CHAPTER XIV
AN OLD ENEMY
In a moment, Billie Bradley forgot her own weariness and the fact thather head ached worse than ever. She ran to the bed and flung herself toher knees beside the sobbing girl.
“Vi! Vi Farrington! What is it, dear?”
Vi gave a sharp exclamation and sat up, trying to dry her eyes on herpocket handkerchief.
“Oh, it’s you! I didn’t mean any one to catch me at this baby trick,Billie, truly I never did. But I’m so wretched.”
“What about?”
Vi eyed her fiercely and accepted the clean handkerchief that Billiethrust into her hands.
“You, for one thing. You have been perfectly horrid, Billie Bradley,with that wild girl of yours and never having even half an eye for therest of us----”
“Vi, you silly! I never----”
“Yes, you have! Don’t you suppose I know? And then it’s that wretchedmath. I--I’ve gone and done it again.”
Vi threatened to dissolve in tears and Billie shook her rudely.
“Done what again? Don’t you dare cry----”
“Failed, of course. What did you suppose? Miss Walters called me intothe office to-day and she said, oh, B-Billie--I--I can’t tell you!”
“You’ve got to tell me,” returned Billie. “Go on, dear. What did MissWalters say?”
“Well, she told me if I didn’t do better in my math she would haveto write a note home to Dad. Can you imagine Dad getting a note likethat, Billie--or Mother? It would just about k-kill them! And I’m soperfectly d-dumb at figures!”
Billie got up and began to walk about the room. She took off her coatand smoothed back her hair while Vi watched her with tear-dimmed eyes.
“B-Billie, aren’t you going to do something?”
“Nothing else, but!” returned Billie cheerfully. “I’m merely clearingthe decks for action. Suppose you get out your books and papers andthings and we’ll try to find out what’s wrong. I reckon we’ll get tothe root of this matter in a jiffy.”
“Oh, B-Billie! When you talk like that I know that everything is goingto be all right. If you will only help----”
Billie glanced up briefly into Vi’s tear-stained face.
“You knew I’d help, didn’t you, Vi?”
Vi’s glance wavered, fell.
“I know I’ve been a fool, Billie. But I did think you were sort ofside-tracking Laura and me for that wild and woolly Edina Tooker.”
Billie shook her head reproachfully.
“You didn’t really think that, Vi. Not in your heart. Now, let’s getdown to business.”
It was so that Laura found them, some time later, heads close together,working out a problem in algebra.
“Say, you two, don’t you know it’s almost time for the supper bell toring?”
“Don’t bother us!” muttered Vi. “We’ve almost got it. There! There,that’s the right answer, isn’t it, Billie? Did I get it?”
“You did!” Billie’s smile was congratulatory. “And in record time, too.We’re coming on, Vi!”
She glanced up to find Laura’s eyes fixed upon her curiously.
“Billie Bradley, what have you done to Edina? I met her in the halldownstairs. She isn’t the same person at all.”
Billie smiled enigmatically.
“Clothes do make a difference!” she observed.
That was the beginning of the old status between the three chums. Itwas the beginning of many things, especially for Edina.
Billie’s friendship, her new clothes, and the general belief that herfather was rapidly becoming a fabulously rich man, all these thingsconspired to lift Edina from obscurity to an enviable position amongher schoolmates. She was sincerely liked by some, tolerated by many,and toadied to by a few who thought that she might some day become apowerful and colorful influence in the school life of Three Towers Hall.
In other words, as Billie had predicted, Edina was rapidly becoming apersonage.
To be sure, there were some who still disliked and distrusted the girlfrom Oklahoma, decrying her rough language and crude ways. Among thissmall minority were Rose Belser and Ray Carew, who stood, figurativelyspeaking, upon the fringe of the crowd, skeptically looking on at thistransformation of Edina Tooker.
“No good will come of it, Billie,” Rose said, more than once. “You maytame the lion cub; but underneath, it remains a lion cub just the same.Some day it will begin to scratch and claw. Then--look out!”
About this time an incident occurred that afforded Billie a good dealof amusement and Edina no little satisfaction.
The girls spent much of their recreation time on Lake Molata during thepleasant fall weather, boating and, weather permitting, swimming fromthe end of the dock.
Billie attempted to initiate Edina into these water sports, much to thenot-too-well disguised amusement of her fellow students. Edina dislikedthe water. She could not swim and she was not keen about rowing--thatis, she was not keen about it until she found that Billie was.
This is how it came about.
One day while Billie and Edina were rowing in desultory fashion somedistance from the dock, they were overhauled by Ray Carew and RoseBelser in a boat, the twin of theirs.
“Give you a race,” called Rose, as she had called many times beforewhen Laura or Vi had been in the boat with Billie. However, Edinawas neither Laura nor Vi, a fact of which Rose Belser was well andmischievously aware. Edina rowed with a stroke all her own andpossessed a positive genius for entangling her oar with that of herstroke mate.
Still Billie could not refuse the challenge.
“All right, race you to the island!” she returned.
“But, Billie!” cried Edina, aghast, “you oughtn’t to’ve said that. Ican’t row!”
“Stop talking!” Billie commanded, her jaw set. “Stop talking and row!”
Such rowing! Edina’s oar did everything but stroke the water. It satupon the top of it, it splashed spray into the boat, it entangleditself with Billie’s. By the time Ray and Rose had reached the island,Billie’s boat had succeeded in turning its nose about and was headedthe other way!
That incident was a lesson to Billie. She told Edina firmly:
“You’ve got to learn to row. That’s all there is to it. The sooner webegin the better.”
“All right,” returned Edina resignedly. “Anything you say.”
This was the beginning of much secret practice for Edina in a secludedcove, screened by much bright-colored foliage from both Three Towersand Boxton Academy.
Came a day when Billie admitted satisfaction in her pupil.
“The next time Rose--or any one else--challenges us to a race, we’llgive it to her.”
Their chance came two days later when Rose and Ray Carew again drew upalongside them and Ray asked laughingly if they cared to have revengefor the other day.
“Like nothing better,” said Billie coolly. “What shall the mark be?”
“The big rock that juts out from the Point--if you can get that far,”proposed Ray.
“We’ll try it,” Billie said calmly.
As the boat moved off to get into position for the start, Ray was heardto murmur:
“Some folks are just plain gluttons for punishment!”
Billie and Edina exchanged smiling glances and Billie leaned over towhisper:
“Remember what I’ve told you. Take it easy at the start and save yourbreath. Ready?”
“Ready!” returned Edina.
Billie gave the word to go, and they were off, swinging easily over theglassy water. For some distance they maintained the same pace, bow tobow. Then, by degrees, Rose’s boat drew ahead.
“Steady!” cautioned Billie, as Edina’s hand tightened nervously on theoar. “Watch my stroke and time yours with it That’s it! Easy now!”
The other craft was two boat-lengths ahead. Ray shouted a derisivechallenge.
“Now!” said Billie. “Keep time with me, Edina. Faster--a little faster.Now then! Let’s show the spe
ed of that good right arm!”
The oars struck the water in perfect unison, poised, struck, poisedagain, swifter, swifter, increasing that rhythmic stroke.
“Now!” cried Billie. “Put your back into it, Edina!”
With a magnificent final burst of speed, the boat swept through thewater, reaching the point well ahead of its rival.
Billie waved exultantly.
“Well,” she jeered happily, “you wanted to give us revenge, didn’t you?And we are nothing if not obliging!”
Rose and Ray were generous in defeat.
“Whatever you have done to Edina, it’s plenty,” Rose admitted. “Weother oarsmen will have to speed up if we intend to stay in the sameclass with her!”
“At least,” said Billie, with a mischievous glance at her pupil, “wedon’t go about in circles any more!”
Despite this signal victory on the lake, Billie was far from satisfiedwith herself. Rowing was one thing--tennis was quite another. On thecourts her old-time skill appeared to have deserted her. She had lost agood deal of her old speed and power. She was slower, and her opponentsfound it easier to catch her napping.
Even Vi beat her one day, which worried the loyal Vi greatly.
“What’s wrong, Billie? You are absolutely off your form. Aren’t youwell?”
“Quite,” replied Billie, and added with a worried frown: “It’s my knee,Vi. Don’t tell anybody, but ever since that awful day when I fell overthe cliff, my knee has been acting queerly. Gives out under me whenI least expect it. To-day, on the courts, I almost fell. Perhaps younoticed.”
“I’ll say I did. It was so unlike you that I thought maybe you wereputting it on--just to give me a chance to win, you know.”
Billie’s brief smile flashed out.
“I’m not quite that generous. Hello--what’s this?”
Billie looked up to see that Amanda Peabody had planted herselfstraight in the patch.
Billie said coolly:
“Did you want to speak to me, Amanda?”
Amanda’s smile was malicious.
“Not particularly. I just wanted to congratulate you on the fineshowing you made against Vi on the courts. From your performance inthat last set, I should say that every day, in every way, you aregetting better and better.”
“It wasn’t Billie’s fault,” Vi blurted out indignantly. “There’ssomething the matter with----”
“Vi!” cried Billie sharply. “I asked you to keep quiet about that.”
Amanda’s malicious grin widened until it seemed to stretch from ear toear.
“You don’t need to be so quiet about it. Everybody at Three Towersknows that there is something the matter with Billie Bradley’s tennis.It isn’t any secret if that’s what you mean.”
Vi started to speak again, but Billie squeezed her arm sharply and drewher past the outrageous girl.
“I challenge you,” Amanda called after them, her voice shrill withtriumph. “I challenge you right now to a set, Billie Bradley.”
As Billie continued onward to the Hall without even a backward glance,Amanda’s mocking laughter followed her.
“You’re afraid, Billie Bradley. You’re afraid!”
Once inside the door, Billie turned to Vi. Her hands were clenched sohard that the nails bit into the palms.
“Some day,” she promised vengefully, “I’m going to give that girl sucha beating on the courts that she’ll cry for mercy. You mark my words,Vi Farrington!”
“She’ll get something worse than a beating on the courts, if you leaveit to me, the horrid, spiteful old thing!” declared Vi furiously.