CHAPTER XVI
Amateur Conjuring
Ulyth went to her bedroom that evening in much agitation of mind. Shewas torn by conflicting impulses. At one moment she longed to tax Ronafrankly with a breach of school rules, air the whole subject, and stateher most emphatic opinion upon it. If Rona alone had been concerned inthe matter she would have done so without hesitation, but the knowledgeof the number of girls who were involved made her pause.
"I might do more harm than good," she reflected. "After the way Tootiehas been inciting them to take sides against the seniors, they'd be upin arms at the least hint. It will be worse if they know they'rediscovered, and yet go on in an even more underhand fashion."
Ulyth's abstraction was so marked that her room-mate could not fail tonotice it.
"What's the matter with you to-night?" she asked. "I've never seen youso glum before. Have you been getting into a row with Teddie?"
"I'm all right. One can't always be talking, I suppose," returned Ulythrather huffily. "Some people go on like a perpetual gramophone."
"Meaning Corona Margarita Mitchell, I suppose? As you like, O Queen!I'll shut up if my babble offends the royal ears. There! Don't look sotragic. I don't want to make myself a nuisance. But all the same it'sdepressing to see you looking like a mixture of Hamlet and Ophelia andIphigenia and--and--Don Quixote. Was he tragic too? I forget."
"Hardly," said Ulyth, smiling in spite of herself.
"Well, I get mixed up among history and literature, can't alwaysremember which is real and which is make-up. It's a fact. I put downPortia as history in my exercise yesterday, and said the story of theSpanish Armada was told by Chaucer. Now you're laughing, and you lookmore like Ulyth Stanton. Sit down on this bed. There! Open your mouthand shut your eyes, and see what the king will send you!"
Rona was fumbling in her drawer as she spoke. She turned round, seizedher friend boisterously and forced her on to the bed, then, holding ahand over her eyes, crammed a chocolate almond into her mouth.
"Rona! What are you doing?" protested Ulyth, shaking herself free."Where did you get this chocolate?"
Rona pulled a face expressive of mingled secrecy, delight, and triumph.
"Rats!" she chuckled enigmatically. "Little girls shouldn't askquestions."
"But I want to know."
"That's not sporty! Take the goods the gods send you, and don't ask 'emwhat tree they picked them from."
"But, Rona----"
"Are you two girls still out of bed and talking?" said an indignantvoice, as Miss Lodge opened the door and glared reproval. "Make haste. Igive you three minutes, and if you're not ready by then I shall reportyou. Not another word! I'm astonished at you, Ulyth, for breaking thesilence rule."
"I didn't hear the half-past nine bell," replied Ulyth, abashed.
"Then it's your business to hear it. It's loud enough. Everybody else onthe landing is in bed."
Miss Lodge put out the light and walked away, with a final warningagainst further conversation. Rona was asleep in a few minutes,breathing calmly and peacefully as was her wont, but Ulyth lay awake fora long time watching a shadow on the wall cast from the beech-treeoutside. Where had Rona got her chocolates? The answer was perfectlyplain. With the little brooch for evidence there could be no mistake.
"She's not so bad as the others, because I really don't think she quiterealizes even yet what school honour means. But Tootie and her scoutsknow. There's no excuse for them. Well, only two days now, and Mrs.Arnold will be here. What a tower of strength she is! I can tell hereverything. Friday will very soon come now, thank goodness!"
But those two days were to bring events of their own, events quiteunprecedented in the school, and unexpected by everybody. How theyaffected Ulyth and Rona will be related farther on in our story; butmeantime, for a true understanding of their significance, we must pauseto consider a certain feature of the life at The Woodlands. When MissTeddington had joined partnership with Miss Bowes she had added many newideas to the plan of education which had formerly been pursued.
She was determined that the school should not be dubbed "old-fashioned",and by all means in her power she kept it abreast of the times. So welldid she succeed that the girls were apt to complain that their secondPrincipal was a crank on education, and fond of trying every freshexperiment she could get hold of. The various enterprises added anatmosphere of novelty, however, and prevented the daily life fromdegenerating into a dull routine. No one ever knew what scheme MissTeddington might suggest next; and even if each course was not pursuedfor very long, it did its work at the time, and was a factor in thegeneral plan. All kinds and varieties of health exercises had had theirday at The Woodlands--poles, dumb-bells, clubs, had been in turndiscarded for deep breathing or for swimming motions. Slow minuets orlively tarantellas were danced, according to the fashion of the moment,and had the virtue of teaching stately dignity as well as poetry ofmotion. It was rumoured sometimes that Miss Teddington, with her eye onthe past, contemplated a revival of backboards, stocks, andchest-expanders; but those instruments of torture, fortunately, nevermade their appearance, much to the relief of the intended victims, whohad viewed their advent with apprehension.
Naturally, dancing and indoor P.T. went on mostly in the winter months,their place being taken by outdoor drill during the summer term. TheCamp-fire movement had appealed to Miss Teddington. She would herselfhave liked to be "Guardian of the Fire" and general organizer of theLeague, but her better judgment told her it was wiser to leave thatoffice to one who had not also to wield the authority of a teacher. Shesupported the League in every way that came within her province. AsCamp-fire honours were given for nature study, astronomy, and geology,she took care that all had a chance to qualify in those directions; andlately, acting on a hint from Mrs. Arnold, she had made a special pointof manual training. Since Christmas the studio had assumed a newimportance in the school. It was a big glass-roofed room at the top ofthe house, reached by a small stair from the west bedroom landing. Acarpenter's bench stood at one end of it, and wood-carving went onfairly briskly. The girls might come in at any time during theirrecreation hours, and the occupation was a great resource on wet days.Bookbinding, stencilling, clay modelling, and fretwork were includedamong the hobbies, and though there might not be definite lessons given,there were handy primers of instruction on the book-shelf, and it wasinteresting to try experiments.
"Do something on your own initiative. Take the book and puzzle it out,even if you make a few mistakes," urged Miss Teddington. "Nothing butpractice can give you the right feel of your tools; you'll learn morefrom a couple of failures than from a week's work with a teacher at yourelbow the whole time, saying 'Don't!'"
So the girls struggled on, making merry at each other's often ratherindifferent efforts, but gaining more skill as they learnt to handle thematerials with which they worked. If the mallet hit the chisel sovigorously as to spoil a part of the pattern, its wielder was wiser nexttime; and the experimenters in pyrography soon learned that a red-hotneedle used indiscreetly can dig holes in leather instead of ornamentingit. Such "dufferisms", as the girls called them, became rarer, and manyquite creditable objects were turned out, and judged worthy of atemporary place on the view-shelf.
Since Christmas a very special feature had been added to the handicraftdepartment. Miss Teddington had caused apparatus to be fixed for theworking of art jewellery. A furnace and a high bench with all necessaryequipment had been duly installed. This was a branch much tootechnically difficult for the girls to attempt alone, so a skilledteacher had been procured, who came weekly from Elwyn Bay to givelessons. Those girls who took the course became intensely enthusiasticover it. To make even a simple chain was interesting, but when theyadvanced to setting polished pebbles or imitation stones as brooches orpendants, the work waxed fascinating. Some of the students proved muchmore adept than others, and turned out really pretty things.
There was not apparatus for many pupils to work, so the class had beenlimited to seniors,
among whom Doris Deane, Ruth White, and StephanieRadford had begun to distinguish themselves. Each had made a smallpendant, and while the craftsmanship might be amateurish, the generaleffect was artistic. Miss Teddington was delighted, and wishing to airher latest hobby, she decided to send the three pendants, together withsome other specimens of school handiwork, to a small Art exhibitionwhich was to be held shortly at Elwyn Bay. Miss Edwards, the teacher whocame weekly to give instruction, was on the exhibition committee, andpromised to devote a certain case to the articles, and place them in agood light. Though small shows had been held at The Woodlandsoccasionally in connection with the annual prize distribution, theschool had never before ventured to send a contribution to a publicexhibition, and those whose work was to be thus honoured became heroinesof the moment.
On the very evening after Ulyth's and Lizzie's excursion down thegarden, a number of girls repaired to the studio to view the objectsthat Miss Teddington had chosen as worthy to represent the artistic sideof the school.
"I wish I were a senior," said Winnie Fowler plaintively. "I'd haveloved this sort of thing. To think of being able to make a littledarling, ducky brooch! It beats drawing hollow. I'd never want to toucha pencil again."
"You've got to have some eye for drawing, though," said Doris, "or you'dhave your things all crooked. It's not as easy as eating chocolates, Ican tell you!"
"I dare say. But I'll try some day, when I am a senior."
"Are these the three that are to go to the exhibition?" asked Rona,pushing her way to the front. "Which is which?"
"This is mine, that's Ruth's, and that's Stephanie's," explained Doris.
"Why isn't Ulyth's to go? It's just as nice as Stephanie's, I'm sure."
"Miss Teddington decided that."
"How idiotic of her! Why couldn't she send Ulyth's? I think hers is thenicest, and it's just the same pattern as Stephie's--exactly."
"Do be quiet, Rona!" urged Ulyth, laying her hand on the arm of her toopartial friend. "My pendant has a defect in it. I bungled, and couldn'tget it right again afterwards."
"It doesn't show."
"Not to you, perhaps; but any judge of such things would notice in amoment."
"Well, your work's as good as Stephanie's any day, and I hate for hername to be put into the catalogue and not yours. Yes, I mean what Isay."
"Oh, Rona, do hush! I don't want my name in a catalogue. Here's Stephiecoming in. Don't let her hear you."
"I don't mind if she does. It won't do her any harm to hear somebody'sfrank opinion."
"Rona, if you care one atom for me, stop!"
Rather grumbling, Rona allowed herself to be suppressed. She was alwaysready to throw a shaft at Stephanie, though she knew Ulyth heartilydisliked the scenes which invariably followed. She took up Ulyth'spendant, however, and, after ostentatiously admiring it, laid it for amoment side by side with Stephanie's.
"There isn't a pin to choose between them," she murmured under herbreath, hoping Stephanie might overhear.
Ulyth was at the other side of the room, but Stephanie's quick earscaught the whisper. She looked daggers at Rona, but she made no remark,and Ulyth, returning, gently took her pendant away and placed it withthe other non-exhibits on the bench. It had been a wet afternoon. Nooutdoor exercise had been possible that day, and the girls were tired ofall their usual indoor occupations.
"I wish somebody'd suggest something new to cheer us up," yawned NellieBarlow. "There's a quarter of an hour more 'rec.' It's too short to beworth while getting out any apparatus, but it's long enough to be deadlydull."
"Can't someone do some tricks?" asked Edie Maycock.
"All right, Toby; sit on your hind legs and beg for biscuits," laughedMarjorie Earnshaw.
"I mean real tricks--conjuring and fortune telling; the amateur wizard,you know."
"I don't know."
"Then you're stupid. Have you never seen amateur conjuring--coins thatvanish, and things that come out of hats?"
"Yes; but I couldn't do it, my good child. Being in the Sixth doesn'tmake me a magician."
"We tried a little bit at home," pursued Edie. "We had a book that toldus how; only I never could manage it quickly. People always saw how Idid it."
"Rona's the girl for that," suggested Hattie Goodwin.
"Is she? Come here, Rona, I want you. Can you really and truly doconjuring?"
"Oh, not properly!" laughed Rona. "But when I was on board ship therewas a gentleman who was very clever at it, and I and some boys I'd madefriends with were tremendously keen at learning. We got him to show us afew easy tricks, and we were always trying them. I could manage it justa little, but I'm out of practice now. You'd see in a second how it wasdone, I'm afraid."
"Oh, do show us, just for fun!"
"What do you want to see?"
"Oh, anything!"
"The vanishing coin?"
"Yes, yes. Go ahead!"
"Then give me two pennies or shillings, either will do."
The audience who had clustered round looked at one another, eachexpecting somebody else to produce a coin. Then everybody laughed.
"We haven't got so much as a copper amongst us! We're a set of absolutepaupers!" declared Doris. "Can't you do some other trick?"
"There is nothing else I could manage so well," said Ronadisconsolately. "This was the only one I really learnt."
"Can't it be done with anything but coins?"
"Something the same size and round, perhaps?"
"My pendant?" said Ulyth, fetching the trinket from the bench. "It'sjust as big as a penny."
"Yes, I could try it with this and another like it. Give meStephanie's."
"No, no! You shan't try tricks with mine!" objected Stephanieindignantly.
"I won't do it a scrap of harm."
"Oh, Stephie, don't be mean! She'll not hurt it. Here, Rona, take it!"exclaimed several of the girls, anxious to witness the experiment.
Stephanie's protests and grumbles were overridden by the majority, andRona, in her new capacity of wizard, faced her audience.
"It'll be rather transparent, because you oughtn't really to know thatI've got two pendants," she explained apologetically. "Please forget,and think it's only one. I must put some patter in, like Mr. Thompsonalways used to do. Ladies and gentleman, you've no doubt heard that theart of conjuring depends upon the quickness of the hand. That's as itmay be, but there is a great deal that can't be accounted for in thatway. Ladies and gentlemen, you see this coin--or rather pendant, as Ishould say. I am going to make it fly from my left hand to my right.One, two, three--pass! Here it is. Did you see it go? No. Well, I canmake it travel pretty quickly. Now we'll try another pretty littleexperiment. You see my hand. It's empty, isn't it? Yet when I wave itover this desk Miss Stephanie Radford's pendant will be returned to itsplace. Hey, presto! Pass! There you are! Safe and sound and back again!"
Stephanie took up her treasure and examined it anxiously.
"This isn't mine!" she declared.
"Rubbish! It is."
"I tell, you it isn't! Don't I know my own work? This is Ulyth's. Whathave you done with mine?"
"Vanished under the wizard's wand," mocked Rona.
"Give it me this instant!" cried Stephanie angrily, shaking Rona by thearm.
Rona had been standing upon one leg, and the unexpected assaultcompletely upset her balance. She toppled, clutched at Doris, and fell,bumping her head against the corner of the table. It was a hard blow,and as she got up she staggered.
"I feel--all dizzy!" she gasped.
An officious junior, quite unnecessarily, ran for Miss Lodge, magnifyingthe accident so much in her highly coloured account that the mistressarrived on the scene prepared to find Rona stretched unconscious. Seeingthat the girl looked white and tearful, she ordered her promptly to bed.
"It may be nothing, but any rate you will be better lying down," shedecreed. "Go downstairs, girls, all of you. Nobody is to come into thestudio again to-night."
"Rona had my pendant in h
er hand all the time," grumbled Stephanie toBeth as she obeyed the mistress's orders. "She dropped it as she fell.I've put it back safely, though, and I don't mean to let anybodyinterfere with it. I shall complain to Miss Bowes if it's touchedagain."