The Nicest Girl in the School: A Story of School Life

by Angela Brazil

  CHAPTER XI

  The Summer Term

  In spite of Enid's advice not to worry about the Caesar translation,Patty could not help taking the matter deeply to heart. Though none ofthe girls openly accused her, she felt that the unjust suspicion clungto her, and that many were undecided whether to consider her guilty orinnocent. That she, of all in the class, the one who had striven so hardfor the cause of right and honour, should be obliged to remain with thisblot upon the white page of her school career, seemed the greatest trialwhich she could be called upon to bear. The worst of it was that shecould not even discuss it freely with her friends. The more she thoughtabout the affair, the more sure she felt that the book must havebelonged to Muriel, and the latter's rather conscious manner onlyconfirmed her suspicion. The class, finding that Muriel disliked to hearthe subject mentioned, naturally concluded that she was ashamed for hercousin's name to be connected with anything dishonourable, and bycommon consent never alluded to it in her presence. Muriel avoided Pattymore than ever, confining herself strictly to Vera Clifford's company,and keeping aloof from the rest of the girls, who, indeed, found her sosupercilious and disagreeable that they were not very anxious to be onfriendly terms with her. Miss Harper, since burning the translation, hadnot referred to it again; yet, though she did not apparently relax anyof the trust which she usually placed in her pupils, all were consciousof an increased vigilance in her observation of them.

  "She's watching us," said Avis one day. "I can't quite describe how, butI feel as if Miss Harper knew all that I was doing and saying, and eventhinking. I believe her eyes and ears must be sharper than anybodyelse's. She seems to notice such tiny little things, and then speaks ofthem quite a long time afterwards. She remembered perfectly well, I'msure, that it was Beatrice Wynne who used always to borrow otherpeople's pencils last term and never give them back, because whenBeatrice lent her one yesterday she said so pointedly that she shouldreturn it."

  It was impossible to tell from the teacher's manner whether sheconsidered the translation had really belonged to Patty. Her remark atthe time about the initials certainly favoured such a supposition, butshe made no difference in her behaviour, and, indeed, several timespraised Patty's work during the Latin lesson. The ownership of the bookseemed likely to remain an unsolved mystery, one of those unpleasantoccurrences which happen sometimes in a school, to the grief of themistresses and the consternation of all concerned. The only thing whichit was possible for Patty to do was to live the affair down, and trustthat time and patient waiting might one day re-establish her reputationabsolutely and beyond a doubt in the opinion of both teachers andcomrades. The remainder of the spring term passed without any specialevent, and by Easter Mrs. Hirst wrote to say that the children were nowin the best of health, that scarlet-fever germs had long ago beendisinfected away, and that all the family were looking forward eagerlyto her return. Patty thought there never had been such a meeting, orsuch glorious holidays as followed afterwards. It was almost worth whileto have been absent for seven whole months to experience the joy of sucha warm welcome as she found waiting for her at home. The little onesclung to her like flies round a honey pot, and even the baby, grown outof all knowledge, soon made friends with the sister whom he hadforgotten. She had several delightful drives with her father when hewent on his rounds, and in the long chats with her mother, after theyounger ones were in bed, she was able to pour out most of her troubles,and get that comfort and good counsel which mothers always seem to knowbest how to give.

  "I wish Muriel would like me better!" confided Patty. "It seems no use;however hard I try to be nice to her, everything I do is always wrong.Am I really keeping my promise to Uncle Sidney, when she never gives methe chance to be her friend?"

  "Certainly, if you are trying your best," said Mrs. Hirst. "We cannotforce our friendship where it is not wanted. You can await youropportunity of doing Muriel a good turn; some day she may appreciate youbetter. Kindness is never wasted, and even if it does not seem to haveany immediate result, it is doing its own quiet work, and may return toyou afterwards in ways which you never expect. We rarely find peopleexactly to our liking, so the best plan is to pick out their goodpoints, and ignore the disagreeable side as much as we can. One of thegreatest secrets in life is to know how to smile and wait. I am sure youwill never regret being patient with Muriel, and who can tell that shemay not change her views, and learn to value what she now throws away."

  Patty went back to school much consoled, and in a far more cheerfulframe of mind. She was determined that she would not let Muriel'sunkindness distress her any more. She would not avoid her cousin, but,on the other hand, she would not make advances which would lay her opento a rebuff, or give any opportunity for that scornful treatment whichhad hurt her so much in the past. As her mother suggested, she would beready to help if occasion offered, but there seemed no need to pressservices which were evidently neither desired nor welcome. Havingsettled that point with her own conscience, Patty began thoroughly toenjoy the summer term. The Priory was delightfully situated in the midstof pretty country, and the girls were allowed many rambles in the woodsor on the heathery common. Occasionally the botany class would make anexcursion, under the superintendence of Miss Rowe, to obtain specimensof wild flowers, which they afterwards pressed and pasted in books; andonce Miss Lincoln took the whole of the lower school to hunt for fossilsamong the heaps of shale lying at the mouth of an old quarry. Sheherself was both a keen geologist and naturalist, and tried to interesther girls in all the specimens of stones, flowers, birds, or insectswhich they found during their walks. "If you will only learn to talkabout things instead of people," she said, "you will avoid a great dealof disagreeable gossip and ill-natured conversation. The wide world isfull of beautiful objects, and the more you know about them the lessconcern you will take over your neighbours' doings and failings. Realculture consists largely in being able to discuss things instead ofpersons. If you will lay up plenty of interests while you are young, youwill find you have been like bees gathering honey, and you will have astore to draw upon for the rest of your lives quite independent of alloutside happenings, or good or bad fortune which may come to you."

  It was not every day, of course, that the girls could be taken for longcountry walks; there were many other occupations at The Priory whichwere quite as delightful. During the summer term the callisthenic classwas given up, and swimming was held instead in the large bath beyond thegymnasium. Patty, who had not yet had any opportunity of learning toswim, looked forward with great eagerness to her first dip. The bath wasvery nicely arranged, with a broad walk round it, where onlookers couldstand and watch, a row of small dressing-rooms at each side, and aplatform at the deep end, from which diving might be performed. Pattyfound that she and Jean Bannerman were the only ones in the class whohad not already had some practice in the water. The two beginners donnedtheir costumes and made their initial plunge together, therefore, at theshallow end. They would have been quite content to splash about likeducks, watching the more advanced members, who were floating andswimming as if in their natural element; that, however, Miss Latimerwould not allow. Placing a lifebuoy round Patty's waist, she decreedthat she must commence to learn her strokes, and showed her carefullyhow these ought to be done. There was a long plank across the bath uponwhich the teacher could stand, and by means of a rope attached to thelifebuoy, could hold up her pupil until she had mastered the art ofkeeping herself afloat. Patty found it a great deal more difficult thanshe had at first imagined. She floundered and struggled helplessly inher efforts to carry out Miss Latimer's directions, foolishly opened hermouth in the water, spluttered, choked, and was very glad to take arest, and allow Jean to have a turn instead. The latter, who had bathedoften at the seaside, got on much better, and was able to inspire Pattywith confidence for fresh efforts when she plucked up her courage to tryagain.

  "You needn't be in the least afraid," said Miss Latimer encouragingly."Everyone finds it hard at first, just like learning to ride a bicy
cle,or to skate, or any other unaccustomed mode of locomotion. You will soonget used to the movements, and then you will never forget them all yourlife; it will be as easy and natural to you as walking."

  "I wish I'd got to that stage," said Patty. "Just at present I feel likeone of those toy tin floating ducks that has lost its tail, andover-balances when you put it into the water. I can't remember that Iought to use both my arms and my legs. How well you managed, Jean!"

  "I was practising on my bed this morning," said Jean. "Cissie and Maggieshowed me the strokes. It's really rather like what a frog does, isn'tit?"

  "Come along; I can't waste time," said Miss Latimer. "I can give youeach one more turn with the lifebuoy, and then I shall expect you tohold one another up, and try by yourselves."

  By the third lesson Patty had improved so much that she was able tomanage without assistance, and Miss Latimer declared that she must swimthe entire length of the bath alone, from the steps to the deep end. Allthe class stopped floating and diving, and sat down on the edge towatch her, so that it was somewhat of an ordeal to have to perform herfeat before a row of laughing eyes. She did very nicely, indeed, in theshallow part, where she could put a surreptitious foot to the bottom;but when it came to the middle, and all had to depend upon her aquaticskill, she grew nervous.

  "Go on, Patty, you're all right!" called Enid.

  "Throw your neck back!" cried Miss Latimer.

  "Go on, Patty, keep it up!"

  "Don't be done, Patty!"

  "She's going under!"

  "No, she's not!"

  "Keep at it, Patty!"

  "Don't be afraid!"

  "You'll get across all right!"

  In spite of her companions' encouraging remarks, however, Patty did notsucceed this time. I suppose she forgot to keep her neck thrown back, orto draw in her breath properly; at any rate, up went her heels, and downwent her head, and she seemed suddenly to turn a kind of somersault inthe water. Instantly all the members of the class dived to her rescue,so bent on putting into performance the life-saving which they hadpractised, that they almost pulled her to pieces in their efforts.

  "Oh, you've nearly dragged my arms off!" cried poor Patty, when at lastshe was in safety at the shallow end again.

  "You might have been drowned if it hadn't been for us!" exclaimed CissieGardiner, hysterically.

  "Hardly that, while I was standing by," remarked Miss Latimer, with asmile. "But Patty has given you such good practice in rescuing adrowning person, that you ought to be quite grateful to her."

  "Oh, Patty, you did look funny! You came up spouting like a whale!" saidEnid.

  "I didn't feel funny," returned Patty. "It was horrid. I thought I wasswallowing half the water in the bath."

  "You won't want any tea, then!" declared Winnie.

  "Yes, I shall."

  "Patty must try again another day," said Miss Latimer. "She will soongain a little more confidence, and I expect after a few weeks she willbe diving at the deep end as readily as any of you. We will take thelife-saving again now, with Enid to play the part of a drowning person.I was not at all satisfied with the way you pulled Patty out of thewater. If such an accident had happened in a river, or in the open sea,I am afraid some of you would have been in danger yourselves."

  Miss Latimer proved a true prophet, and Patty found that long before thesummer term was over she was able to both dive and float, as well asswim easily round the bath. She was delighted with her newaccomplishment, and began to plan already whether it would be possibleto persuade her father to leave his patients and take his family to theseaside for a few weeks during the holidays, so that she might have thesatisfaction of teaching the little ones what she had learnt herself.

  "If he really can't spare the time," she confided to Enid, "there's abig pond at the end of a pasture near a farm, about a mile from ourhouse. I'm sure it would be quite safe, and we could all bathe there,even Kitty and Rowley. I could float a plank on the water to hold themup while they're learning their strokes, or perhaps Mother's air cushionwould be of some use, if she'd lend it to us. Basil can swim already--helearnt in the river near his school--so he'd come and help, and I'm surethey'd all enjoy it immensely, even if they only splashed about and didnothing else."

  The two great recreations of the summer term at The Priory were tennisand cricket. A few girls indulged occasionally in croquet and archery,but that was only in spare time, and during the couple of hours devoteddaily to outdoor exercise everybody was expected to take part in one orother of the principal games.

  "You'd better choose definitely which you mean to go in for, Patty,"said Winnie, "and then stick to it. If you've any aspirations towardsbeing a tennis champion, I should advise you to keep to the courts, andpractise every minute you can; but if, on the other hand, you likecricket better, I shouldn't bother with tennis if I were you."

  "Winnie's right; you can't serve two masters," said Enid. "It will takeyour whole time if you want to do anything at tennis. The Chambers areall so splendid at it, it needs a good player to have any chance againstthem."

  "But Miss Latimer's very hard to satisfy at cricket," said Winnie.

  "So she is. She certainly doesn't allow any slack practice."

  "She pegged my right leg down once to prevent my moving it, and she'smost severe on a crooked bat," said Avis.

  "She recollects everybody's average scores for whole years back," saidWinnie. "I can't think how anybody can have such a memory."

  "Miss Lincoln's the funniest," said Cissie Gardiner. "When I lost awicket last Wednesday, she said: 'That must be because you got a badmark for Euclid, my dear!' As if mathematics had anything to do withcricket."

  Winnie laughed.

  "Miss Lincoln always says: 'Those who do well in school will be equallysuccessful in athletics'; but it's just a pleasant little fiction, likenurses telling you if you eat crusts it will make your hair curl, and itnever did, because I used to finish even the hardest and most burntones, and my hair's as straight as a yard measure, while my littlebrother, who leaves all his, has a regular mop of close ringlets."

  "Which do you play, Avis?" asked Patty.

  "Tennis. I'm no good at all at cricket. I miss the easiest catches, andget the ball tangled in my skirts. I used to play with my brothers athome, but they always called me 'butterfingers'; so I've quite given itup, and I won't even field for them now. They tell me girls are no goodat cricket."

  "They should see Dora Stephenson," said Enid. "She plays as good a gameas any boy, I'm sure. Miss Latimer's tremendously proud of her batting."

  "Yes, I often wish I could take her home to have a match against theboys," replied Avis. "How astonished they would be! I think our oldgardener would have a fit. He doesn't at all approve of girls' cricket,and told me once that 'young misses weren't meant to be lads', and Ishould 'only make a bad job of it'. He rolls the tennis court mostbeautifully, though, when he knows I'm coming back for the holidays."

  "Which are you going to choose, then, Patty, cricket or tennis?" askedEnid, going back to the original subject of the conversation.

  "I won't decide until I've had a good turn at each, and see which I canmanage best," said Patty, diplomatically.

  "All right! There's to be a match on Saturday, and I'll ask Miss Latimerto let you be in it. It's a scratch team from the Lower School againstprefects and monitresses. I've no doubt we shall be badly beaten, but itreally doesn't matter. It's only for practice."

  "Do the prefects play well?"

  "I should think so! They're very keen on it. Dora Stephenson reads upRanjitsinhji, and Meta Hall goes to all the county matches when she canget the chance. You'll have to play up, Patty, if we want to make anyscore at all."

  "Don't expect too much," said Patty. "I might send a catch first thing.I've played at home with Basil, but I don't know how I shall get onhere."

  At Enid's special request, Miss Latimer included Patty in the scratchteam for the following Saturday afternoon, so that she might be able toshow her c
apabilities and give her companions an opportunity of judgingwhether she might be considered fit for a place in the Lower Schooleleven. The prefects went in first, and the mistress, who had a keen eyefor the future possibilities of her pupils, noticed with approval thatPatty was not fielding like a novice, that she caught her ball neatly inher hands, instead of stopping it with her skirts, and threw it uppromptly with an accuracy of aim not always common among girl players.Wishing to test her further, Miss Latimer called to her at the nextover, and told her to take her turn at bowling. It was Dora Stephenson'sinnings, and the Lower School knew that a struggle was in store. Dora'srecord scores were well known, and it often seemed almost impossible toput her out. Patty walked up, quaking at the prospect of her encounter.

  "Oh, Miss Latimer!" said Beatrice Wynne. "Are you sending in Patty tobowl now? It's rather hard on our side, isn't it?"

  "I know what I am about, Beatrice," replied the teacher. "Go on, Patty,and don't be nervous. Let us all see what you can do."

  Patty's first ball showed a science that made her companions open theireyes wide. It was a curious way of bowling, half under, half over arm,such as none of the girls had seen before, and which seemed to provemost baffling. For three balls Dora merely slogged; the fourth, to herextreme surprise, got her out.

  "A duck! A duck!" cried the opposite side, in raptures of delight. Tohave taken her wicket in the first "over" was a success such as they hadnever expected, and a triumph for the Lower School not to be forgottenin a hurry.

  "It was well bowled, certainly," said Dora, meeting her defeat withdignity. "I didn't think Patty could have done it. Oh, I don't grudgeyou a wicket! I'm only too glad to see good play, I assure you, for thecredit of the school."

  "It was nothing but luck, I believe," said Patty, when her friendscrowded round to rejoice over her. "I daresay I couldn't do it again."

  "Yes, you could," declared Enid. "It was that peculiar twist that bowledher. You'll have to teach it to us. Where did you learn it?"

  "An uncle from Australia stayed with us last summer, and he showed us.Basil and I used to practise it every evening. Basil can do it farbetter than I can."

  "You do it quite well enough. You've made your reputation thisafternoon, and you're sure to be put in the Lower School eleven. MissLatimer never says much, but I can see she's pleased with you. I'm soglad, because this really settles the question. You mustn't think oftennis again, but stick to cricket."

  Patty was glad to have scored such a success. She had not been speciallygood at hockey during the winter, and was only a moderate tennis player,so it was pleasant to find one game in which she had a chance ofexcelling, and of gaining credit for her team as well as for herself.For once she tasted the sweets of popularity, and had the satisfactionof hearing even Vera Clifford offer her congratulations.

  "I suppose I couldn't expect Muriel to do so," she thought. "She knowsabout it, though she wasn't watching the match, because I heard CissieGardiner telling her. She's the only one in the class who hasn'tmentioned it. Of course it doesn't matter in the least; still, it wouldhave been so nice, when I'm her own cousin, if she had said just asingle word to show that she cared."