by Enid Blyton
She hurried back to her own dormitory with her proper case.
‘I’ll put Greensleeves away later. When I tidy up my cubicle for the Dormy Inspection!’ Elizabeth decided, dumping the case on her bed. ‘I really must rush now. This is wasting time!’
Soon she was ensconced in her tree house once more.
It was all very soothing. The leaves whispered and rustled around her. The big bough was as comfortable as any chair. It had branches protruding on which she could rest her feet, as she lay back against the warm, rough bark of the massive tree trunk.
She knew some of the book quite well and now she must study the remainder. She worked hard for the next hour. She broke off once or twice to feed the robin some biscuit crumbs. She memorized two passages from the book that Miss Ranger had told them were important. She smiled as she saw a squirrel scuttle past.
‘Yes, you’ve got me back!’ she told it.
She closed her eyes for a few moments. The doves were cooing again. Oh, she did love this special tree. It was so full of life! Perhaps she would share her secret with Joan one day, and Julian . . .
Her eyes opened wide. She could hear the murmur of voices, somewhere down below.
She peered down through the leaves. There were two men standing by the country road. They were looking at the tree and talking about it. Then they came and walked round its trunk, immediately beneath her.
They spoke again. This time she could hear exactly what they were saying. She frowned, puzzled by their words.
They were walking away now, in the direction of the village. They glanced back at the tree as they went, still deep in conversation. She could no longer hear what they were saying but she remained deeply puzzled.
‘What did they mean about a big ’un? And something about some ropes?’ she wondered. ‘I don’t understand . . .’
She remembered the strange white cross that was painted down below. She began to feel a sense of foreboding.
Elizabeth had a new worry now.
Then suddenly, from the direction of the school grounds, she heard her name being called.
It was Julian’s voice.
CHAPTER EIGHT
An exam paper is lost – and found
‘ELIZABETH! YOO hoo! Where are you?’ called Julian, hands cupped to mouth.
Harry joined in, as well.
‘EE . . . LIZZZZZ . . . ABETH! Come on, wherever you are!’
‘Special Meeting!’ Julian shouted, to the empty air. ‘We’ve all got to go inside! William and Rita’s orders! Special Meeting of the first form!’
Elizabeth peered through the foliage. She could see the boys over by the school field. Now Harry was grabbing Julian’s arm.
‘Come on, it’s no good, Julian,’ he was saying. ‘William and Rita told us to come straight back if we couldn’t find her.’
The Naughtiest Girl watched the two boys run back to the school building. She felt ill at ease.
‘Drat!’ she thought. ‘Whatever are William and Rita having a special Meeting of the first form for? I don’t want to go back inside yet.’
She wanted to stay where she was for a little while longer.
She hated the idea of leaving her tree on its own this evening. Was it something to do with what those men had said? Perhaps. If she stayed for a while, they might come wandering back. They might start talking again. She would listen carefully and try to make sense of what they were saying . . .
But she dare not stay longer. Not when William and Rita had called a special Meeting. Why was it only for the first form? That was very unusual. She had better hurry!
Poor Elizabeth then found herself stuck up the tree in any case – for ten whole minutes! The grounds were very busy at this time of evening. The juniors were coming in from play to have their cocoa. The older pupils were strolling back and forth with cricket bats and tennis rackets. Every time she tried to edge along the bough to climb down the wall and get back into the grounds, she would hear fresh voices!
At last the coast was clear.
She raced over to school, brown curls flying, and made straight for the hall. The doors were open. She slowed down to recover her breath, panting and dishevelled. A figure stepped forward.
‘Stop! Elizabeth!’
It was Miss Ranger! She had been standing by the doors, observing the Meeting.
She took hold of Elizabeth’s arm and surveyed her.
‘There’s no point in your going in now, Elizabeth. The Meeting’s just ended! Wherever have you been? You know you should wash your face and brush your hair before you come to a Meeting! What have you been up to?’
‘I – I was just out of doors, Miss Ranger,’ she said, lamely.
She peered into the hall. She could hear benches being scraped back and the low buzz of conversation. William and Rita were leaving the platform. There were no monitors with them.
What a short Meeting! Miss Ranger was right. It had just ended.
‘Why isn’t the whole school here?’ she asked, puzzled.
‘Because something very unpleasant has happened which concerns only the first form. William and Rita are hoping it can be sorted out quickly. They would rather not have to bring it up at the big weekly Meeting.’
Miss Ranger hurried off then, looking very upset.
‘Where did you get to, Elizabeth?’ asked her classmates, as they came out of the hall.
One or two of them were looking at her with considerable curiosity.
‘Why didn’t you want to come to the Meeting?’
‘Are you all right?’
‘Of course I’m all right!’ replied Elizabeth, impatiently.
She pushed past them and found Julian, who was still in the hall. He was with Kathleen.
‘We wondered what had happened to you, Elizabeth,’ he said calmly. ‘You’ve missed all the excitement.’
‘What excitement? What was the Meeting about?’
‘Something terrible’s happened,’ said Kathleen, her face pale. ‘Somebody’s stolen one of the first form exam papers.’
Elizabeth was shocked.
‘How could somebody do that?’
‘It seems they’ve been printed ready for next week and are in a drawer in the school office,’ explained
Julian. ‘But the Beauty and the Beast counted them this evening and there’s one missing. It’s a copy of the paper we were all going to get for our English exam. Somebody got hold of their copy in advance!’
‘What a cheat!’ said Elizabeth, indignantly.
‘Well, they haven’t got away with it,’ shrugged Julian. ‘All the questions will have to be changed now. The joint heads must be furious! Shall we do a bit of detective work? That would be interesting.’
‘I can’t, Julian,’ said Kathleen. ‘I’m right in the middle of tidying up my cubie for Dormy Inspection. This Meeting’s been a real nuisance.’
‘Elizabeth?’ queried Julian.
Elizabeth was also shaking her head.
Of course, it was terrible that someone had stolen the English paper. And it must be someone in their class! Who could it be? Normally, she would have been fascinated to do some detective work with Julian. They often solved things together.
But this evening she had something else on her mind. Something that was worrying her very much. A matter that she felt was of supreme importance.
She had quite a different mystery to investigate.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I want to go and talk to somebody about something. In fact, I’m off there right now.’
Kathleen looked puzzled as the Naughtiest Girl rushed away.
‘Don’t forget, Elizabeth! We’ve got Dormy Inspection, tonight. Don’t go and disappear again!’ she called out.
Julian just smiled an
d scratched his head. Dear Elizabeth. What was she up to now? It seemed to be something new. At least she didn’t seem to have exams on the brain any more!
Elizabeth left the school building and hurried to the stables. She wanted to speak to the stableman. He was a real countryman and a fount of knowledge.
She would ask him what a white cross on the trunk of a tree might mean. She would also ask him if he had ever put ropes round a tree and if so, why. We’ll rope her up first thing in the morning . . . That’s what the men had said.
Of course, she mustn’t let him suspect that she was asking about any particular tree. He might wonder how she knew so much about the oak tree when it didn’t belong to Whyteleafe and was not even in the school grounds. She shouldn’t really know anything about it at all!
But she had to speak to him, urgently. It was her tree and she had to know if anything were going to happen to it in the morning.
She desperately hoped not. Perhaps the stableman could give a simple explanation. Then she would hurry back and tidy up her cubicle for Dormitory Inspection.
Silly old Dormitory Inspection! This was much more important.
‘Where has Elizabeth got to now?’ said Miss Ranger, angrily. ‘Her behaviour is very strange at the moment.’
The Dormitory Inspection was in full swing.
Once a fortnight, the dormitories at Whyteleafe School were checked for tidiness. The class teacher concerned would accompany Matron on a tour of inspection.
All the other girls in number six stood to attention by their cubicles. Beds had been beautifully made, rugs straightened. The number of items on top of chests of drawers was limited to six, as school rules ordained. So far, Matron and Miss Ranger had been well pleased.
But now they were staring into Elizabeth’s empty cubicle in annoyance. It was a mess. And the Naughtiest Girl herself was nowhere to be seen! Where was she?
She was climbing the stairs at that very moment, taking them slowly, one at a time. She was deep in thought and feeling trembly.
The stableman had not been at the stables. It had taken her some time to track him down.
But now, at last, she had the answer to her questions.
‘It’s not fair! It’s horrible!’ she raged to herself, over and over again. ‘It’s not in the least bit fair and I shall make them stop!’
She was already forming a plan in her mind.
She walked into dormitory six, her face very tense and pale.
In something of a daze, she noticed that Miss Ranger and Matron were standing in her cubicle.
‘Elizabeth! This is a disgrace!’ said Matron. ‘Look at all the books on your chest of drawers—’
‘And don’t add your English book to the pile!’ scolded Miss Ranger, as she saw Elizabeth take the small volume out of her pocket. ‘Your school books should be in your desk, not up here!’
‘I’ve been reading it this evening for the exams,’ protested Elizabeth.
She was still feeling in a daze.
‘You should have been tidying up your cubicle!’ said Miss Ranger, standing by the bed. ‘What’s your music case doing, just dumped on top of the bed? And you haven’t even bothered to put your music away.’
The teacher gathered up the score and opened the brown leather case, intending to slip it neatly inside. But there was something in the way.
‘Even your music case needs a tidy-up,’ she complained.
She pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper that had been stuffed just inside the case.
She straightened it out and stared at it in disbelief.
‘Elizabeth!’
The teacher’s shocked cry brought everybody running to the scene.
Miss Ranger was holding something aloft, between thumb and forefinger. She was waving it in front of the Naughtiest Girl.
Gasps of surprise echoed round dormitory number six.
It was the stolen exam paper.
‘What was this English examination paper doing hidden in your music case, Elizabeth?’ asked Miss Ranger.
The Naughtiest Girl gazed at the printed sheet in total astonishment. It was an exam paper, sure enough. Even from here she could see a list of questions about the English set book. She was dumbstruck.
‘Is that why you have been reading so avidly this evening?’ continued the teacher, in acid tones, glancing at the book in Elizabeth’s hand. ‘To plan your answers to the exam questions in advance?’
‘No!’ protested Elizabeth, angrily. ‘Of course not, Miss Ranger!’
‘I repeat. How did this exam paper come to be hidden in your music case?’ asked the teacher.
Matron was trying to usher the other girls out of earshot. But they were hanging on to every word.
‘Answer me, Elizabeth!’ rapped Miss Ranger.
‘I have no idea!’ exclaimed Elizabeth, hotly.
‘Come, come, Elizabeth. Think carefully before you speak. You must have some idea of how a stolen exam paper could be found in your music case,’ said the teacher calmly. ‘Just think about it for a moment. It must have got there somehow, must it not?’
Elizabeth’s sense of outrage began to subside. Miss Ranger’s comment was perfectly fair. How had it got in her case? She took a deep breath, to try to calm herself. It had been such a shock! The little girl frowned deeply for a few moments as she tried to think clearly.
Slowly, the truth dawned on her.
‘Well, Elizabeth?’
The Naughtiest Girl had become pink with excitement.
‘I – I think I know the answer,’ she said. ‘You see, my music case has been in somebody else’s possession all day.’
‘Somebody else’s possession?’
Elizabeth’s room-mates glanced at each other, uncomfortably. What a silly thing to say! The music case had been lying under her bed all day. They had noticed it there and wondered if she had forgotten about Dormy Inspection tonight.
‘Whose possession, Elizabeth?’
‘I – I’d rather not say, Miss Ranger.’
It sounded very feeble.
The teacher glanced at her watch.
‘It is nearly bedtime. You are to tidy up your cubicle, this instant. Then if, as you say, there is somebody else involved in this matter, you are to bring them to the staff room before you go to bed. I will wait to see you there. If for any reason you cannot find this other person, there is nothing more we can do about it tonight. Miss Belle and Miss Best will see you in the morning.’
It was clear, realized Elizabeth, that Miss Ranger found it very difficult to believe her story.
‘Yes, Miss Ranger!’ she replied, confidently.
Very soon the teacher would see that her story was true.
CHAPTER NINE
Elizabeth disappears
ARABELLA SAT primly on her bed in pyjamas, pretending to read a book. The curtains of her cubicle were drawn. She knew that would hardly deter Elizabeth. She was expecting her at any moment.
Next door, in room number six, Matron had supervised Elizabeth while she tidied up her cubicle. In those ten minutes, the dramatic news had spread like wildfire. The boys alone, away to their own quarters by then, knew nothing of the unfolding drama. But the news had very quickly reached Arabella’s dormitory.
The excited chatter had raged all round her.
‘The paper was in Elizabeth’s music case! She was caught red-handed!’
‘She tried to pretend someone else used her music case today. Miss Ranger says she’d better produce them!’
‘I knew it was funny the way she didn’t come to the Meeting! I said that was weird.’
‘Poor Elizabeth! We knew she was in a bad way!’
‘It was silly of her to waste all that time on the piano!’
‘It’s not a
bit like Elizabeth to cheat. I’m so amazed!’
Arabella, already in pyjamas, had quickly drawn the curtain round her cubicle. She had peered inside her music case in horror.
The truth had dawned. They must have got their cases muddled up yesterday. Elizabeth had come and swopped them back this evening without checking inside and now everybody thought that she had stolen the exam paper.
Suddenly, now, the curtains parted.
‘So there you are!’ exclaimed Elizabeth, stepping into the cubicle. ‘Just the person I want to speak to.’
Arabella’s heart was thumping. She noted the fierce glitter in Elizabeth’s eye.
‘Am I?’ she asked innocently, looking up from her book. ‘And why would that be, Elizabeth?’
‘You know perfectly well! It’s about you stealing that exam paper and then putting it into my music case by mistake!’ hissed Elizabeth. ‘We’ve got to go and see Miss Ranger straight away. The two of us. You had my music case all day, not your own! You will have to confess to her.’
‘I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about!’ exclaimed Arabella, deliberately raising her voice. ‘How dare you accuse me of stealing something. I haven’t touched your silly music case!’
It brought Rosemary on to the scene at once.
‘Elizabeth’s saying I haven’t had my music case all day, Rosemary. She says I’ve been using hers! Did you ever hear such nonsense?’
‘Arabella’s case has been here since yesterday evening. I’ve seen it!’ protested Rosemary. ‘Look, there it is! It’s never budged.’ She pointed to its position on the floor tucked between bed and chest of drawers. ‘Whatever would she want yours for?’
Elizabeth stared at Arabella in disbelief. Arabella was refusing to own up. She must by now be perfectly well aware of what had happened. But she was not going to admit it.
‘So you don’t agree that you sneaked into the school office some time today and took that exam paper?’ asked Elizabeth, scornfully. ‘And then crept up here and hid it in the music case by your bed? Thinking it was your own! If I hadn’t come in here after tea and swopped it for your proper case, the exam paper would still be there now!’