The Adventure Girls in the Air

by Clair Blank

  Chapter XVIII

  STUDIES

  Even the pleasant anticipation of the Senior Prom could not drive fromGale's mind the necessity for passing her mid-term examinations. Herwhole future, so she had privately decided, rested on her passing andgoing on with her friends to Briarhurst. If she couldn't go with theothers she would not want to go at all. It was unthinkable that sheshould be left behind!

  Slowly but surely Gale pulled her marks up. The lapse of time when shehad fallen so far behind was forgotten. She regained her old honor rollstanding in every subject but one.

  Gale had always had trouble with English. Poetry, literature and writtencomposition all combined to give her the most trouble of all hersubjects. She could read poetry, memorize it and recite it beautifully,but she had not the faintest appreciation of it. The passages of thegreater composers with their clarity and beautifully penned expressionsawoke no interest in her whatever. Literature stirred her even less. Hercompositions were fair, but not good enough to counter-balance herdeterrent marks in the other subjects.

  Disheartened and it seemed all for naught, Gale studied literature andpoetry. English was a major and she must pass! It meant the necessarypoints for her graduation! She learned the words in her books and couldrepeat them like an automaton but they meant absolutely nothing to her.

  Miss Relso was not so very much older than Gale. She could remember herown school days when she, too, had struggled with difficult subjects.She wanted to help Gale but the girl must first learn an appreciation ofShakespeare and Browning and all the other masters. Once she had thefoundation of a liking for the finer writings it would not be difficultto master all she had to for her class.

  The teacher, in a vain attempt to force interest into Gale, kept herafter school for conferences, paid particular attention to all Gale'sclasswork. But it seemed hopeless. Gale either couldn't or wouldn'tlearn to like poetry.

  "Gale, take this book home and read the story of Elaine and Lancelottonight," the teacher said one afternoon. "When you've finished it, nomatter what time it is, come around to my house and we'll talk aboutit."

  Gale accepted the book "Idylls of The King" reluctantly and left theclassroom. She had a wild desire to pitch the volume into the firsthandy wastepaper basket. Never had she liked Tennyson. She had not likedany of the poets, but Tennyson in particular. However, the blue bookremained in her possession as she wandered homeward. It even remainedwith her when she met the other Adventure Girls at the Kopper Kettle.

  "Hello," she said as she sank down in her chair. "Where's Phyllis?"

  "In the gym practicing for basketball," Janet said and pulled her chairin closer. "Now here is my plan."

  "Plan?" Carol inquired lazily. "I didn't know you had one. What is itfor?"

  "Listen and find out," Janet said. "While Phyllis is away, let's go toher Aunt and ask her to let Phyl go to Briarhurst with us."

  "Not me!" Carol said lustily. "I wouldn't face that woman for anything."

  "Scaredy cat," Janet scoffed. "She can't bite you."

  "She will try hard enough," Carol declared. "That is the wrong thing todo, Janet. She won't agree for spite then. You know she never lets Phyldo anything when she thinks Phyl has her heart really set on it. Weshould use strategy."

  "Such as----" Janet inquired hopefully.

  "I don't know," Carol admitted.

  "Then we'll do as I suggest--this once," Janet said. "We'll go and seeher Aunt. Who will go with me?" She looked around. "Don't all speak atonce," she begged when none of the others had said a word.

  Gale laughed. "I might be persuaded," she said at last. "I'll go if youwill do the talking."

  "Try to keep Janet quiet," Carol laughed.

  "I'll go too," Valerie said.

  "Excuse me," Madge put in. "I feel as Carol does. I won't face Phyl'sAunt!"

  "Then we three will go and beard the dragon in her den," Janet said withdignity. "Come along, girls."

  The three went out and walked briskly up the long hill. However, as theyneared Phyllis' home their steps began to lag. Some of their bravado wasvanishing now that they were actually nearing the tall, cold,sharp-faced woman whose strong will so dominated the life of theirfriend.

  The house itself did not look very encouraging. The curtains were drawnover all the windows and the panes looked bleak and unfriendly. Theoutside was grey and weatherbeaten and the girls knew from theirinfrequent visits the inside was just as bleak.

  "Well, ring the bell," Janet said as they stood undecided on the porch.

  Gale stretched out a hand and pulled the old fashioned bell handle. Theycould hear the peal of the iron bell somewhere within the interior.

  "Don't forget," Valerie told Janet, "you are to do the talking!"

  A second later the door was opened by Phyllis' Aunt in person. The womantook in the three girls standing there and remained firmly planted inthe doorway. Obviously she did not intend to invite them in.

  "Well?" she said when neither of them spoke.

  "I--we--that is----" Janet began lamely and looked appealingly at Gale.Gone were all intentions of talking.

  "We've come to talk to you about Phyllis," Gale said, reluctantly takingupon herself their mission.

  "What about her?" Miss Fields demanded. "If she is in any kind oftrouble I'll----"

  "Oh, no!" Valerie said hastily.

  "We've come to talk about Phyllis going to Briarhurst," Gale saidunwisely.

  The woman before them stiffened noticeably, if it were possible for herto get much stiffer.

  "Phyllis is going to Stonecliff," she said.

  "That is it," Gale said. She scarcely realized what she was saying. Herwords tumbled out incoherently in her haste to say what was to be saidand to be away again. She realized now more than ever before why Phyllislived in such awe of Miss Fields. The woman was a positive tyrant! Therewas not a glimmer of emotion in the stern cut of her features. Galedoubted if a smile had ever curled the corners of the thin lips.

  "We've become such good friends with Phyllis that we were hoping shemight go along with the rest of us to Briarhurst. It seems a shame tobreak up our group now. Besides Briarhurst is much the finer college.Their curriculum is much larger, the girls are friendly--everything isnicer and Phyllis really wants to go with us." Gale realized how unwisethe last had been as soon as she had said it.

  Miss Fields drew herself up to her full height and glared at each girlin turn. "Phyllis is going to Stonecliff," she said, and without givingthe girls a chance to carry the argument any farther she turned andslammed the door in their faces.

  "I'm glad she saw our point of view," Janet commented dryly when thegirls had left the vicinity of Phyllis' home.

  "Do you suppose we should tell Phyllis we were here?" Gale asked after amoment.

  "We better," Valerie said.

  "I hope Miss Fields doesn't think Phyllis sent us up there," Janet putin.

  "I hope not!" Gale said.

  "Well, what luck?" Carol demanded when the three girls reentered theKopper Kettle.

  "Not one inch of ground has been gained," Janet sighed. "We were forcedto retreat. The enemy was too much for us."

  "You should have used strategy," Carol insisted.

  Janet sighed and motioned to Phyllis who was just entering.

  Phyllis listened silently to the story of the girls' visit to her Aunt.She had not a word of comment to make. She was not surprised at theabrupt manner of her Aunt. She might have told them to expect nothingelse.

  When the girls broke up to make their ways to their separate homes fordinner Gale at once retreated to her room and opened the book herEnglish teacher had given her. "Idylls of The King" had not appealedparticularly to her when they had read it in class last year. But nowshe found her interest being drawn into the story of Elaine.

  "'Elaine the fair, Elaine the lovable, Elaine, the lily maid of Astolat.'"

  From the very fir
st words she let herself be drawn into the story, andfound to her amazement, when she had finished, that she enjoyed it.Perhaps it was because she secretly saw much of Elaine in herself. AndLancelot? No one but Brent could be Lancelot to her.

  Obediently when she had finished she donned her coat and walked over toMiss Relso's home. There she had the most pleasant discussion she hadever had about a book. She found herself liking the young Englishteacher more every minute and made a determined effort to like and tograsp those points upon which she had never focused much attentionbefore.

  From that time on the major part of Gale's battle was won. Every daybrought a new discovery, new appreciation of plays and poetry. She evensurprised herself when she discovered she was liking the studies inwhich she had previously failed. Now she took rapid strides forward. Shecooeperated wholeheartedly with her teacher and she did not fail to passher examinations with flying colors. Her admiration for her teacher knewno bounds.