CHAPTER XVI
THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG
Those were really strenuous days indeed for Ruth Fielding and her friendsat Briarwood Hall. The class that looked forward to graduating in June wasexceedingly busy.
Had Mrs. Tellingham not made an equitable arrangement in regard to Ruth'sEnglish studies, allowing her credits on her writing, the girl of the RedMill would never have found time for the writing of the scenario which allhoped would ultimately bring a large sum into the dormitory fund.
With faith in her pupil's ability as a writer for the screen, Mrs.Tellingham had gone on with the work of clearing away the ruins of theburned building, and had given out contracts for the construction of thenew dormitory on the site of the old one.
The sums already gathered from voluntary contributions paid the bills asthe work went along; but in "The Heart of a Schoolgirl" must lie theearning power to carry the work to completion.
As each girl of the senior class had special work in English of anoriginal nature, Mrs. Tellingham announced that Ruth's scenario shouldcount as her special thesis.
"We will let Mr. Hammond judge it, my dear," the principal said to Ruth.She was already proud of the girl's achievement in writing "Curiosity,"for she had now read that first scenario. "If Mr. Hammond declares thatyour drama is worthy of production, you shall be marked 'perfect' in youroriginal English work. That, I am sure, is fair."
In spite of all the studying she had to do, and her work on the scenarioof the five-reel drama, Ruth found time to look after Amy Gregg. Not thatthe latter thanked her--far from it! Ruth, however, did what she thoughtto be her duty toward the younger girl.
Once Jennie Stone hinted that she suspected Amy of starting the dormitoryfire, but Ruth stopped her with:
"Be careful what you say, Jennie Stone. I am sure you would not want toset the other girls against little Gregg. She's apt to have a hard timeenough here at Briarwood, at best."
"Her own fault," declared the plump girl.
"Her unfortunate nature, I grant you," said Ruth, shaking her head. "Butdon't say anything to make it worse. You'd be sorry, you know."
"Huh! If she deserves to have it known that the fire started in herroom----"
"But you don't know that!" again interrupted Ruth. "And if it chanced tobe so, that's all the more reason why you should not suggest it to theother girls."
"Goodness, Ruth! you are so funny."
"Then laugh at me," responded Ruth, smiling. "I don't mind."
"Pshaw!" said Jennie. "There's no getting ahead of you. You're just likethe little kid I heard of who was entertaining some other little girls ata nursery tea. 'My little sister is only five months old,' says one littlegirl, 'and she has two teeth.'
"'My little sister is only six months old,' spoke up another guest, 'andshe's got three teeth.'
"The other kiddie was silent for a moment; she wanted to be polite, butshe couldn't let the others put it over her like that! So finally shebursts out with:
"'Well, my little sister hasn't any teef yet; but when she _does_ havesome, they're goin' to be gold ones!' Couldn't get ahead of her--andnobody can get the best of _you_, Ruthie Fielding! You've always an answerready."
At Mrs. Sadoc Smith's, Amy Gregg had just as little to do with the threeolder girls as she possibly could; but she remained friends with Curly.She was his confidant, and although Curly considered Ruth about thefinest girl "who ever walked down the pike," as he expressed it, he feltin no awe of Amy Gregg and treated her more as he would another boy.
All was not plain sailing for Ruth in either her studies or in the writingof the scenario for "The Heart of a Schoolgirl." The coming examinationsin all branches would be difficult, and unless she obtained a certainaverage in all, Ruth could not expect a diploma.
A diploma from Briarwood Hall was an entrance certificate to the collegein which she and Helen hoped to continue their education the followingautumn. And Ruth did not want to spend her summer in making up conditions.She wished to graduate in her class with a high grade.
It was a foregone conclusion in her mind that Mercy Curtis was to bear offthe highest honor. Nor had she forgotten that she must invent (if nobodyelse could) a way for Mercy to speak the principal oration on graduationday.
Her powers of invention, however, were taxed to their utmost just now asshe wrote the scenario of the picture drama. Before Mr. Hammond and theAlectrion Company left Lumberton, Ruth was able to get into town with thedraft of the first part of the play, and read it to Mr. Hammond.
Miss Hazel Gray was present at the reading, and Ruth had given thatpretty young girl a very good part indeed in the new film.
"You _dear_!" whispered Hazel, her arms around Ruth, and speaking to hersoftly, "I believe I have you to thank for much further consideration fromMr. Hammond. And you have given me a delightful part in this play you arewriting. What a really wonderful child you are Ruth Fielding!"
Ruth thought that she was scarcely a child. But she only said: "I am gladyou like the part. I meant it for you."
"I know. Mr. Hammond told me that you insisted on my playing the part ofEve Adair. And, oh! what about that nice boy, Thomas Cameron? Are he andhis sister well? I received a lovely box of sweets from Thomas after Iwent back to the city that time."
"He is well, I believe," said Ruth, gravely. "He is not far from here, youknow; he attends the Seven Oaks Military Academy."
"Oh! so he does. Maybe we shall go that way," said Hazel Gray, carelessly."It would be lots of fun to see him again. Give my love to his sister."
"Yes, Miss Gray," Ruth returned seriously. "I will tell Helen."
She really liked Hazel Gray, and wished to see her get ahead. And it wasthrough her acquaintanceship with Hazel that Ruth had made a friend ofMr. Hammond. But it annoyed Ruth that the actress should continue to be sofriendly with Tom Cameron.
She thought no good could come of it Tom Cameron had always seemed such aseriously inclined boy, in spite of his ready fun and cheerfulness. Tohave him show such partiality for a girl so much older than himself,really a grown woman, as Hazel Gray was, disturbed Ruth.
She said nothing to her chum about it. If Helen was not worried about hertwin's predilection for the moving picture actress, it did not become Ruthto worry.
Ruth went back to Briarwood, encouraged to go on with the writing of thedrama. From Mr. Hammond's fertile mind had come several helpfulsuggestions. The plot of the play was very intimately connected with thehistory of Briarwood. There was included in its scenes a "Masque of theMarble Harp," in which the whole school was to be grouped about thefountain in the sunken garden.
The marble figure of Harmony, or Poesy, or whatever it was supposed torepresent, was to come to life in the picture and strum the strings of thelyre which it held. This was a trick picture and Mr. Hammond had explainedto Ruth just how it was to be made.
The legend of the marble harp, which had been kept alive by succeedingclasses of Briarwood girls for the purpose of hazing "infants," came invery nicely now in Ruth's story. And the arrangement of this trick picturesuggested another thing to Ruth Fielding, something which she had beenracking her brains about for some time.
This idea had nothing to do with the present play; it had to do, instead,with Mercy Curtis and the graduation exercises. One idea bred another inRuth Fielding's teeming brain. Her dramatic faculties, were beingsharpened.
With all their regular studies and recitations, the seniors had to taketheir usual turns as monitors, and Ruth could not escape this duty.Besides, it was an honor not to be scorned, to be chosen to preside overthe "primes," or to take the head of a table at dinner.
A teacher was ill on one day and Miss Brokaw asked Ruth to take certainclasses of the primary grade. The recitations were on subjects quitefamiliar to Ruth and she felt no hesitancy in accepting theresponsibility; but there was more ahead of her than she supposed when sheentered on the task.
As it chanced, the flaxen-haired Amy Gregg was in the class of which Ruthwas sent to tak
e charge. Amy scowled at the senior when the latter tookthe desk; but most of the other girls were glad to see Ruth Fielding.
A little wrangle seemed to have begun before Ruth arrived, and the seniorthought to settle the difficulty and start the day with "clear decks," bygetting at the seat of the trouble.
"What is the matter, Mary Pease?" she asked a flushed and indignant girlwho was angrily glaring at another. "Calm down, honey. Don't let youranger rise."
"If Amy Gregg says again that I took her gold pen, I'll tell somethingabout _her_ she won't like, now I warn her!" threatened Mary.
"Well, it's gone!" stormed Amy, "and you're the nearest. I'd like to knowwho took it if you didn't?"
"Well! of all the nerve! I want you to understand that I don't have tosteal pens."
"Hold on, girls," put in Ruth. "This must not go on. You know, I shall beobliged to report you both."
"Of course!" snarled Amy. "You big girls are always telling on us."
"Oh!" and "Shame!" was the general murmur about the classroom; for most ofthe girls loved Ruth.
"Why, you nasty thing!" cried Mary Pease, glaring at Amy. "You ought to beashamed. I'll tell what I know about _you_!"
"Mary!" exclaimed Ruth, with sudden fright. "Be still."
"I guess you don't know what I know about Gregg, Ruth Fielding," cried theexcited Mary.
"We do not want to know," Ruth said hastily. "Let us stop this wranglingand turn to our work. Suppose Miss Brokaw should come in?"
"And I guess Miss Brokaw or anybody would want to know what I saw thatnight of the fire," declared Mary Pease, wildly. "_I_ know whose room thefire started in, and _how_ it started."
"Mary!" cried Ruth, rising from her seat, while the girls of the classuttered wondering exclamations.
But Mary was hysterical now.
"I saw a light in _her_ room!" she cried, pointing an accusing finger atthe white-faced and shaking Amy. "I peeped through the keyhole, and it wasa candle burning on her table. She said she didn't have a candle. Bah!"
"Be still, Mary!" commanded Ruth again.
Amy Gregg was terror-stricken and shrank away from her accuser; but thelatter was too excited to heed Ruth.
"I know all about it. So does Miss Scrimp. I told her. That Amy Gregg leftthe candle burning when she went to supper and it fell off her table intothe waste basket.
"And that," concluded Mary Pease, "was how the fire started that burneddown the West Dormitory, and I don't care who knows it, so there!"