, he lay down in a bit of wintry sunshinethat came slanting through the attic window. t made him feel restless and he (umped up and



prowled round. 2e came to the door and stood sniffing at it. Then he began to (ump at the handle. fter a while he managed, /uite by chance, to (erk the catch back - and the door opened+ Thedog was delighted. 2e pushed it wide open with his nose and trotted down the attic stairs.*ow all might still have been well if one of the school cats bad not been lying fast asleep on a matunderneath one of the corridor radiators. The dog sniffed the cat-smell, and trotted up in delight.&hat+ cat+ nd what was more, a cat asleep+ &ith a loud wuff the dog leapt on the cat in play. twas only a puppy and would not really have hurt it -but the cat was in a most terrible fright t leaptup, gave an anguished yowl, and fled down the corridor, its tail straight up in the air. The doggave chase at once, prancing along on all four puppy-legs+ nd that was how Miss Theobald metthe dog.#he was going along to one of the classrooms when first the cat and then the dog shot round herlegs. #he turned in ama<ement. ats there were in the school, because of mice -- but where inthe world did a dog suddenly appear from3The cat leapt out of a window. The dog paused, surprised that the cat had disappeared sosuddenly. Then he decided to go and find 9athleen. 2e thought he had smelt her somewherealong the passage #o off be trotted again, and soon came to the f irst-form classroom. 2e stoodup on his hind legs and whined and scratched.Mam"<elle was once again giving a %rench lesson, and the whole class was busy correcting its%rench prep., and writing cut various mistakes. &hen the dog (umped up at the door and whined,Mam"<elle leapt to her feet.

'Tiens+ This time it is not my ears+ t is in truth a dog+' #he marched to the door and opened it. nran the dog, his tail wagging nineteen to the do<en, and went straight to 9athleen. 2ow all theclass stared+ nd after him came Miss Theobald, determined to unravel the mystery of the dog+#he looked into the classroom and saw Mam"<elle stamping up and down, and 9athleen doingher best to /uiet the excited dog+ '&hat is all this disturbance3' asked Miss Theobald in her /uiet,serious voice. Mam"<elle turned to her at once, her hands wagging above her shoulders as shepoured out how she had heard a dog some days ago, and how he had come to the door andscratched.' think perhaps 9athleen knows more about him than any one3" said Miss Theobald, noticinghow the animal fawned on the girl, and how she stroked and patted him. '9athleen, come with-me, and perhaps you can give me an explanation.' 9athleen, rather pale, stood up. #he followedthe 2ead to her room, the dog trotting amiably at her heels. Miss Theobald made her sit down.' didn"t mean to do any wrong,' said 9athleen, beginning her tale '$ut he was so hurt. Miss

Theobald, and do so much love dogs, and "ve never had any pet of my own, and...' '$egin atthe beginning,' said the 2ead. #o 9athleen told the whole story, and Miss Theobald listened. tthe end she reached for the telephone and took off the receiver. #he asked for the police station.9athleen"s heart stood still+ &hatever was the 2ead going to say+ Miss Theobald en/uired if anydog had been reported missing. pparently none had. Then she asked what would happen if adog was kept, that had been found hurt. 't had no collar when it was found,' she explained.

fter a while she put down the receiver and turned to 9athleen, who now had the dog on herknee.' can"t imagine how you have kept the dog hidden all this time,' she said, 'and am not going toen/uire. know you are fond of animals. &ell, apparently there is no reason why you should notkeep the dog for yourself, if no one claims it within a certain time. #o propose to let you keep ituntil you return home for the holidays, and if your aunt will let you have it, you can take it back.$ut it must be kept in the stables, 9athleen. %or once in a way will relax the rule that says no pet

must be kept, and let you have the dog until the holidays.' f 9athleen had not been in such aweof the 2ead she would certainly have flung her arms round her neck+ s it was she could hardlyswallow a lump that suddenly appeared in her throat, which made it very difficult for her to sayanything. $ut she managed to stammer out her thanks. The dog was not in awe of MissTheobald, however -- and he went to her and licked her hands solemnly, for all the world as if heknew what had been said+ 'Take him to the stables now, and get one of the men to find a goodplace for him,' said" Miss Theobald. 'nd next time you want to do anything peculiar, 9athleen,come and ask either me or Miss )oberts first+ t really would save /uite a lot of trouble+' 9athleenhurried off, her eyes shining. The dog trotted after her. $efore she went to the stables the girl ranback to her classroom and burst in, her cheeks flushed and her eyes sparkling.



' say+' she cried. '"m to keep the dog. "m to take him home if my aunt.. .' '9athleen+ will nothave my class interrupted in this scandalous way+' cried Mam"<elle, rising in wrath from her desk.9athleen took one look at her and disappeared. #he went to the stables and found one of thegardeners. 2e soon gave the dog a place, and 9athleen left him, happy in the thought that nowshe could come and take him for a walk whenever she wanted to.On her way back to her form she met $elinda Towers, off for a practice in the lacrosse field.'$elinda+' she cried. 'The dog escaped and came to me in the classroom+ nd he chased a catand Miss Theobald saw him and came after him - and she"s letting me keep him+'

'7ood for you+' said $elinda. '*ow bu<< off back to your form. ou first-form kids always seemto be doing something extraordinary+' 9athleen bu<<ed off #he went very, very /uietly back to the%rench lesson and sat down. Mam"<elle still had a lot to say, but the words rolled off 9athleen"shead like water off a duck"s back. #he sat and dreamed of the dog who was really to be her veryown.'nd if you do not pay more attention to me will give you a three-page essay to write about dogsin %rench+' she suddenly heard Mam"<elle say, and pulled herself together The whole class wasgrinning at her Mam"<elle was glaring half-angry half-amused, for the girl had really not heard aword until then 9athleen didn"t at all want to write a three-page essay in %rench 7ood gracious+#he wouldn"t be able to take the dog for a walk. #o for the next twenty minutes she workedharder than any one in the class, and Mam"<elle said no more+ nd during the half-hour betweenmorning school and dinner, four girls crowded round an excited dog and /uarrelled as to what

name he should be given+ '"m his owner and "m going to choose+' said 9athleen, firmly. '2isname is $inks. don"t know why -- but he looks like a $inks to me.' #o $inks he was, and $inkshe remained till the last day of term came and he went home with 9athleen. &hat a time he badtill then, with do<ens of girls clamouring to take him for walks, and bringing him so many things toeat that he grew as fat as a barrel+ 1ven the mistresses loved him and gave him a pat when theymet him out with 9athleen.

ll but Mam"<elle, who thought that school was no place for dogs+ '2e is abominable+' she said,whenever she saw him. 'That dog+ 2ow he disturbed my class+' $ut there was a twinkle in hereye, so nobody took her seriously+

#hock %or sabel 1xams. began. The twins were very anxious to do well in them, for they badly wanted to be topin something. They had caught up well with the rest of their form, but as most of the other girls

had been there a good deal longer than they had, Miss )oberts told them that they could notexpect to come out top that term.The maths. exam. came first. t was /uite a stiff one, for Miss )oberts had taught her form a gooddeal that term and expected them to make a good showing. !at and sabel groaned over it, butdid their best.' know got /uestions E,G and H /uite wrong,' said sabel, when they compared their papersafterwards. ' think got the problems right though, but they took me so long to pu<<le out that didn"t do them all.' ' bet "ll be bottom,' said !at, dismally. #he still at times resented being a'nobody', as she put it, though she was rapidly forgetting all the high-and-mighty ideas she hadheld at first.%rench wasn"t so bad. Thanks to 'Mam"<elle bominable"s' coaching the twins were now well upto the average of their class in writing. t was poor 0oris who 'fell down' in %rench. #hestammered and stuttered in the oral exam. and drove Mam"<elle nearly frantic.

'2ave taught you three terms already and still you speak %rench like a four-year-old in thekindergarten3' she stormed. '*ow repeat tome again one of the %rench verses you learnt thisterm.' The crosser Mam"<elle got, the worse poor 0oris became. #he ga<ed hopelessly round theclass, and winked at the twins.'h+ ou wink+ ou will soon wink the other side of your face+' cried Mam"<elle, getting all mixedup. 'ou will have nought for your oral %rench.' s 0oris had expected to be bottom anyhow thisdid not disturb her a great deal. #he sat down thankfully.5oan was next, and as she was good at %rench, Mam"<elle calmed down a little.The exams. went on until only the geography one was left. The twins examined the lists eachmorning and were sad to see that they were not top in anything at all. They were not even second



in anything+ !at managed to get third in nature, and sabel fifth in history, but that was the highestthey reached+ '7olly+ Our exam. marks won"t look too good on our reports,' sighed !at. '&e werealways top in most things at )edroofs, long before we were head of the school. Mother and0addy won"t like us not being top in a single thing here.' '&hy, they"ll think we did what we said,and didn"t try at all,' said sabel. 'Oh, blow+ nd we have been trying. &hat a pity we said all wedid before we came. don"t see how 0addy can help feeling we"ve slacked all this term. 2e"s soused to getting reports that show us top in nearly everything.' '&ell -- there"s only the geographyexam. left,' said !at. "&e might be top in that -- but doubt it+ don"t feel know an awful lot about

frica, though we"ve been studying the wretched place all term. &hich part of it do the Lulus live3 never can remember.' ' wish we could (ust be top in it,' said sabel, getting out her geographytext-book, and turning over the pages. "!at - let"s cram hard all tonight and really see if we can"tdo well. ome on+' #o the two of them bent their heads over their textbooks and solemnly beganto read through the whole of the lessons they bad had that term on frica. They looked at themaps they had drawn, and drew them roughly again two or three times. They made lists of townsand ports and said them to one another. They pored over the rivers and learnt those too, andread up about the peoples of frica, the animals and the products."&ell, really feel know something now,' said sabel, with a sigh. ' especially know all theproducts of frica, and the rivers.' 'nd especially know all about the climate,' said !at. '$ut bet we shan"t get asked /uestions about those things+ 1xam. /uestions always seem to deal withthe things you missed because you were ill, or forgot to look up, or for some reason simply can"t

remember at all+' '&ell, can"t do any more work tonight,' said sabel. ' want to finish the sleeveof the (umper %m knitting. "ve only got a few more rows to do. &here did put the pattern book3''an"t imagine,' said !at. 'ou"re always losing it. think you took it into the form-room with youthis afternoon.' '$low+' said sabel. '#o did.' #he got up and went out of the common room. #he/uite forgot that she and the others had been told not to go to the first form room that evening,because the exam. papers were to be set out there. #he sauntered along to the room, openedthe door and went in. #he walked over to her desk and opened it.es - there was the pattern-book. 7ood+ sabel took it, and then picked up a pencil that belongedto Miss )oberts. #he went to the teacher"s big desk and put it in the groove that held pencils andpens.

nd there, staring up at her from the desk were the exam. papers for tomorrow+ list ofgeography /uestions was written out very neatly on a sheet, of paper. sabel stared at them witha beating heart.

f only she knew what the /uestions were she could cram them up and answer them so perfectlythat she would be top+ &ithout thinking she hurriedly read down the /uestions. '#tate what youknow about the climate of #outh frica. &hat do you know about the race called !ygmies3 &hatdo you . ..' sabel read the /uestions from top to bottom, and then went out of the room. 2er facewas flushed and her heart was beating. 'll those /uestions are what we"ve both been looking upthis evening,' she said to herself. 't doesn"t matter me seeing the paper at all."ve already crammed up the answers.' !at looked up as sabel came back into the commonroom. '7ot the pattern book3' she asked.sabel looked down at her empty hands. *o - she had left the pattern book behind after all.'0idn"t you find it3' said !at, surprised.'es - did,' said sabel. '$ut "ve gone and left it behind after all.' '&ell, aren"t you going to goand get it3' asked !at, still more surprised. sabel hesitated. #he could not bear to go back intothe form room again.

'&hat is the matter, sabel3' asked !at, impatiently. '2ave you gone dumb3 &hat"s up3' '!at, thegeography paper /uestions were on Miss )oberts" desk,' said sabel. ' read them.' 'sabel+That"s cheating+' said !at.' didn"t think about whether it was cheating or not,' said sabel, in a troubled voice. '$ut it"s allright, !at - the /uestions were all about what we"ve been looking up this evening. #o it won"tmatter.' !at stared at sabel. sabel would not look at her. 'sabel, don"t see how in the worldyou"re going to sit for the geography exam. tomorrow when you know you"ve already seen the/uestions,' she said at last. ' dare say you could answer them all /uite perfectly without anyfurther looking up at all -- but if anyone knew about this they"d think you were a cheat. nd you"renot - you"ve always been straight and honourable. (ust don"t understand you.' ' did it all in a



hurry,' said poor sabel."&ell, you"d better tell Miss )oberts,' said !at.'Oh, can"t+' said sabel, in horror. 'ou know how strict she is. can"t' '&ell, you must answer allthe /uestions so badly that Miss )oberts will be angry with you, and then you can tell her whyyou"ve done it,' said !at. 'f she knows you haven"t taken advantage of seeing the /uestions shecan"t think you"re a cheat. ou"ll have to own up before or after. 7o on now, sabel, you know youmust.' '&ell - "ll own up afterwards,' said sabel. '"ll sit for the exam. and do the answers sobadly that "ll be bottom. Then when Miss )oberts rows me "ll tell her why. Oh, blow+ &hy was lso silly3 did it all in a hurry. might even have been top, you know - because all the /uestionswere ones could answer /uite well.' '0on"t tell me what they were,' said !at ' don"t want toknow, else "ll feel awkward about answering them. heer up, sabel, , know you well enough toknow you didn"t mean to cheat+ nybody can be silly+' sabel was not very happy that night. #hetossed and turned, wishing to goodness she hadn"t seen the geography /uestions. #he could soeasily have answered them correctly and got high marks+ &hat an idiot she had been+ Thegeography exam. was to be held first thing after prayers next day. t nine o"clock all the first formfiled into their room, and took their places. sabel saw that the exam /uestions were still on thedesk. !at saw them there too, though of course it was impossible for any one to read them.Miss )oberts came in. '7ood morning, girls+' she said. '7ood morning, Miss )oberts,' chorusedthe class, and sat down.'7eography exam. this morning,' said Miss )oberts, briskly. '0o well, please+ 5oan, come and

give out the /uestions.' sabel watched 5oan go up for the slips of paper. #he felt miserable. twas not nice to have to do badly on purpose, but there was nothing else to do.5ust as 5oan was taking up the papers Miss )oberts gave an exclamation and stopped her. '&ait+ don"t believe these are the right papers+ *o - they"re not+ 2ow stupid+ They are the exam./uestions for the second form, who have been doing frica too. 7o to Miss 5enks with these, andask her to give you the papers left on her desk. Tell her "ve left the first form"s exam. /uestionsthere, and that these are for her form.' 5oan took the papers and disappeared out of the room.sabel looked at !at. !at was smiling in delight. &hen Miss )oberts turned to write something onthe board !at leaned across and whispered to sabel.'&hat luck+ *ow you can do your best instead of your worst, old girl+ ou saw the wrong/uestions+ 2urrah+' sabel nodded. #he was really delighted too. t seemed too good to be true.Miss )oberts turned round. '*o talking+ f catch any girls whispering during exams. shalldeduct ten marks from their papers. 0o you hear me, !at3' 'es, Miss )oberts,' said !at,

meekly. 5oan came back with the right papers and distributed them round the class. sabel readhers /uickly. es- they were /uite, /uite different from the /uestions she had read last night. 2owmarvellous+ *ow she could set to work and really do her best to be top. #he would never be suchan idiot again. #he hadn"t meant to be a cheat, but it was horrible to feel like one.$ut poor sabel was rather nervous now after her experiences, and did not do nearly such a goodpaper as !at. 2er hand shook as she drew the maps re/uired, and she made some sillymistakes. #o when the papers were gathered up and corrected sabel was nowhere near the top+#he was sixth - but !at was top+ sabel was as pleased to see !at"s name heading the list as shewould have been to see her own. #he s/uee<ed her twin"s arm hard.'7ood for you, !at+' she said. "Tm (olly glad+ One of us is top in something anyhow+' !at glowedwith pleasure. t was marvellous to see her name heading the list. Miss )oberts came up andpatted her on the back.'ou did an excellent paper, !atricia,' she said. '1ighty-three per cent is very good. $ut was

surprised that sabel didn"t do better3 &hy was that, sabel3' $ut sabel did not tell her and Miss)oberts laughed and went on her way. #urprising things happened in exams. -- probably nextterm those O"#ullivan twins would be top in nearly everything + The oncert nd now the end of the term was indeed drawing near. Miss Theobald and the other mistresseswere busy making out reports, putting up lists, helping the girls with the great concert, and goingthrough exam. papers. The girls themselves were restless, looking forward to the holidays,getting ready-for the concert, wondering what their reports would be like, and nearly drivingMam"<elle mad with their inattention.Miss )oberts was more lenient, but even she grew impatient when sabel told her that there were



fourteen ounces in a pound.' know you all go slightly mad at the end of term,' she said, 'but there really is a limit to mypatience. sabel, if there was a lower form than this "d send you to it for the rest of the morning+'The last two weeks were really great fun. %or one thing all the cupboards had to be turned out,washed, dried and tidied. The twins had never done this at )edroofs #chool, and at first wereinclined to turn up their noses at such work. $ut when they saw the others tying handkerchiefsround their hair, and putting on overalls. they couldn"t help thinking it would be rather fun, eventhough the cleaning had to be done in their free lime.'ome on, !at, come on. sabel+ 0on"t stand looking stuck-up like you used to+' cried 5anet, whosensed at once the twins hadn"t done work like this before. 'ou"ll get dirty, but you can alwaysbath and wash your hair+ ome on, high-and-mighties+' This was not a name that the twins likedat all, so they climbed down at once. They found big hankies and tied up their hair. They put onoveralls, and went to (oin the others. 2ilary was in charge of the first-form cleaning.t really was fun. 1verything had to be taken out of the cupboards, and there were s/ueals andshrieks of delight when things long-lost came to light again 'Oh+ thought "d never see thatpenknife again+' s/uealed 0oris, pouncing on a small pearl-handled knife in delight. '&hereverhas it been all this time3' '7olly+ 2ere"s Miss )oberts" fountain-pen+' cried 2ilary, a little later.'6ook -- tangled up in this bundle of raffia. Oooh+ know how it got there. 0o you remember,5anet, when you dumped a whole lot of it on to Miss )oberts" desk in handwork one day, and sheob(ected, and you carted it all off to the cupboard again3 &ell, bet you took the pen with you+ My

word, what a hunt we had for it.' '&ell, for pity"s sake don"t remind her that it might have beenme,' said 5anet. '#he"s always going off the deep end about something now. 6ook -- take her thepen. sabel, and say we found it in the handwork cupboard. ou"ve been in her bad books today,so maybe you"ll get an unexpected smile+' sabel did+ Miss )oberts was delighted to see her pen,and beamed at sabel with pleasure. sabel wondered if Miss )oberts was in a good enoughtemper to be asked something. #he tried.'Miss )oberts+ "m so sorry made a mess of my maths. this morning. f promise to do bettertomorrow, need do those sums all over again3 "ve such a lot to do today.' $ut Miss )oberts wasnot to be caught like that+ 'My dear sabel+' she said, ' am delighted that you have been able togive me back my pen -- but think you"ll agree with me that that isn"t any real reason why shouldforgive you for shockingly bad work+ nd even if you find me my best hat, which unaccountablyflew from my head last #unday and completely disappeared over the fields, should still say youmust do your sums again+' The class chuckled. Miss )oberts could be very dry when she liked.

sabel laughed too and went back to the cleaning and tidying.' wish could find her hat for her+' she said. '#he"s (olly strict, but she"s an awful sport+' Therewas great excitement when the night of the concert came. %or the last few days before theconcert the girls had been in a state of great excitement, getting their lines perfect, andrehearsing everything. 1ach form was to do something and the concert was to last three hours,with a break in between for refreshments.Mam"<elle had taught %rench plays and songs to each form, and pestered the girls continually tomake sure that they were word perfect. The sixth form were doing a short 7reek play. The fifthwere doing an absurd sketch that they had written themselves, called 'Mrs. 5enkins !ays a all',and borrowed all kinds of /ueer hats and clothes from the mistresses, and even from the schoolcook+ The fourth form had got up a (a<< band, which sounded simply marvellous, thoughMam"<elle said that she could easily do without the side-drum, which could be heard rat-a-tat-tatting from a music room at all kinds of odd hours. The third form were doing part of a

#hakespeare play, and the second and first were doing plays and odd things such as 0oris"s solodance, and Tessie"s recitations.#heila was tremendously excited. #he knew that if she had been given a part in the history playat the beginning she would never have had the chance of such a big part. *ow, because of 4era"saccident, she had a fine part.#he practised it continually, thinking about it, putting in actions that 4era had never thought of,and astonishing every one by her acting.'#he"s going to be (olly good+' whispered 5anet to !at. '"m /uite getting to like old #heila now.&ho would have thought there was a hardworking, interesting little person like that underneath allthose old posings and boastings of hers+' !at and sabel worked their hardest for the concert too.



ll the mistresses and the staff were coming and the whole school would be watching. *obodymust forget their words or do anything silly. 1ach form had its own honour to uphold+ The greatnight came. There were gigglings and whisperings all day long. 6essons slacked off that day,except Mam"<elle"s %rench classes. Mam"<elle would surely not allow even an earth/uake to spoilher lessons+ *o wonder that the girls were such excellent %rench scholars by the time that theyreached the top form.The sewing mistress worked at top speed to alter dresses at the last moment. Matron provedunexpectedly good at providing a real meal in one of the plays, instead of the pretend-one that2ilary had arranged for.'7olly+ sn"t that decent of her+' said 2ilary, looking at the (ug of lemonade and the currant bunsthat Matron had presented her with. ' shall en(oy my part in the play now+' '&ell, don"t stuff yourmouth so full that you can"t speak,' grinned 5anet. ' say -- what about asking Mam"<elle to let ushave a meal of some sort in the %rench play too.' $ut nobody dared to mention such a thing toMam"<elle+ t six o"clock the concert began. 1veryone had filed into the gym., where benches and chairshad" been set ready. The stage had its curtains and footlights, and looked fine. There were pots of plants borrowed from Miss Theobald"s hothouse at the sides.The mistresses sat in the three front rows leaving their forms to look after themselves for once.The kitchen staff sat behind the mistresses. The girls were on benches at the back, completelyfilling the gym.

1veryone had a programme, designed and coloured by the girls themselves. !at was terriblyproud to see that Miss Theobald had the one that she herself had done. #he saw the 2eadlooking carefully at the design of the cover, and she wondered if Miss Theobald would see hername in the corner -- !at O"#ullivan.1very form knew when its turn was coming and knew when it must rise /uietly and go to the backof the stage to dress and await its turn. The fifth form were acting their play first, and as soon asthe curtains swung aside and showed the girls dressed up most ridiculously in odd hats and coatsand shawls, the audience went off into fits of laughter. The school cook s/uealed out, 'Oh, there"smy old hat+ never thought "d see it on a stage+' The sketch was really funny and the audienceloved it. Then came the 7reek play by the sixth which was really a serious and difficult thing tounderstand. The first-formers listened politely and clapped bard at the end, but they secretlythought that the fifth form were very much better+ The fourth form came on with their (a<< band,and this was an instant success. The drummer was simply marvellous and Mam"<elle /uite

forgave the constant irritation that the practising of the drum had given her. #winging dance tuneswere played, and the audience roared the choruses. They kept clapping for encores, but as it wasnow half-time, the (a<< band had to stop at last+ 2ow the girls en(oyed the trifles and (ellies,cream-buns, sandwiches and lemonade+ &hen they went into the dining-room to have their meal,they gasped at the sight of so much food.'7olly3 &e"ll never, never eat all that+' cried !at.'!atricia O"#ullivan, you don"t know what you"re talking about+' said 5anet, lifting up a plate ofasparagus sandwiches. '#peak for yourself+ 2ave one - or two whilst they"re here.' nd sureenough !at didn"t know what she was talking about -- for in twenty minutes not a thing was left onthe dishes+ The girls made a clean sweep of everything -- and, hidden under the long cloth of thetable, sat some one as hungry as the girls -- $inks, the puppy-dog+ 9athleen had let him outsecretly and bad tied him to a leg of the big table. #he gave him bits of sausage roll, which he ateeagerly. 2e was sensible enough not to poke his nose out in case he was discovered, and

nobody guessed he was there except sabel, who had been filled with astonishment at theamount of sausage rolls that 9athleen was apparently able to eat.Then she suddenly reali<ed what was happening. 'Oh -- you monkey, 9ath+ ou"ve got $inksthere.' '#h+' said 9athleen. '0on"t say a word. didn"t see why he should miss the fun. sn"t hegood3' $inks had a marvellous time after that, for there were two people feeding him instead ofone+ The concert began again in half an hour. The first form gave their two short plays, and #heilaacted so magnificently that the audience actually roared her name and made her come and givea special bow. The girl was happier than ever she had been in her life, and looked /ute pretty asshe stood on the stage, flushed and excited. &inifred, the head-girl, smiled across at !at to lether know how pleased she was, for she guessed that !at and the others had been giving #heila



the chance she had begged for her.The %rench play was a success too, and Mam"<elle beamed round with pleasure when she heardit clapped so heartily. 'Those first-form kids aren"t half bad,' sabel heard $elinda Towers say, andshe stored it up in her mind to tell the others later on.0oris did her dance, which was really excellent. #he too was encored, and came on again in aclown"s dress. #he proceeded to do the clown dance which bad ended so disastrously, on thenight of the 7reat %east, and this time it ended in plenty of cheers and clapping. 5ust as she wasfinishing, a disturbance arrived in the shape of $inks+ 2e had bitten through his lead and hadcome to (oin his mistress. 9athleen was in the wings at the side of the stage, watching 0orisdancing. $inks leapt up on to the stage (oyfully, to (oin 9athleen, and tripped 0oris up very neatly,for all the world as if he were (oining in the dance30oris promptly fell over (ust as the music ended. 2ow the audience laughed and cheered+ $inksturned round as he heard them, his pink tongue hanging out, and his tail wagging (oyfully. Thenhe went to 9athleen, who, fearful of being scolded, rushed off at once to put him back into thestables.$ut nobody scolded her, not even Mam"<elle, who bad never ceased to say that she thought itwas 'abominable' and 'insupportable' to allow 'that dog' in the school+ The concert ended withthe whole school singing the school song, a very swinging, heartening tune that the twins heardfor the first lime. They were the only ones who did not know it.'&ell sing it next time+' whispered !at to sabel. 'Oh, sabel+ &hat a lovely evening+ t beats

)edroofs hollow, don"t you think3' Then yawning hugely, for it was an hour past their usualbedtime, the first-formers went up to bed. They chattered and laughed as they undressed, andwere (ust as long as they liked - for this was the last evening of term, and tomorrow they werebreaking up and going home+

The 6ast 0ay *ext day the trunks were dragged down from the loft. 1ach had its owner"s name on in whitepaint, and soon they were being packed. Matron bustled to and fro, giving out clothes, and seeingthat the girls packed at least moderately well. #he made 0oris take out every single thing andbegin again.'$ut Matron, "ll never have time+' said 0oris laughing at Matron"s annoyed face.'f you stay here till next week you will pack properly+' said Matron, grimly. '0oris 1dward, yourmother and your two aunts came here years ago, and they never learnt to pack -- but you are

going to+ t is not sensible to put breakable things at the bottom of your trunk, and shoes andboots on the top of your best things. $egin again3' '9ath+ &hat"s your home address3' yelled!at. 'ou said you"d give it tome and you haven"t. want to write to you for hristmas.' 9athleenwent red with pleasure. *o one had even bothered to ask for her address before. #he wrote itdown for !at. Then there was a general exchange of addresses, and promises to telephone, andinvitations for parties after hristmas if so-and-so could only manage to come The school didn"tseem like school any more. 1verywhere there was babbling and chattering and giggling, andeven when mistresses came into the classrooms and dormitories nobody thought of being /uiet.The mistresses were excited too, and talked laughingly among themselves.'"m pleased with my lot this term,' said Miss )oberts, watching #heila throw something across to!at. 'Two or three of them have altered so much for the better that hardly know them.' '&hatabout those O"#ullivan twins3' asked Miss 5enks. ' thought they were going to be a handfulwhen they came. They were called the "stuck-up twins", you know, and at first couldn"t bear the

look of their discontented faces.' 'Oh, they"re all right,' said Miss )oberts at once. 'They"vesettled down well. They"ve got good stuff in them. One of these days #t. lare"s will be proud ofthem, mark my words3 They"re monkeys, though. 6ook out when you get them in your form sometime next year+' 'Oh, they"ll be all right after a "term or two in your tender care+' laughed Miss5enks. ' never have any trouble with girls that come up into my form from yours. t"s only the newgirls that come straight into my form that have bother with.' Mam"<elle sailed by, beaming. #healways entered every girl"s address in a little black holiday note-book, and most conscientiouslywrote to every one of them in the holidays.'7ood old "Mam"<elle bominable"+' whispered !at as she went by. Mam"<elle"s sharp ears heardwhat she said.



"&hat is that you call me3' she demanded, towering over !at as she knelt packing her trunk.'Oh - nothing, Mam"<elle,' said !at, horror-struck to think that Mam"<elle might have overheard.The other girls looked round, grinning. They all knew the twins" name for Mam"<elle.'ou will tell me, please. demand it+' insisted Mam"<elle, her eyes beginning to flash."&ell,' said !at, reluctantly, ' only call you "Mam"<elle bominable" because at first you called meand sabel and our work abominable so often. !lease don"t be cross+' $ut Mam"<elle was notcross. %or some reason the name tickled her sense of humour, and she threw back her head androared.'2a+ "Mam"<elle bominable"+ That is a fine name to call your %rench mistress. nd next term your work will be so fine that shall say you are "magnifi/ue+" and you will then call me "Mam"<elleMagnifi/ue", n"est cepas3' t last all the packing was done. 1ach girl went to say a polite good-bye to Miss Theobald. &hen the twins went in together, she looked at them seriously, and thensmiled an unusually sweet smile at them.' don"t think you wanted to come to #t. lare"s, did you3' she said. 'nd now somehow thinkyou"ve changed your minds3' 'es, we have changed our minds+' said !at honestly. #he neverminded owning up when she altered her ideas. "&e hated coming here. &e were going to bereally awful, and we did try to be. $ut -- well -- #t. lare"s is fine.' 'nd we shall simply lovecoming back again next term,' said sabel, eagerly. 't"s hard work here, and things aren"t a bit thesame as at our old school, and it"s odd being one of the young ones after being top of the school-but we"ve got used to it now.' 'One day maybe you"ll be one of the top ones at #t. lare"s,' said

Miss Theobald.$ut the thought of being as grand and great as &inifred 5ames was too much for the twins. 'Oh,no+' said !at. "&e could never, never be that+' $ut Miss Theobald smiled a secret smile. #heknew far more about the girls than they knew about themselves, and she felt sure that she wasright. These troublesome twins had the makings of fine girls, and she and #t. lare"s would see toit that they fulfilled the promise they showed.'2ere are your reports,' she said, and gave one to each girl. '7ive my love to your mother and tellher that haven"t had to expel you yet+' ' hope our reports are good,' said !at. '&e told 0addywe weren"t going to try a bit -- and if they"re bad hell think we were (olly mean.' '&ell, you"ll seewhen you get home+' said Miss Theobald, smiling. '$ut - wouldn"t worry very much, if l were you+7ood-bye+' The twins said good-bye to every one, and received fat kisses on each cheek fromMam"<elle, who seemed unaccountably fond of every girl that day. Miss )oberts shook hands andwarned them not to eat too much plum pudding. Miss 9ennedy looked rather sad she said good-

bye, for her friend, Miss 6ewis, was now /uite well, and was coming back to take up her old postthe next term.' shan"t see you again,' said 9enny, as she said good-bye to the twins. '"m going to miss you allvery much.' '7ood-bye, 9enny,' said !at. '&e were pigs to you at first - but you do forgive us forbeing piggy, don"t you3 nd do promise to write. won"t forget.' "*either will ,' said sabel, andthen 5anet and 2ilary and the rest came crowding up, and Miss 9ennedy grew /uite tearful as thegirls poured good-byes and good wishes on her. &hat a good thing it was that she hadn"t been afailure after all+ The most uproarious person that day was $inks. 2e was set free and spent histime taking chocolate from his friends, and going round licking people"s hands and faces as theyknelt to pack. *o mistress had the heart to complain about him and he had a marvellous time.'2e will hate leaving me when l come back to school again+ 'said 9athleen, as she patted his wiryhead. '$ut never mind - we shall have a whole month together. Miss Theobald wrote to my aunt,and unt is going to see if he behaves.' 'Of course he"ll behave+' said 5anet. '$ut expect hell

take after you, 9athleen - sometimes he"ll behave well -and sometimes he won"t+' 9athleenlaughed and gave 5anet an affectionate punch. #he didn"t live a great way from the twins andthey had already made plans to cycle over and see one another. #he was very happy.The bell rang to say that the first coach was ready to take the girls to the station. That was for thefirst form. #houting good-byes to their teachers, the girls ran helter-skelter down the stairs andpiled into the big motor-coach. &hat fun to be breaking up+ &hat fun to be going home tohristmas (ollities, parties and theatres+ There were hristmas presents to buy, hristmas cardsto send, all kinds of things to look forward to.!at and sabel got into the train together and sat down with the others to wait for the rest of theschool to come down in the coaches. $efore very long the engine gave a violent whistle and the



carriages (erked. They were off+ The twins craned their heads out of the window to see the last ofthe big white building they had grown to love.'7ood-bye+' said !at under her breath. '&e hated you when we first saw you, #t. lare"s+ $utnow we love you+' 'nd we"ll be glad to see you again+' whispered sabel. 'Oh, !at -- it"smarvellous that we"ll be going back in four weeks" time, isn"t it3 7ood old #t. lare"s+' nd thenthe school disappeared from sight, and the train rattled on its noisy way, singing a song thatseemed to say over and over again. '&e"re pleased we"re coming back again--TO #T. 6)1"#+&e"re pleased we"re coming back again TO-#T.-6)1"#+' funny song, but /uite a true one,thought the twins+

01 the twins at st clares

Documents