CHAPTER XXIV--THE FIRST FIELD DAY
The girls of Central High had looked forward to this open-air exhibitionof dancing and field athletics with great expectations. The pretty folkdances were enjoyed by the girl pupils of Central High in assembly. Allof the girls who were physically able were expected to take part in suchexercises, and Mrs. Case had trained her classes, separately andtogether, in several of the Morris dances, in the Maypole dance ofEngland, and in the Italian Tarantella.
Besides these general dances there was a special class that danced theHungarian Czardas and the Swedish Rheinlander as exhibition dances. Thegymnasium dresses of the girls of Central High were a dark blue withwhite braid. In the special dances the class going through the exerciseschanged costumes in the bath houses and appeared in Hungarian andSwedish peasant costumes.
With these general exercises at this first field day of the school werealso relay races--a simple relay, shuttle relay and potato relay.Following which the champion basket-ball team of the school would play ascrub team, although the field was not a really first class place for abasket-ball court.
For a finale the girls were to repeat the Maypole dance and then breakup into running and skipping groups over the greensward of the field,the groups as a whole forming a picture pleasing and inspiring to theeyes of the spectators, who could view the proceedings from thegrandstand that had been built along one side of the field.
Sprightly little Bobby Hargrew was a beautiful dancer, and enjoyed theexercise more than she did anything else in athletics. She had been oneof Mrs. Case's prize dancers before the unfortunate occurrence that hadcut her out of the after-hour fun.
Of course, she took the exercises the physical instructor put into theregular work of the classes; but, forbidden by Mr. Sharp, she could nothope to take part in any of the events on the field. She would beobliged to sit in the stand and look on.
And this deprivation hurt the girl's pride. She hated, too, to have itsaid that of all the girls of Central High, she was the one singled outfor such punishment. It seemed hard, too, when she knew she was notguilty of the offense of which she stood accused.
However, she needed nobody to point out to her that her ownthoughtlessness and love of joking had brought the thing about. Had shenot deliberately set out to annoy Miss Carrington, her teacher, byappearing to smoke a cigarette, the Chinese punk would never have beenin Mr. Sharp's office. Then they could not have accused her of settingthe fire.
It seemed to the fun-loving girl, however, that the punishment did not"fit the crime." The punishment was so hard to bear! She began this lastweek before the Field Day in a very despondent mood, for her--for ClaraHargrew was not wont to despond over anything.
To her surprise, on Tuesday morning, however, she was called to MissCarrington's office. The teacher looked very seriously through her thickspectacles at the girl, and her face was a little flushed, Bobbythought.
"Miss Hargrew," said Gee Gee, "you have proved to my satisfaction duringthe last few weeks that you can behave yourself almost as well as anyother pupil in our school--if you so wish. Ahem!"
"Yes, ma'am," said Bobby, demurely.
"And if you can behave so well for these weeks, why not all the time?"
"I don't know, ma'am," admitted Bobby.
"Can't you?"
"Sometimes I fear I shall burst, Miss Carrington," said the girl,bluntly.
"Well! you have improved," admitted the teacher. "But you are notwilling to say anything further about the fire?"
"I didn't set it," said Bobby, doggedly.
"And you did not go near that waste basket?"
"I did not."
"Well! it is perfectly ridiculous. The fire could have been set in noother way. There was not a soul in the room but yourself. And the punkwas afire when we all left you. That is so; is it not?"
"Yes, ma'am," admitted the girl, with a flash in her eye. "But I want torepeat to you that Hester Grimes never saw me throw that match into thebasket----"
"Wait!" observed Miss Carrington, holding up her hand reprovingly. "Donot say anything you would be sorry for about Hester."
"I guess anything I'd say about her I'd not be sorry for," declaredBobby, bluntly.
"But you would. Hester has done a very brave thing. And she has helpedyou in--er--Mr. Sharp's estimation and--and in my own."
"What's that?" demanded the amazed Bobby.
"She has come to me and confessed that--out of pique--she made amis-statement," said Miss Carrington, gravely. "She admits that she did_not_ see you put anything in the basket. She said it because she wasangry with you----"
"Well! I declare!" burst forth Bobby. "Who ever knew Hessie to do athing like that before?"
"Why, Miss Hargrew, you seem to be ungrateful!" cried the teacher. "Andyou do not appreciate what a sacrifice your school friend has made foryou. Her conscience would not let her remain silent longer. She had totell me. She came to me yesterday morning----"
"All her lonesome--by herself, I mean?" demanded Bobby.
"Certainly."
"And nobody made her tell the truth?"
"Her conscience only."
Bobby had been thinking hard, however. She was amazed at this outcome ofthe matter, but she was not so glad that she could not see some reasonfor the change of heart on the part of Hester Grimes. "I bet a cent,"thought Bobby, to herself, "that Laura had something to do with it. Sheran out and spoke to Hessie and her mother Saturday. She _had_ somethingon Hessie, and made her do this."
But the girl saw it would not be wise to indicate her suspicions to GeeGee. Besides, Laura evidently wished to keep the matter a secret.
"Of course, Clara," said the teacher, stiffly, "this does not reinstateyou in the school. It merely gives you a further chance. We have nothingbut circumstantial evidence against you. The fire must be explained,however, before Mr. Sharp can pass upon your name as a member of thejunior class for next year."
"Oh, dear, Miss Carrington!" cried Bobby. "He won't suspend me?"
"He will have no choice," said the teacher, rather hardly. "It will beexpulsion. You may take your place in the field exercises on Friday and,later, you will have your part in the graduation exercises of yourclass. He will make that concession. But unless the matter of that fireis cleared up, you cannot return to Central High next fall."
The decision gave poor Bobby little comfort. To be denied the privilegeof the high school--which Mr. Sharp would have a perfect right to doconsidering the seriousness of the offense supposed to have beencommitted by the grocer's daughter--was an awful thing, to Bobby's mind.Perhaps her father would have to send her away to private school. Allthe fun of Central High would be denied her. Worse still, she must go toa strange school with the stigma of having been expelled from her localschool. Bobby did something that she seldom did--she cried herself tosleep that night.
She could not help taking Laura into her confidence, and telling her allabout it. Laura saw that Hester Grimes had taken the opportunity ofputting her fault in the best light possible before Miss Carrington.Indeed, Hester's conduct really seemed to redound to her own credit inthat teacher's opinion.
But Laura was not one to go back on her word. She had assured Hesterthat if she told the truth about Bobby's affair, she, Laura, wouldremain forever silent about the mystery of the haunted house. And Laurawould keep faith.
She saw, however, that Mr. Sharp had conceded all he possibly could tothe girl under suspicion. Bobby might take part in the Field Dayexercises; but when the term was ended she would cease to be a member ofthe school and therefore could not take part in any of the furtherathletics of the girls of Central High.
"It's a hard case, Bobby," was all she could say to the troubled girl."Let us hope something may turn up to explain the mystery of that fire."
"You try and turn it up, then, Laura," begged Bobby. "I know you canfind out about it, if you put your mind to it. Do, _do_, DO!"
And Laura promised. But she had no idea what she could do, nor how sheshoul
d go about hunting down the clue which might lead to theexplanation of that most mysterious blaze.
The eventful Friday came, however, and Laura had made no progress inpoor Bobby's trouble. It was a beautiful day, and the Central High girlsmarched to the athletic field right after the noon recess. They carrieda banner, and were cheered along the short march by their neighbors andfriends.
So many people wished to get into the field to see the games that theschool authorities had to be careful about the distribution of thetickets. But Laura noted that Colonel Swayne had a prominent seat in thegrandstand. She smiled as she saw the old gentleman, and she hoped withall her heart that what the wealthy man saw of the athletics of theGirls' Branch that day would open the "way to his pocket-book," as JessMorse had expressed it.
The Girls of Central High; Or, Rivals for All Honors Page 24