by Enid Blyton
‘Tomorrow,’ answered June. ‘I noticed this morning that Amy has almost used up all of her old bar of soap, which means that she will open the new one tomorrow.’
Freddie said nothing, for an idea had just come to her – an idea so breathtakingly bold and daring that June herself might have come up with it. But Freddie decided to say nothing to June, for she was going to give her friend a surprise. And she was going to give the whole of North Tower the biggest laugh it had ever had!
Felicity wondered what June and Freddie were up to as the third form dressed the following morning. The two of them whispered together excitedly, and there was a very mischievous twinkle in Freddie’s eye! Freddie had asked June if she could switch the soap bars, and June had agreed. ‘Be careful, though,’ she had warned. ‘Make sure that no one’s around when you do it, and see that you put our special soap in exactly the same place as Amy’s soap was. We don’t want her smelling a rat!’
Now the two girls nudged one another and giggled as they watched Amy take the soap from the drawer of her cabinet and walk into the bathroom.
‘What are you two up to?’ asked Felicity, unable to contain her curiosity any longer.
‘Why, nothing at all, Felicity,’ answered June, making her expression as innocent as she possibly could. ‘What makes you think that we’re up to something?’
‘You both seem very excited about something,’ said Felicity, eyeing them suspiciously. ‘Come on – come clean!’
Freddie gave a sudden snort of laughter, and June’s lips twitched as she said, ‘But there’s nothing to come clean about, Felicity. Really there isn’t. We’re not trying to softsoap you.’
This was too much for Freddie, who collapsed on to her bed in a fit of giggles and Felicity, realising that she wasn’t going to get anything out of the pair, shook her head and went off to join Susan.
June gave Amy a sidelong glance as she came out of the bathroom, but the magic soap had not begun to do its work yet, and her complexion looked as clean and fresh as ever. But it wouldn’t stay that way for long, thought June, smiling to herself. Just you wait, Amy!
But, as breakfast wore on, and Amy’s face stayed the same, June grew impatient.
‘Why is nothing happening?’ she muttered under her breath to Freddie. ‘Don’t say that Alicia has given me a dud bar of soap!’
‘I’m sure she hasn’t,’ said Freddie confidently. ‘In fact, I think that things are just about to happen!’
June lifted her head sharply, then realised that Freddie wasn’t looking at Amy, but at the head of the table, where Mam’zelle Dupont sat. She followed Freddie’s gaze – and gave a gasp! For Mam’zelle’s skin was turning a muddy, dingy brown.
Pam and Susan, who sat either side of the French mistress, couldn’t fail to notice the startling transformation as well, and they stared at Mam’zelle, who was quite unaware of her strange appearance, in mingled horror and astonishment. Each of them nudged the girl next to her, and soon the word was passed around the table, and the third form were all gazing at Mam’zelle, trying desperately to control their laughter. Most of the girls guessed, of course, that June had played a trick using the soap that Alicia had given her, but they simply couldn’t imagine how she had got Mam’zelle to use it. How clever of her!
June couldn’t imagine how Mam’zelle had got hold of the magic soap either, and turned to Freddie, but before she could ask for an explanation, a cry came from the head of the table. Mam’zelle had just looked down at her hands, and realised that they were covered in dirty, muddy streaks.
‘Mon dieu!’ she exclaimed. ‘My hands, they are filthy. Yet I washed them this morning. What can have caused this?’
Carefully she examined her cup, her plate and even her knife and fork, for dirty marks, and this was too much for Nora, who gave one of her sudden snorts of laughter. Most of the others were having difficulty in controlling their mirth as well, and people at the other tables began to notice.
‘My word, just look at Mam’zelle Dupont!’
‘Whatever has happened to her?’
‘Has she forgotten to have a wash this morning?’
‘It must be a trick! I’ll bet it was June!’
Mam’zelle became aware of the whispering and looked most uncomfortable, and Felicity took pity on her.
‘Mam’zelle,’ she said, when she could trust her voice enough to speak. ‘I’m afraid it’s not just your hands that are dirty, but your face as well.’
Amy, who always carried a little mirror around with her, fished it out of her pocket and handed it to the French mistress, who took one look at her reflection and gave a piercing shriek.
The dining-room was in uproar by this time and the other mistresses, who had now had a good look at Mam’zelle’s dirty face, stared at one another in consternation. Miss Potts took charge, getting to her feet and raising her voice to demand silence.
‘That will do!’ she commanded. ‘Mam’zelle Dupont, I don’t understand how you appear to be covered in mud, since you looked quite clean when you first came in to breakfast, but I suggest that you go to one of the bathrooms and wash it off before your first class begins.’
So, summoning up what dignity she could, the little French mistress tottered from the dining-room, and Miss Potts said sharply, ‘June! I don’t suppose you know anything about this, do you?’
‘No, I don’t, Miss Potts,’ answered June quite truthfully, and Miss Potts stared at her hard, knowing that she could play the innocent very well when it suited her. But the girl looked just as bewildered as the others, though she didn’t seem to find it as funny as they did – in fact, she looked rather angry.
‘Well, it’s a mystery to me how Mam’zelle Dupont could have entered the room looking as neat as a new pin, and left it looking as though she had been in a mud fight!’ said Miss Potts. ‘I don’t know if I shall ever get to the bottom of it. Now, girls, please finish your breakfast quietly, then make your way to your first lesson.’
Miss Potts went back to the first-form table and, as soon as she was out of earshot, a babble of low-voiced chatter broke out among the third formers.
‘June! It was you, wasn’t it?’
‘Of course it was. You used the magic soap on Mam’zelle, didn’t you?’
‘I must say, it was a splendid trick! Did you see poor old Mam’zelle’s face?’
‘Just like you not to own up.’
This last remark came from Amy, and June replied, ‘I didn’t own up because it wasn’t me who played the trick, I tell you!’
‘Then who was it?’ asked Felicity, puzzled.
‘It was me!’ said Freddie gleefully, her eyes alight with mischief. ‘I did it to get back at Mam’zelle for being so hard on June the other day.’
Pam chuckled. ‘Well, you certainly did that all right! So, do you mean to say that June wasn’t in on the trick at all?’
‘No,’ said June rather shortly. ‘I thought that I was, but it seems that Freddie decided to go it alone and use the soap on Mam’zelle, instead of the person we had chosen.’
‘You’d better watch your step, June,’ laughed Nora. ‘Freddie will be taking over from you as the form joker if you aren’t careful.’
June said nothing, and Freddie stared at her, rather puzzled at her coolness. Anyone would think that she wasn’t happy about getting her revenge on Mam’zelle Dupont.
In fact, June was simply furious with Freddie for stealing her thunder. She was the leader in their friendship, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. She was quite happy for Freddie to play second fiddle to her, and to act as her assistant in planning jokes and tricks, but she, June, was the joker of the form and no one was going to take that position away from her. Where another girl might have taken pleasure in getting top marks in class, or for her sporting achievements, all June cared about was getting praise for her jokes and tricks. And she didn’t like to see Freddie getting a share of that praise now, feeling extremely jealous as the others congratulated her.
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br /> ‘Simply marvellous, Freddie,’ said Susan, clapping her on the back. ‘But however did you get Mam’zelle to use the soap?’
‘Oh, it was easy, really,’ answered Freddie. ‘I just slipped into her bathroom when I knew that she was taking prep with the second form, and left the soap there.’
‘Heavens, how daring!’ said Bonnie, her eyes wide with admiration. ‘What if someone had seen you?’
‘Thank goodness no one did!’ said Julie. ‘That was the best laugh I’ve had in simply ages.’
June pushed her bowl of half-eaten porridge away, her appetite completely gone and her thoughts racing. Much as she liked the girl, Freddie was going to have to learn that there was only room for one joker in the third form. June would have to think of a way to turn Freddie’s thoughts and energies in another direction. But how?
The answer came to June, quite by chance, one Saturday morning. She walked into the cloakroom to find Felicity and Susan putting on their hats and coats and said, ‘Hallo – where are you two off to?’
‘Oh, we thought we’d just go for a walk in the countryside,’ answered Felicity. ‘It’s gloriously sunny out, although it’s a little chilly.’
‘Julie’s ridden Jack over to Bill and Clarissa’s,’ put in Susan. ‘And Nora and Pam have gone with her, so we thought we might make our way over there too.’
Bill and Clarissa were two old girls who had been in the same form as Darrell and Alicia, and they now ran a riding stables not far from the school. The Malory Towers girls were very fond of Bill and Clarissa, and often visited them, either to go riding or just for a chat. Miss Peters, who was also a great horse-woman and a close friend of the pair, was a regular visitor too.
‘I say, do you mind if I tag along?’ asked June. ‘Poor old Freddie’s been given a basketful of mending to do by Matron and it’s going to take her simply ages, so I’m at a bit of a loose end.’
So June put her hat and coat on, and soon the three girls were striding out of the gates of Malory Towers and along a pretty country lane, carpeted with russet autumn leaves.
‘My word, this wind is pretty blustery,’ said Susan, holding her hat on her head. ‘Thank goodness we’re not walking along the cliff, or we should have been blown over.’
Suddenly June stopped dead and lifted her finger, saying, ‘Hush a minute! I think I heard something.’
The other two fell silent, then they heard the noise too – a plaintive little mew. This was followed by a woman’s voice, saying, ‘Oh dear, Sooty, don’t say you’ve got stuck in that apple tree again! Now, how on earth am I to get you down?’
‘It’s coming from the garden of that little cottage over there,’ said Felicity. ‘I think that we should see if we can help.’
The cottage was surrounded by a wall, with a wooden gate in the middle, and the three girls let themselves in, to see an elderly lady standing in the middle of a neat little garden, looking up at an apple tree with an expression of dismay.
‘Excuse me,’ said Felicity. ‘It sounds as if you’re in some sort of trouble and we came to see if we could help.’
‘Oh, how kind,’ said the lady, her worried face creasing into a smile as she turned to face the three girls. ‘Do you see what has happened? That silly cat of mine has been climbing the apple tree, and now he’s got himself stuck and can’t get down. Sooty doesn’t seem to realise that I’m not as young as I used to be and can’t go climbing up after him any more!’
The pitiful mew sounded again, this time from above their heads, and the girls looked up to see a little pointed black face with brilliant green eyes staring down at them.
‘Don’t worry,’ said June, stepping towards the tree. ‘I’ll have Sooty down in a trice.’
Quickly and agilely she began to climb, while Felicity stood at the bottom of the tree ready to take the cat from her. Susan, meanwhile, chatted to the old lady, whose name was Mrs Dale.
‘Do be careful, dear!’ Mrs Dale called out, as June climbed ever higher. ‘I’d never forgive myself if you were to fall and hurt yourself.’
But June had been climbing trees since she could walk, and this one presented no problem to her. Soon she reached the branch the frightened Sooty was on, and she grabbed him firmly, tucking him into the front of her coat to keep him secure, before shinning back down again. Sooty wasn’t too pleased about being handed over to Felicity, and dug his claws firmly into June’s coat, but the two girls managed to dislodge him and Felicity placed him safely on the ground.
‘How can I ever thank you?’ said Mrs Dale, stooping to stroke the little black cat.
‘All in a day’s work,’ said June breezily. ‘And now, I suppose, we’d best be on our way.’
‘Oh no, you must come in and have some homemade cake and lemonade,’ insisted Mrs Dale. ‘It’s the least I can do after you’ve rescued my Sooty. Besides, I don’t get many visitors and I should enjoy your company.’
So, within minutes, the girls were seated round the table in Mrs Dale’s cosy kitchen, enjoying big slices of the most delicious fruit cake, washed down with lemonade.
‘This cake is first rate, Mrs Dale,’ said Susan.
‘Well, it’s nice to see you girls enjoying it,’ said the old lady, smiling. ‘I suppose you all come from Malory Towers?’
‘That’s right,’ said Felicity.
‘Well, you’re a credit to the school. Actually, my granddaughter goes there. I wonder if you know her? Her name is Amy Ryder-Cochrane.’
The three girls almost choked on their lemonade, for they would never have imagined that Mrs Dale was related to the snobbish Amy. Mrs Dale was just a nice, ordinary old lady, very like their own grandmothers, and there was nothing grand about her at all, while the little cottage she lived in was very modest indeed. The girls exchanged startled glances and Felicity said, ‘Yes, we know Amy. She’s in the same form as us.’
‘But she never mentioned that she had a grandmother living nearby,’ said June.
‘Ah well, she wouldn’t,’ said Mrs Dale. ‘Because she doesn’t know I’m here.’
The old lady became pensive, looking at the girls as though deciding whether or not she could trust them. Eventually, it seemed, she decided that she could, for she went on, ‘You see, my dears, Amy’s father is a very wealthy, well-connected gentleman. And when he married my daughter, he didn’t want all his fancy friends and relatives knowing that she came from quite a common background, so she wasn’t allowed to see very much of me.’
The girls listened, appalled, and Felicity murmured to Susan, ‘Now we can see where Amy gets her snobbishness from.’
‘And when Amy was born, he didn’t want her having anything to do with me either,’ said Mrs Dale. ‘My daughter brought her to see me when she was a baby, but I haven’t seen her since. Jane – that’s my daughter – visits now and again, but she never brings Amy because that husband of hers wouldn’t approve.’
The girls didn’t know quite what to say. Mrs Dale sounded quite matter-of-fact about the whole situation, but there was a hint of sadness in the faded blue eyes. It was left to the outspoken June to say what they were all thinking. ‘But that’s absolutely dreadful!’ she burst out. ‘Don’t worry, Mrs Dale, we’ll tell Amy that you’re here and bring her along to visit you.’
‘Oh no, my dear, you mustn’t!’ said the old lady, looking quite alarmed. ‘You see, whatever my feelings are, it wouldn’t be right to encourage her to disobey her father. I admit that when I learned she was coming to school here, I hoped that I might get a glimpse of her now and then, for all I have of her is a photo that was taken when she was about five years old. But it would be very wrong of me to ask her to go behind her father’s back, so I must ask you all not to betray my confidence.’
Rather reluctantly, the three girls promised Mrs Dale that they wouldn’t divulge to Amy that she was living near the school, and the old lady seemed happy with this.
The girls, though, were far from happy, and they discussed the matter as they went on t
heir way to the riding stables.
‘Amy’s father must be a dreadful man,’ said Susan, giving a shudder.
‘Well, her mother must be pretty awful too, for agreeing to turn her back on her own mother!’ said June. ‘My goodness, if my father tried to tell Mother that she couldn’t take me to visit my granny she would soon tell him where to get off!’
‘Yes, so would mine,’ said Felicity. She gave a sigh. ‘It’s such a pity that we can’t let on to Amy. Mrs Dale seems such a nice woman, and she’s awfully lonely. I daresay a few visits from Amy would cheer her up no end.’
‘Yes,’ said June, looking thoughtful. ‘Yes, I expect they would.’
Felicity, who mistrusted June when she wore that thoughtful expression, said sharply, ‘Now listen, June! I don’t know what’s in your mind, but we gave our word to Mrs Dale that we wouldn’t say anything to Amy, and we must keep it.’
‘My dear Felicity, I have no intention of saying anything to Amy,’ said June.
‘Good,’ said Felicity. ‘And we’d better not mention it to any of the others, either. We’ll just keep it a secret between the three of us.’
Secrets and tricks
But June did tell someone else about Amy’s grandmother – she told Freddie.
‘You must promise not to say a word to any of the others, though,’ June warned her solemnly. ‘And don’t let on that I’ve told you, or Felicity won’t be very pleased.’
‘I shan’t say a word, June,’ said Freddie, who had listened open-mouthed to June’s tale. ‘You can count on me. It’s quite a sad story, isn’t it? Poor Mrs Dale!’
‘She’s such a dear old lady,’ said June, with a sigh. ‘And I felt so sorry for her, for she seems awfully lonely. I did think of an idea to help her, but…’
June’s voice tailed off and Freddie prompted eagerly, ‘But what? Do tell, June.’
June sighed again and said, ‘There’s no point, for it wouldn’t work. It needs someone really bold and daring to carry it off, and I just can’t think of anyone who could do it.’