CHAPTER XII--Janet to the Rescue
Daphne was the next up, after two more new wing girls had madecreditable scores.
"She looks like Diana herself," Miss Hull said, to the old gentleman whowas sitting beside her, and indeed Daphne's beauty never showed to suchadvantage, as when she stood beside her bow. But alas! looks are noteverything. Although the beautiful curve of Daphne's arm, covered by itssheer angel sleeve, was grace itself, the refractory arrows fell almostanywhere but on the target. Only one struck home, and marked the red.
"Three," Prue wrote the number down slowly.
"What a pity!" Miss Hull said, but she noted Daphne's cheerful littlesmile, and nodded to herself. "Sally Ladd has very good taste infriends," she said, as her eyes traveled to the Twins, and then back toDaphne.
"Can't say I made a very brilliant success," Daphne was saying, and shethrew herself down on the grass beside Janet.
"Well, one landed, and it was a red anyway," Janet tried to beconsoling.
"And that's more than many of the new girls have made," Sally added.
"I'll be with you in a minute, Taffy," Phyllis laughed. "Just wait untilthe Red Twins have had their turn."
"Hush, here they come now," Gladys cautioned.
A silence fell on the spectators as they awaited the victory of the newwing. Even the faculty felt it, and though they tried to be happy, theywere conscious of a persistent little feeling of disappointment.
Bess Ward was the first one up. She shrugged her shoulders just to showshe was not in the least nervous, then she strung her bow, struck arather extravagant attitude, and loosed her first arrow.
She made a red. A faint cheer followed it.
The Red Twins were far from popular with their own wing, but anything oranybody that could enlarge the score was welcome.
"Not so good," Ann said critically, as the second arrow glanced off andhit the white.
A slow red mounted to Bess's cheek. She was angry, that unpardonable sinin any sport, and she showed it. The third arrow went to the blue. Bessforgot to shrug her shoulders. Her anger was steadily mounting, and thenext two arrows followed each other to the red, making a total score oftwelve.
Prue marked it down on the board very slowly, and very deliberately.
"Hope her twin does no better," Gladys said. "But I suppose she will."
"One of them has got to make a bulls-eye, after all their boasting," Annlaughed. "Look, there she comes."
May took her place at the tape. She was considerably sobered by hersister's failure. She did not shrug her shoulders, but went to her bowwith a dark scowl.
Her first arrow hit the blue. She stopped to readjust her bow, beforefitting in the second arrow, but the blue claimed that as well. Reallyangry now, she shot the third with such a vicious whang, that the arrowglanced off to the white.
"Take your time," her sister cautioned from the side line. Her tone helda note of resentment.
May pulled herself together, and took deliberate aim. Two blues were heraward.
"Making a total of nine," Prue said as she drew an extra long stem tothe figure.
"Jan, if you go in, and get a half-way decent score, and Phyl does, too,we won't be so badly licked after all," Gladys said.
Janet nodded. There was a lump in her throat and she could not trustherself to speak.
"If I don't stop trembling, my arrows will land over there among thefaculty," Phyl pointed to the right of the target, where the faculty satout of range of any but the wildest shot.
Daphne looked at her, and saw that she really was trembling.
"Well, goodness knows I love all the faculty at Hilltop," she said inher peculiar drawl. "But if you must shoot one of them, please chooseMiss Jenks, for I haven't my history prepared for tomorrow."
The one thing that Phyllis needed was to laugh, and she did heartily,with the result that when she took her place at the tape, her nerveswere steadied, and her thoughts were on Daphne's last remark. She couldsee Miss Jenks out of the corner of her right eye. She hardly gave thetarget a thought, until her arrow was in her bow.
Her total score was five, for though she did some fancy shooting, aroundthe legs of the target, only two of her arrows scored.
She came back to the girls, a little crestfallen.
"You mean thing!" Daphne said, "you made two more than I did."
Phyllis smiled in spite of herself.
"It's a secret, Taffy, but I'll tell you," she whispered. "That last onewas a mistake."
"Good luck, Jan!" Sally called softly, as Janet went out to take herplace. Her silence seemed to envelope her as she stood facing thetarget, and the bow felt strange to her touch.
She had practiced a good deal during the past few weeks, but mindful ofher brother Tom and the wisdom of her boy friends, she had rested forthe past two days, content only to keep her hand in. In this she had theadvantage of the Red Twins, who had practiced for two hours, beforebreakfast.
She felt as though she were taking a very long time, as she strung herbow, and fitted her first arrow, and then she shot.
She had aimed for the bulls-eye, but the grass under her feet, worn byso many tennis shoes, was slippery. Her heel twisted ever so slightly,and the arrow scored a red.
The girls shouted their appreciation, but before they could stop,another arrow had hit this time, just below the bulls-eye, making oneabove, and one below. Janet shifted her position ever so slightly, and athird arrow almost touched the bulls-eye on another side.
The fourth completed the square; then Janet did the most spectacularthing, done that afternoon. She scored a perfect bulls-eye. The school,united in its admiration, went wild with joy, and the old man, sittingbeside Miss Hull, shouted, "Well done, little lady, well done!"
_Then Janet did the most spectacular thing done thatafternoon_]
Janet was born high on the shoulders of the delighted girls, a happy,triumphant, but very much bewildered heroine.