CHAPTER VI
Quits
Ulyth, brushing her hair before the looking-glass one morning, hummedcheerily.
"You seem in spirits," commented Rona, from the washstand. "It's morethan I am. Miss Lodge was a pig yesterday. She said my dictation was adisgrace to the school, and I'd got to stop in during the interval thismorning and write out all the wrong words a dozen times each. It's toosickening! I'd no luck yesterday. Phyllis Chantrey had my book tocorrect, and her writing and mine are such opposite poles, we daren'ttry it on."
"Try what on?" asked Ulyth, pausing with the brush in her hand.
"Why, the exchange dodge, you know."
"I don't know."
"Don't you take dictation in V B? Well, in our form we get it twice aweek, and Miss Lodge makes us correct each other's books. We make it upto try and exchange with a girl whose writing's pretty like one's own;then, you see, we can alter things neatly, and allow full marks. Itgenerally works, but it didn't yesterday."
Ulyth's face was a study.
"You mean to tell me you correct each other's mistakes!"
"Why not?" said Rona, not the least abashed. "Miss Lodge never findsout."
Ulyth collapsed into a chair. What was she to do with such a girl?
"Don't you know it's the most atrocious cheating?"
"Is it? Why, the whole form does it," returned the Cuckoo unconcernedly.
"Then they're abominable little wretches, and don't deserve to becandidates for the Camp-fire League. I'm thoroughly ashamed of them.Have they no sense of honour?"
The Cuckoo was looking perplexed.
"Ulyth Stanton, you're always rounding something new on me," she sighed."I can't keep up with you. I keep my hair tidy now, and don't leave mythings lying round the room, and I try to give a sort of twitter insteadof laughing, and I've dropped ever so many words you object to, andpractise walking down the passage with a book on my head. What more doyou want?"
"A great deal," said Ulyth gravely. "Didn't you learn honour at home?"
"Catch Mrs. Barker!"
"But surely your father----?"
"I saw so little of Dad. He was out all day, and sometimes off for weekstogether at our other block. When he was at home he didn't care to bebothered overmuch."
An amazed pity was taking the place of Ulyth's indignation. This was,indeed, fallow ground. Mrs. Arnold's comment flashed across her mind:
"What an opportunity for a Torch-bearer!"
"I don't want to be turned into a prig," urged the Cuckoo.
"You needn't. There's a certain amount of slang and fun that'sallowable, but _noblesse oblige_ must always come first. You don'tunderstand French yet? Well, never mind. All that matters is that yousimply must realize, Rona--do listen, please--that all of us here,including you, mustn't--couldn't--cheat at lessons. For your own sake,and for the sake of the school, you must stop it."
"You think a lot of the school!"
"And quite right too! The school stands to us for what the State does togrown-up people. We've got to do our best to keep the tone up. Cheatingbrings it down with a run. It's as bad as tearing up treaties."
"Go ahead. Rub it in," returned the Cuckoo, beginning to whistle atrifle defiantly.
She thought the matter over, nevertheless, and returned to the subjectthat night when they were going to bed.
"Ulyth, I told the girls exactly what you said about them. My gracious,you should have seen their faces! Boiled lobsters weren't in it. Thathit about the Camp-fire Guild seemed specially to floor them. I don'tfancy, somehow, there'll be any more correcting done in dictation.You've touched them up no end."
"I'm extremely glad if what I said has brought them to their senses,"declared Ulyth.
Rona got on tolerably well among her comrades, but there was oneexception. With Stephanie she was generally in a state of guerrillawarfare. The latter declared that the vulgar addition to the school wasan outrage on the feelings of those who had been better brought up.Stephanie had ambitions towards society with a big S, and worshippedtitles. She would have liked the daughter of a duke for a schoolfellow,but so far no member of the aristocracy had condescended to come and beeducated at The Woodlands. Stephanie felt injured that Miss Bowes andMiss Teddington should have accepted such a girl as Rona, and lost noopportunity of showing that she thought the New Zealander very far belowthe accepted standard. The Cuckoo's undoubted good looks were perhapsanother point in her disfavour. The school beauty did not easily yieldplace to a rival, and though she professed to consider Rona's complexiontoo high-coloured, she had a sneaking consciousness that it was superiorto her own.
During the summer holidays Stephanie had taken part in a pageant thatwas held in aid of a charity near her home. As Queen of the Roses shehad occupied a rather important position, and her portrait, in herbeautiful fancy costume, had appeared in several of the leading ladies'newspapers. Stephanie's features were good, and the photograph had beena very happy one--"glorified out of all knowledge" said some of thegirls; so the photographer had exhibited it in his window, andaltogether more notice had been taken of it than was perhaps salutaryfor the original. Stephanie had brought a copy back to school, and itnow adorned her bedroom mantelpiece. She was never tired of descantingupon the pageant, and telling about all the aristocratic people who hadcome to see it. According to her account the very flower of theneighbourhood had been present, and had taken special notice of her. Agirl who had so lately consorted with the county could not be expectedto tolerate a tyro from the backwoods. Stephanie was too well brought upto allow herself to be often openly rude; her taunts were generallyingeniously veiled, but they were none the less aggravating for that.The Cuckoo might be callow in some respects, but in others she was verymuch up-to-date. Though she would look obtuse, and pretend not tounderstand, as a matter of fact not a gibe was lost upon her, and shekept an exact account of the score.
One morning, early in December, Miss Teddington, who was distributingthe contents of the postbag, handed Stephanie a small parcel. It wasonly a few days after the latter's birthday, and, supposing it to be abelated present, the mistress did not ask the usual questions by whichshe regulated her pupils' correspondence. The letters were always givenout immediately after breakfast, and the girls took them upstairs toread in their dormitories during the quarter of an hour in which theymade their beds and tidied their rooms. This morning, just as Ulyth wasshaking her pillow, Rona came in, chuckling to herself. The Cuckoo'seyes twinkled like stars.
"D'you want some sport?" she asked. "If you do, come with me, and havethe time of your life!"
Ulyth put down the pillow, and hesitated. Fifteen minutes was not toolong an allowance for all she was expected to do in her room. But Rona'smanner was inviting. She wanted to see what the fun was. The temptressheld the door open, and beckoned beguilingly.
"All serene!" yielded Ulyth.
Rona seized her by the arm and dragged her delightedly down the passage.
"Now you're chummy," she murmured. "Whatever you do, though, don't makea noise and give the show away!"
Still in the dark as to the Cuckoo's intentions, Ulyth allowed herselfto be led to Dormitory 2, No. 4, at the opposite side of the house. Wehave mentioned before that the bedrooms at The Woodlands were veryspacious--so large, indeed, that each was partitioned into four cubiclesdivided by lath-and-plaster walls. A passage inside the dormitory gaveaccess to the cubicles, which were in fact separate little bedrooms,except that the partition walls, for purposes of ventilation, did notreach the ceiling. At present the fourth cubicle in Dormitory 2 wasunoccupied, but its furniture was rather curiously arranged. One of thebeds had been pulled close against the partition, and a chest ofdrawers, with the drawers removed, had been placed upon it.
"I fixed it up last night, and it was a job," whispered the Cuckoo."Good thing I'm strong. Now we've got to climb on that, and you'll seewhat you'll see!"
Ulyth had an uneasy consciousness that she ought not to be mixed up insuch a business; but, after all,
the girls often scrambled up and peepedinto one another's cubicles for a joke, so her action would not bewithout precedent. She was a very human person, and liked fun as well asanybody. With extreme caution she and Rona mounted the chest of drawers,trying not to make the slightest noise. Their eyes were just on a levelwith the top of the partition, and they had a good view of the nextcubicle. The occupants, Stephanie and her room-mate, Beth Broadway, werefar too absorbed to think of looking up towards the ceiling. Theirattention was concentrated on the parcel which had arrived by the post.It contained a small bottle, carefully packed in shavings, and also atypewritten letter, the purport of which seemed to electrify Stephanie.
"It's the most extraordinary thing I've ever heard!" she was saying."Beth, just listen to this."
And she read aloud:
"66 HOLBORN VIADUCT, LONDON.
"DEAR MADAM,
"Having seen your portrait, as a noted beauty, published in _ThePrincess_, _The Ladies' Court Journal_, and other leading pictorials,we venture to submit to you a sample of our famous Eau de Venus, aninvaluable adjunct to the toilet of any lady possessing a delicatecomplexion. It is a perfectly harmless, fragrantly scented fluid, which,if applied daily after breakfast, produces a rose-leaf bloom which isabsolutely incomparable. As it is a new preparation, we are anxious tosubmit it to a few ladies of influence in the fashionable world, feelingsure that, once used, they will recommend it.
"We shall esteem it a great favour if you will graciously try theenclosed sample. We do not ask for testimonials, but any expression ofappreciation from one who figured so admirably as Queen of the Roses atthe Barrfield Pageant would be to us a source of immense gratification.
"May we recommend that the preparation be applied immediately afterbreakfast, as its ingredients are more potent to the delicate pores ofthe skin if used at that period of the morning.
"With apologies for troubling you, and hoping you will condescend togive our Eau de Venus at least a trial,
"We remain,
"Faithfully yours,
"RENAN, MARIETTE, ET CIE, Parfumeurs."
"How very peculiar!" gasped Beth, much impressed.
"It must be because they saw my photo in the papers," said Stephanie.She was trying to speak casually, and not to appear too flattered, buther eyes shone. "I believe that pageant made rather a sensation, and ofcourse, well, I was the principal figure in it. I suppose I shall haveto try this Eau de Venus."
"It's in a funny little bottle," commented Beth.
"Samples generally are. They never send you very much of a thing. Theywant you to buy a big bottle afterwards."
Stephanie carefully removed the cork. The preparation seemed to be of apink, milky description.
"It smells of violets," she said, offering the bottle for Beth to sniff.
"I should certainly try it, if I were you," recommended the latter.
"It says it's quite harmless," continued Stephanie, referring to theletter, "and should be used immediately after breakfast. Well, there'sno time like the present!"
If there was a curious agitation on the other side of the partition,neither girl noticed it. Stephanie poured some of the liquid into herhand and rubbed it over her face. Then she turned to the looking-glass.
"It seems very pink and queer! It's all in red streaks!"
"Perhaps you've put on too much. Wipe some of it off," advised Beth.
Vigorous measures with a sponge followed, and Stephanie anxiouslysurveyed the result.
"It won't come off!" she faltered. "Oh, what have I done to myself? I'mall red smears!"
Her dismay was too much for one at least on the other side of thepartition. Rona broke into a loud, cackling laugh. One swift glanceupwards and Stephanie realized that she was the victim of a practicaljoke. It took her exactly three seconds to reach the next cubicle.
"So it's you, is it?" she exploded. "Well, Ulyth Stanton, I amastonished! Evil communications corrupt good manners, and yours smack ofthe backwoods."
"Don't throw it on Ulyth; she knew nothing about it," retorted thechuckling Cuckoo belligerently. "It's my business, and I don't mindtelling you so!"
"I might have known, you--you utter cad! You don't deserve to be in aschool among ladies!"
"Go on. Pitch it as strong as you like. The cub's quits with you now forall your airs and your nastiness."
"Oh, don't!" protested Ulyth, interfering in much distress. "Rona, dostop! I'd no idea you meant to play such a dreadful trick on Stephie."
"You must have known something of it, or you wouldn't have come to lookon. I expect you were at the bottom of it," sneered Stephanie; "so don'ttry to sneak out of it, Ulyth Stanton. Your precious joke has marked mefor life."
"No, no! It's only cochineal and milk. I got it from the cook," put inthe Cuckoo.
"It's stained her face all over, though," said Beth Broadwayreproachfully.
"I shall go straight to Miss Bowes," whimpered Stephanie.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Ulyth. "Try some methylatedspirit first. I'll give you some from my room."
The remedy proved efficacious. The stains yielded to gentle rubbing, andthe four girls flew in a wild hurry to make their beds, three muchrelieved and one naughtily exultant.
"I've paid out Stephie," panted Rona, tucking in her blankets anyhow. "Ifelt proud of that letter. Made it up with the help of advertisements inthe _Illustrated Journal_. Then I typed it in the study while Teddie wasout. You didn't know I could type? Learnt how on the voyage, from a girlwho'd a typewriter on board with her. I laid on the butter pretty thick.I knew Steph would swallow it to any amount. Oh, didn't she just lookflattered? It was prime! The under-housemaid posted the parcel for me."
"Stephie'll never forgive you!"
"Much I care!"
For the Sake of the School Page 6
