CHAPTER TWENTY.
AN ACCIDENT.
After a storm comes a calm. Compared with the struggle and anxiety ofthe summer term, the one which followed seemed stagnation itself. Thearrival of the report had been an excitement, it is true; but when thatwas over the days passed by in uneventful fashion, until autumn wanedand winter came back, with the attendant discomforts of dark mornings,draughty corridors, and coatings of ice on the water in the ewers; forthis was a good, old-fashioned winter, when Jack Frost made hisappearance in the beginning of December, and settled down with asolidity which meant that he had come to stay. The hardy girls declaredthat it was "ripping," and laughed at the shivery subjects who hobbledabout on chilblained feet, and showed faces mottled blue and red, likethe imitation marble in lodging-house-parlours; the shivery girlshuddled in corners, and wished they could go to bed and hug hot bottlesuntil May came back and it was fit for human creatures to go aboutagain! People who possess brisk circulations can never understand thesufferings of those whom no amount of clothing will keep warm, and whoperform their duties for four months in the year feeling as though icywater were streaming down their backs. Human sympathy is an elasticvirtue, but it seems powerless to reach so far as that!
Poor Miss Everett belonged to this latter unhappy class, and perhaps thehardest duty which she had to perform at Hurst Manor was the spending oftwo hours daily in the grounds with her pupils, be the weather warm orcold. To be sure, they always moved about briskly, playing hockey andlacrosse so long as the weather allowed, and then turning to skating andtobogganing, but there were moments of waiting and hanging about, whenthe wind cut through her like a knife, and made her pretty face lookpinched to half its size. Rhoda, brisk and glowing, would look at herwith affectionate superiority, call her a "poor, dear, little frog," andinsist upon running races to restore circulation. Evie would declarethat she felt warmer after these exertions, but when at the expirationof ten minutes she was found to be shivering and chattering as much asever, Rhoda would grow anxious, and consequently more flattering in hersimiles.
"You are a hot-house flower, and not fit to rough it like this! Itmakes me cold to look at you. I have a great mind to tell Miss Brucehow you suffer, and ask her to forbid you to come out to games in thisweather!"
But at this Miss Everett protested in genuine alarm.
"Rhoda, you must do nothing of the kind! Don't you see that it would beas much as saying that I am unfit for my work? Miss Bruce thinks itquite as important that I should be with you for games as for work;perhaps more so, for there is more likelihood of your getting intomischief. I don't like feeling cold, but after all it is only for a fewweeks in the year, and as I thoroughly enjoy being out of doors for therest of the time there is not much to grumble about. It won't kill meto shiver a little bit."
"Cold, cough, consumption, coffin!" quoted Rhoda cheerfully. "I hate tosee you with a blue nose, when I am tingling all over with heat, andfeeling so fit and jolly. It's unsociable--and unbecoming! Now justskate once more round the field with me, and I won't worry you anymore!"
Miss Everett sighed, and consented. Her feet were so numbed that shehad believed them incapable of any feeling, but now the straps of herskates were beginning to cut into her like so many sharp-edged knives.She longed to take them off, but did not like to refuse the girl'skindly invitation, while, unselfishly speaking, it was a pleasure to seethe graceful figure skimming along by her side, with such healthfulenjoyment in the exercise.
The pupils at Hurst Manor were seldom, if ever, allowed to skate on thelake, for it was deep, and the Principal preferred to have one of thefields flooded in its stead, where the girls could disport themselveswith that sense of security which comes from seeing little tufts ofgrass showing beneath the surface of the ice. Even nervous subjectsgrew bold under such conditions, and while the more advanced skaters cutfigures, or even essayed a game of hockey, the spectators circled roundand round, looking admiringly at their exploits. At one end of thefield was a slight ditch, or rather undulation in the ground, which whenfrozen over afforded a source of unending amusement, being as good as aswitchback itself. Daring skaters went at it with a dash which broughtthem safely up the incline on the further side, but by far the greaternumber collapsed helplessly at the bottom, or, rising half-way up theascent, staggered back with waving arms and gasping cries, vastlyentertaining to the spectators. Evie would never be induced to makethis experiment, having, as she said, "too much respect for her ankles"to subject them to so severe a trial, and having also passed that agewhen to tumble down in an icy ditch twenty times over in the course ofan afternoon seems the height of mortal bliss.
The hardihood of the vast majority of the girls, the imperturbable goodnature with which they picked themselves up from their recumbentposition and hobbled up the banks on the edge of their skates, spokevolumes for the success of the system on which they were educated. Theyreturned to the house glowing and panting, and surged up the staircase--a stream of buoyant young life which seemed to warm the draughtycorridors and bring sunshine into the colourless rooms. The piles of"bread and scrape" which disappeared at tea after such an afternoon asthis would have amazed the parents of the daughters whose appetites athome had been so captious as to excite anxiety in the maternal heart!
"Of course," as the croakers had it, as soon as a week's consecutiveskating had made everyone proficient enough to enjoy the pastime, thesnow descended, and fell in a persistent shower which made the iceimpossibly rough. The girls looked out from their windows on awonderful white world, whose beauty was for the time hidden from them bydisappointment, but, in the end, even snow seemed to bring with it itsown peculiar excitements. Relief gangs of pupils were organised tosweep the principal paths in the grounds, while those not so employedset to work to manufacture "snow men." Not the ordinary common, orgarden snow man, be it understood--that disreputable, shapelessindividual with his pipe in his mouth, and his hat perched on the backof his head, with whom we are all familiar--the Hurst Manor girls wouldhave none of him; but, superintended by the "Modelling Mistress," set towork with no smaller ambition than to erect a gallery of classicfigures. Some wise virgins chose to manufacture recumbent figures,which, if a somewhat back-breaking process, was at least free from theperils which attended the labours of their companions. What could bemore annoying than to have two outstretched arms drop suddenly, at thevery moment when the bystanders were exclaiming with admiration, and tobe obliged to convert a flying god into a Venus de Milo as the onlyescape from the difficulty? Or, again, how was it possible to achieve aclassic outline when a nose absolutely refused to adhere to a face formore than two minutes together? The recumbent figures lay meekly ontheir beds and allowed themselves to be rolled, and patted, and pinchedinto shape, until at a distance, they presented quite a life, or ratherdeathlike, effect. The girls declared that the sight gave them the"creeps," whatever that mysterious malady might be, and snowballed theeffigies vigorously before returning to the house, so that no stragglerthrough the grounds might be scared by their appearance.
All this time an eager outlook was kept on a sloping bank at the end ofthe cricket ground, where the snow lay first in patches and then bydegrees in an unbroken mass. When it grew deep enough tobogganing wouldbegin, and that was a sport held in dearest estimation. The course wasdubbed "Klosters," after the famous run at Davos, for the school-girl ofto-day is not happy unless she can give a nickname to her haunts, and itwas sufficiently steep to be exciting, though not dangerous.
Rhoda had been accustomed from childhood to practise this sport at home,and had brought to school her beautiful American toboggan, with thestars and stripes emblazoned on polished wood, ready for use ifopportunity should occur. She knew that her experience would stand herin good stead, and was now, as ever, on the outlook for a chance ofdistinguishing herself in the eyes of her companions. One may benaturally clever and athletic, but it is astonishing how many others,equal, and even superior to oneself, can be found in
an assembly of overtwo hundred girls. Do what you would, a dozen others appeared tocompete with you, and it was ten to one that you came off second best.
"But wait till we can toboggan!" said Rhoda to herself. "They will see_then_ who has the most nerve! I'll astonish them before I have done!"And she did.
Following a fall of snow came a frost, which pressed down and hardenedthe soft surface until it was in perfect condition for the desiredsport. The games captains surveyed the course, and pronounced it ready,and directly after lunch a procession of girls might have been seenwending their way from the house, dragging toboggans in their wake, andchattering merrily together. The wind blew sharp and keen, and many ofthe number looked quite Arctic, waddling along in snow shoes, reefercoats, and furry caps with warm straps tied over the ears. It was _derigueur_ to address such personages as "Nansen"; but Rhoda gained forherself the more picturesque title of "Hail Columbia" as she strodealong, straight and alert, her tawny curls peeping from beneath asealskin cap, her stars and stripes toboggan making a spot of colour inthe midst of the universal whiteness. No one thought of addressing herexcept in a more or less successful imitation of an American twang, orwithout including the words "I guess" in every sentence, and she smiledin response, well satisfied to represent so honoured a nation.
The progress of dragging toboggans to the top of an incline is alwaysuninteresting, and never takes place without an accompaniment ofgrumbling, in which, we may be sure, the Hurst Manor girls were in noway behind. They groaned, and sighed, and lamented, as in duty bound,while Dorothy went a step further and improved the occasion by moralreflections.
"If I were a man I could preach a splendid sermon on tobogganing. Allabout sliding down hill, you know, and how easy it is, and how quicklydone, and how jolly and lively it feels, and then the long, long dragback when you want to get to the top again. It is a splendidillustration; for, of course, sliding down would mean doing wrong thingsthat are nice and easy, and the climb back the bad time you would havepulling yourself together again and starting afresh... It's really asplendid idea. I wonder no--" But at this moment it occurred to Dorothyto wonder at something else, namely, how it was that her toboggan hadgrown suddenly so light, and turning round to discover the reason, shefound it rapidly sliding downhill. The girl immediately behind hadnipped out her knife and deftly cut the leading string, as a practicaldemonstration of the favour in which "sermonising" was held at Hurst,and the whole band stood and screamed with laughter as the would-bepreacher retraced her steps to the bottom of the hill, and startedafresh on her symbolic climb!
Five minutes later, with a rush and a whoop the first toboggans cameflying down the slope. Their course was, perhaps, a trifle erratic, andapt to be followed by a spill at the bottom, but these were unimportantdetails only to be expected in the first run of the season, and thestyle improved with every fresh start. One girl after another cameflying down, drew her toboggan up a little slope facing the run, and satdown upon it to recover breath and watch the exploits of her companions.Experience had proved that, however rapid the descent, a tobogganinvariably stopped short before this edge was reached, so that it wasaccepted as a retreat of absolute safety, and, as a rule, there were asmany girls resting there as starting from the brow of the hill. Allwent on merrily, then, until in the very height of the fun Dorothy wasseized with an attack of her usual sickness. It was not a very deadlycomplaint--nothing more serious than haemorrhage from the nose, but itwas astonishing how much trouble it seemed able to give her! To thegaze of the world that nose was both a pretty and innocent-lookingfeature, but it must surely have been possessed with an evil spirit,since there was no end to the plights in which it landed the unhappyowner! It disdained to bleed in a cubicle, or any such convenientplace, but delighted in taking advantage of the most awkward andhumiliating opportunities. It bled regularly at Frolics, when she woreher best clothes, and wished to be merry; it bled in the ante-room ofthe Examination Hall, so that she went in to tackle the mathematicalpaper with three pennies and two separate keys poked down her back; itbled at the critical part of a game or when she went out to tea, orforgot to put a handkerchief in her pocket. "It is my cross!" she wouldsigh sadly, and to-day she was inclined to say so more than ever, sincethe attack was so severe, that she must needs go indoors, and leave herfavourite sport on the very first day when it had been possible to enjoyit.
Miss Everett walked with her across the field, cheering and encouraging,and directing her to go straight to Nurse when she reached the house,then retraced her own steps and hurried back to her charges. She hadbeen away only five minutes, barely five minutes, but in that short timesomething had happened which was destined to bring about life-longconsequences to more than one member of the party, for it chanced thatjust as she turned away Rhoda Chester reached the top of the run, on thelookout for fresh opportunities. It was absurd to go over the samecourse, with no change, no excitement--to do what thirty other girlscould do as well as herself! She must try to discover some variety thistime, and so she gazed about with critical eyes, and suddenly had aninspiration, for why not drag the toboggan a yard or two further up thesteep bank beyond the path which made the present start? It was a tree-crowned bank, forming the very crest of the hill, so short that itmeasured at the most six or seven yards, but of a steepness fareclipsing any other portion of the run. If she could start from thishigher point she would accomplish a feat unattempted by any of hercompanions, and descend at a velocity hitherto unknown!
No sooner thought than done, and she began to climb the bank, draggingthe toboggan behind her, while the onlookers stared aghast.
"In the name of everything that is crazy, Rhoda Chester, what are youdoing up there?"
"Rhoda, come _down_! Don't be absurd! You can't possibly start fromthere!"
"Why not, pray? I can, if I choose. I'm tired of ambling down thatbaby-run. I want a little variety!"
"You will have it with a vengeance, if you start from there. It's fartoo steep. Don't be obstinate now, and get into trouble. Evie will befurious with you."
"Why should she be? There's no rule against it. I'm not doing anythingwrong... Get out of the way, please. I'm coming!"
"No, no; wait, wait! Wait until Evie comes back, and says you may. Shewill be here in a moment. _Do_ wait, Rhoda, just one minute!"
But Rhoda would not wait. Although, as she had argued, there was norule forbidding what she was about to do, she had an instinctive feelingthat Evie was too anxious about the safety of her charges to giveconsent to anything that involved unnecessary risk. Evie's absence washer opportunity, and she must act now or never; so, seating herselffirmly on her toboggan, she called out the last word of warning; "I'mcoming, I tell you! Stand back!"
"You will break your neck! You will kill yourself, if you are so mad!"
"Oh, bother my neck! I'll risk it! I'll not blame you if it _is_broken!" cried Rhoda, recklessly; and even as she spoke the last wordthe toboggan shot forward and bounded over the edge. _Bounded_ is theright word to use, for it did not seem to glide, but to leap from top tobottom with a lightning-like speed which took away breath, sight, andhearing. That first moment was a terrible blank and then she shot overthe path itself, and was flying down, down the slope, drawing her breathin painful gasps, and staring before her with distended eyes.
The girls on the bank were craning forward to watch her approach. Shesaw the blur of their whitened faces, and behind them a little figurerunning wildly forward, waving its arms and crying aloud:
"Girls, girls! Jump! _Run_! Get away, get away!"
The words rang meaningless in her ears, for she was dazed beyond thepower of thought. The running figure drew nearer and nearer, stillwaving its hands, still calling out that agonised cry. The girlsdisappeared to right and left, but the figure itself was close at hand--closer--closer--at her very side. Then came a shock, a jar. Evie'stottering figure fell forward over her own; Evie's shriek of anguishrang in her ears, and then came bla
ckness--a blackness as of death!