Gladys took it and scuttled downstairs thankfully. She was just as much in awe of the cook as the girls were in awe of Miss Theobald!
Pat went to find Isabel. She told her what Gladys had said. 'It was Erica all right,' said Pat, fiercely. 'I'm not a bit surprised either, are you? Every one says she's a sneak. That's almost one of the worst things you can be. Whatever will Tessie say?'
Tessie said a lot. She was angry and indignant. To think that a girl who had shared her chocolates and her birthday cake could have played such a mean trick!
'We'll jolly well tackle her about it,' said Tessie. 'After tea today. You come into the common room, Pat ' and we'll have it out with her. I'll tell the others.'
'Yes, but every one else will be there,' said Pat, uneasily. 'Is it quite fair to let every one hear?'
'Why not?' said Tessie, angrily. 'A sneak deserves to be denounced in public. Anyway, we can't go anywhere else.'
So after tea that day Erica was called by Pat. She was sitting in a corner, writing a letter home.
'Erica, come over here. We want to speak to you,' said Pat, in a cold voice. Erica looked up. She went pale. Could the girls have discovered her mean trick?
'I'm busy,' she said, sulkily. 'I've got to finish this letter.'
She went on writing. Pat lost her temper and snatched away the letter. 'You jolly well come!' she said, fiercely. 'Do you want me and Isabel to lug you over?'
Erica saw that there was nothing for it but to go to the corner of the common room where the six other girls were waiting for her.
She went, looking pale and sulky. She was determined to deny everything.
'Erica, we know that it was you who knocked on the music-room door the other night,' said Pat. 'And it was you too who gave the game away to Mam'zelle and got us punished. You're a mean pig, a horrid sneak, and you're jolly well going to be punished!'
'I don't know what you are talking about,' said Erica, in a trembling voice, not daring to meet eight pairs of accusing eyes.
'Yes, you do. It's no good pretending,' said Tessie. 'Pat has found out everything. Every single thing. We know that you met Gladys on the stairs when she was bringing up something for us.'
'I don't know anything about the frying-pan,' said Erica.
Pat pounced at once. 'How did you know that it was frying-pan that Gladys was bringing us? There you are, you see ' you do know. You've convicted yourself out of your own mouth!'
The other girls in the common room, curious to hear what was going on, came round, peeping. Alison came too, her big blue eyes almost popping out of her head.
'Oh, was it Erica who gave you away?' she said. 'Well, I might have guessed! She was always bothering me to find out from you and Isabel, Pat, what the secret was.'
'Well, it's a good thing for you, Alison, that for once you had the common sense not to give anything away,' said Pat, grimly. 'Now, Erica ' you're a horrible sneak ' but at least you might have the decency to own up!'
'I don't know anything about it,' said Erica, stubbornly. 'It's no good your going on at me like this ' I just simply don't know anything about it.'
'Go on, Erica, own up!' cried half a dozen voices from members of the second form, who were now all crowding round in the greatest curiosity.
Uut Erica wouldn't. She hadn't the sense to see that if she owned up frankly and could even bring herself to say she was sorry, the other girls would at least respect her for confessing.
As it was, she made them all intensely angry. 'Very well,' said Pat. 'Don't own up. But you'll have two punishments instead of one, that's all. You'll be punished for sneaking ' and you'll be punished for not owning up too!'
'Yes,' said Tessie. 'And the punishment for sneaking is that you jolly well won't go down into the town for two weeks, like us. See?'
'I shall,' said Erica.
'Well, you won't,' said Tessie. 'I'm head of the second form, and I forbid any one to go with you ' and you know you are not allowed to go alone. So there!'
Erica was beaten and she knew it. No girl dared to go to the town alone, for that was strictly forbidden. She flushed and said nothing.
'And the punishment for not owning up decently we leave to the first and second forms,' said Pat, her eyes flashing round. 'I am sure that not one of us, Erica, wants to speak to you, or have anything more to do with you than we can help! That's always the punishment for your sort of behaviour!'
'I shan't speak to her,' muttered several girls around. Every one felt disgusted with the miserable Erica. She would have a bad time! It is hard to see glances of contempt and dislike wherever you look, and to have nobody saying a jolly word.
Erica went off to her corner, but her hand trembled as she tried to finish her letter. She was ashamed ' but she was angry too ' and with Pat most of all!
'So she found out, did she, and told all the others!' thought Erica. 'All right, Pat ' I'll pay you out for that ' and your silly twin too!'
Chapter 8: Margery Gets a Chance
The first form did not really see very much of Erica, because she did not have lessons with them. But if ever they met her in a passage or in the art room or gym, they looked the other way. In the common room at night Erica had a miserable time, Not one of the second-form girls would have anything to do with her.
Loud remarks about sneaks and cowards were made in her hearing. The only person who ever threw her a word at all was the bad-tempered Margery Fenworthy. Erica did not like Margery, any more than the other girls did, but she was so grateful to be spoken to, even by the surly first-former, that she almost began to like the girl.
'I'm surprised you speak to Erica, Margery,' said Pat when she had heard Margery ask to borrow Erica's paints.
'Mind your own business,' said Margery, in her usual rude way. 'You're none of you friendly to me, and I know what it is to have people being so beastly to you.'
'But Margery, it's your own fault,' said Pat, in surprise. 'You're so rude and sullen. You never smile and joke.'
'Well, people never smile and joke with me,' said Margery. 'You don't give me a chance.'
:Oh, Margery, what a fib!' cried Pat. 'It's you who never give us a chance to be decent to you. You scowl and glower and frown all the time.'
'If you're going to pick me to pieces you can save yourself the trouble,' said Margery, fiercely. 'I don't care tuppence for any of you. And if I want to speak to that wretched Erica, I shall. Who cares for a pack of silly girls, and a crowd of stuck-up teachers? I don't!'
Pat was astonished. What a strange girl Margery was! Did she really want a chance of being friends with the others? Was she terribly shy ' what was behind that funny manner of hers?
Pat talked about it with her twin. 'Margery is always making enemies,' she said, 'I spoke to her today about it ' and she accused us of never giving her a chance. Do you think we ought to do something about it?'
'Ask Lucy,' said Isabel, seeing Lucy coming up to show them a picture she had just finished. 'Oh, Lucy ' what a marvellous drawing! It's Mam'zelle to the life!'
Lucy had a clever pencil with portraits. She could, with a few strokes of her pencil, draw any girl or teacher so that every one knew at once who it was. The drawing she held out was excellent.
'It's exactly how Mam'zelle looks when she says, 'Ah, Dorrrrr-is, you are insupportable!' ' said Pat. 'Lucy, listen, we've been talking about Margery.'
'I'll draw her,' said Lucy. She sat down and sketched Margery's sullen goodlooking face ' and then, in a few strokes she sketched another Margery ' a smiling one, most delightful to see.
'Before taking a course of St. Clare's ' and after!' laughed Lucy.
'Golly, that's clever,' said Isabel. 'It's a pity Margery can't always look like that second drawing. Listen now, Lucy. She told Pat this morning that we've never given her a chance to be friendly.'
'All wrong,' said Lucy, beginning to draw again. 'She has never given us a chance!
'
'Exactly what I said,' said Pat, eagerly. 'Oh, Lucy, is
that Erica? Goodness, what a poor creature she looks!'
'And is,' said Lucy. 'I'll be glad when we can speak to her again, in a way. I hate to be beastly to anyone even if they deserve it. It makes me feel horrible myself.'
'Lucy, do you think we'd better give Margery a chance, even though she's so jolly difficult?' asked Pat. 'You know ' Isabel and I were simply awful last term ' and every one was decent to us, It seems only fair for us to be decent to somebody else who's new, and who seems awful too.'
'I'm all for it,' said Lucy, shaking back her dark curls from her friendly, pretty face. 'My father says ' Always give the under-dog a chance' ' and for some reason of other poor Margery seems to think she's an under-dog ' every one's hand against her ' that sort of thing. Goodness knows why she's got that idea, but she has. All right ' I'll go out of my way to be friendly, if you will.'
'We'll tell the others, as well,' said Pat. So the first-formers were told about the idea, and although most of them thought it was stupid, because they really did dislike Margery, they all agreed to back up Lucy and the twins. Even Alison said she would ' and she had suffered very much from Margery's rudeness. Margery thought Alison a silly little feather-head, and had said so, many times.
So what with avoiding Erica, and trying exciting. The first time Margery showed first form were in the gym. Margery was kind of exercise. When she did an extra
to be nice to Margery, things were quite any signs of being pleased was when the excellent at climbing, jumping, and any good jump in the gym, the girls clapped.
Margery glanced round, surprised. She gave a half-smile, and stepped to her place. The mistress spoke a few words of praise too. Margery tried not to look too pleased, but she couldn't help going red with pleasure.
Afterwards Pat spoke to her. 'Margery, you're jolly good at gym,' she said. ' I wish I could climb and jump like you.'
'I like anything like that,' said Margery, in a civil tone. 'As for games, I simply adore them. I only wish we could play three times as much as we do! I wish
we went riding more here too. I used to love that at my old school.'
'What school did you go to before you came here?' asked Isabel, pleased to see that Margery could really talk quite normally!
But for some reason or other Margery would not say any more. She turned away and her old scowling look came over her face. The twins were disappointed.
All the same, Margery felt that every one was giving her a chance, and she did respond in many ways. She didn't give so many rude answers, and she did occasionally offer to help any one in difficulties. She even offered to give silly little Alison some practise at catching the ball in lacrosse, because she saw that the twins were really ashamed of their cousin's stupidity at games.
But Alison refused. 'Why does every one keep badgering me to practise catching?' she grumbled. 'I hate lacrosse. I hate all games. I hate having to run across a dirty field and get hot and out of breath. We all look awful when we've finished playing!'
'Alison! Is there ever a time when you don't think about how you look?' cried Janet. 'You're as vain as a peacock. I hope you get a whole lot of spots tomorrow! '
'Don't be mean!' said Alison, the easy tears coming into her eyes.
'Well, for goodness' sake act more like a senior girl and not like a baby,' grumbled Janet. 'Your cousins were bad enough when they came last term ' but at least they didn't turn on the water-tap like you do, at any minute of the day!'
'I should think not!' said Pat, hotly, ready to attack Janet, who was in one of her sharp-tongue moods. But Janet gave her a friendly punch. She never wanted to quarrel with the twins, whom she sincerely liked.
Although Margery seemed to be much more friendly with the girls, she was no better with the mistresses, to whom she was really rude. She did not try at all with her lessons ' and the curious thing was that all the mistresses seemed to have endless patience with the sulky girl.
'Golly! If any of us were half as rude to Miss Roberts as Margery is, we'd soon hear about it,' said Pat, half a dozen times a week. ' I can't understand it. Did you see the work that Margery handed in to Miss Lewis too? She only did half a page, and her writing was awful.'
'Well, what about her arithmetic!' said Hilary. 'Honestly, I don't think she got a single sum right this morning ' and Miss Roberts never said a word.'
'She won't way how old she is,' said Pat. 'I believe Margery's sixteen! And most of us in the first form are fourteen or just fifteen.'
'Oh well ' never mind. She can't help being stupid, I suppose,' said Lucy. 'Anyway, she's jolly good at games ' and when we play that match against the Oakdene girls next week, I bet we'll be glad of Margery. She's been put into the match-team, you know.'
'Has she?' said Pat. 'Golly! I wish I'd been put in it too, I haven't seen the list.'
'Well, you're not in it,' said Janet. 'I've looked. No first-former except Margery is in it ' and only two second-formers! The rest are all third-formers. It's an honour for Margery to be chosen ' but honestly, she's frightfully good at games, and most awfully quick and strong.'
'Well, if she's sixteen, as you say, she ought to be quick and strong,' said Alison, cattily.
'Shut up, Alison,' said Pat. 'We don't know that she's sixteen. Now don't you go round bleating about that!'
'I don't bleat,' began Alison, in her pathetic voice, making her blue eyes very wide and hurt. But half a dozen exasperated girls yelled at her and threw cushions ' so Alison thought it better to say no more. No one could bear Alison when she went 'all goofy' as Janet described it.
When the two weeks were nearly up, and the eight girls were looking forward to being allowed to go down into the town again, the Big Row had happened. It all centred around Margery, who in ten minutes, destroyed the new friendliness that had begun to grow up around her.
It happened in history class, and blew up all in a minute. The girls were horrified ' and ever afterwards it was spoken of as the Big Row.
Chapter 9: The Big Row
Miss Lewis was taking the history lesson, and the class were learning about the discovery of America, and its conquest. As usual, the class was giving the history teacher close attention, for if there was one thing that Miss Lewis would not put up with, it was inattention.
Even Margery usually attended to Miss Lewis more than to other teachers ' partly because she was interested in history, and partly because she was a little afraid of Miss Lewis and her sharp-eyes.
But this morning something seemed to have happened to Margery. The girls had noticed it from the time she had sat down to breakfast. There had been a letter by her plate which Margery had not opened until she had been by herself. From that time onwards Margery had gone back to her most sullen and don't care self ' though nobody imagined that it was anything to do with the letter, of course.
She had Roberts look at sulk to
been careless and inattentive in Miss Roberts's arithmetic class, and Miss had been, as usually, patient with her. In the French class, after a sharp her, Mam'zelle had taken no notice of Margery, but had let her sit and herself.
She had cheered up a little in history class, but had not taken any party in the discussion that Miss Lewis sometimes allowed at the beginning of the lesson.
Then Hilary had come out with a good idea. 'Miss Lewis! There's a play on in the next town, at the Royal Theatre ' and it's called 'Drake'. Would it be about the same period of history that we're doing?'
'Oh, yes,' said Miss Lewis. 'It's a fine play. Just the right period.'
'Oh, Miss Lewis ' do you think you could possibly take us to see it!' cried Hilary, who adored plays of any kind.
'Oh, yes, Miss Lewis!' cried the rest of the form, eagerly. 'An outing to the next town would be marvellous.'
'Hush,' said Miss Lewis, rapping on her desk. 'Do remember there are other classes going on. When is the play being performed, Hilary?'
Hilary had a notice of it in her desk. She rummaged about and found it. 'There's a special performance on Satur
day afternoon, this week,' she said, 'Oh Miss Lewis ' do, do take us! I'd love to see it.'
'That's my week-end off,' said Miss Lewis, regretfully. 'I'd arranged to go for a walking-tour with Miss Walker. We've got it all planned.'
Each mistress had a week-end off during the term, and they looked forward to this very much. The class knew how precious the week-ends were to the staff, and they stared in disappointment at Miss Lewis. What a pity! Just the Saturday the play was on. It would have been such fun to go and see it.
'Oh, blow!' said Pat. 'Wouldn't that just be the way! Never mind, Miss Lewis ' it can't be helped.'