That's pat;
But Ma-hershahalhashbaz,
What's that?
‘Oh, Clovy, you bright little thing!’ cried Rose, in fits of laughter.
But Mary Silver looked quite pale.
‘I never heard of anything so awful!’ she said. ‘If that word had come to me, I should have fainted away on the spot – know I should!’
Next came –
Word – Buttons.
Question – What is the best way to make home happy?
To me ‘tis quite clear I can answer this right:
Sew on the buttons, and sew them on tight.
‘I suspect that is Amy's,' said Esther; ‘she's such a model for mending and keeping things in order.
‘It's not fair guessing aloud in this way,’ said Sally Alsop. Sally always spoke for Amy, and Amy for Sally. ‘Voice and Echo' Rose called them; only, as she remarked, nobody could tell which was Echo and which Voice.
The next word was ‘Mrs Nipson‘, and the question, ‘Do you like flowers?’
Do I like flowers? I will not write a sonnet,
Singing their beauty as a poet might do:
I just detest those on Aunt Nipson's bonnet,
Because they're just like her – all grey and blue,
Dusty and pinched, and fastened on askew!
And as for heaven's own buttercups and daisies,
I am not good enough to sing their praises.
Nobody knew who wrote this verse. Katy suspected Louisa, and Rose suspected Katy.
The sixth slip was a very brief one.
Word – When?
Question – Are you willing?
If I wasn't willing, I would tell you;
But when – Oh, dear, I can't.
‘What an extraordinary rhyme!’ began Clover; but Rose spied poor Mary blushing and looking distressed, and hastily interposed –
‘It's very good, I'm sure. I wish I'd written it. Go on, Katy.’
So Katy went on.
Word – Unfeeling.
Question – Which would you rather, do, or go fishing?
I don't feel up to fishing, or sich
And so, if you please, I'd rather do – which?
‘I don't seem to see the word in that poem,’ said Rose. ‘The distinguished author will please write another.’
‘The distinguished author' made no reply to this suggestion; but, after a minute or two, Esther Dearborn, ‘quite disinterestedly’, as she stated, remarked that, after all, to ‘don't feel' was pretty much the same as unfeeling. There was a little chorus of groans at this, and Katy said she should certainly impose a fine if such dodges and evasions were practised again. This was the first meeting, however, and she would be merciful. After this speech she unfolded another paper. It ran –
Word – Flea.
Question – What would you do, love?
What would I do, love? Well, I do not know.
How can I tell till you are more explicit?
If ‘twere a rose you held me, I would smell it
If ‘twere a mouth you held me, I would kiss it;
If ‘twere a frog, I'd scream than furies louder;
If ‘twere a flea, I'd fetch the Lyon's powder.
Only two slips remained. One was Katy's own. She knew it by the way in which it was folded, and had almost instinctively avoided and left it for the last. Now, however, she took courage and opened it. The word was ‘Measles’, and the question, ‘Who was the grandmother of Invention?’ These were the lines:
The night it was horribly dark,
The measles broke out in the Ark:
Little Japhet, and Shem, and all the young Hams,
Were screaming at once for potatoes and clams.
And ‘What shall I do,’ said poor Mrs Noah,
‘And alone by myself in this terrible shower?
I know what I'll do: I'll step down in the hold,
And wake up a lioness grim and old,
And tie her close to the children's door,
And give her a ginger-cake to roar
At the top of her voice for an hour or more;
And I'll tell the children to cease their din,
Or I'll let that grim old party in,
To stop their squeazles and likewise their measles.’ –
She practised this with the greatest success.
She was every one's grandmother, I guess.
‘That's much the best of all!’ pronounced Alice Gibbons. ‘I wonder who wrote it?’
‘Dear me! did you like it so much?’ said Rose, simpering, and doing her best to blush.
‘Did you really write it?’ said Mary; but Louisa laughed, and exclaimed, ‘No use, Rosy! you can't take us in – we know better!’
‘Now for the last,’ said Katy. ‘The word is ‘Buckwheat’, and the question, ‘What is the origin of dreams?’
When the nuns are sweetly sleeping,
Mrs Nipson comes a-creeping,
Creeping like a kitty-cat from door to door;
And she listens to their slumbers,
And most carefully she numbers,
Counting for every nun a nunlet snore!
And the nuns in sweet forgetfulness who lie,
Dreaming of buckwheat cakes, parental love, and pie,
Moan softly, twist and turn, and see
Black cats and fiends, who frolic in their glee;
And nightmares prancing wildly do abound
While Mrs Nipson makes her nightly round.
‘Who did write that?’ exclaimed Rose. Nobody answered. The girls looked at each other, and Rose scrutinized them all with sharp glances.
‘Well! I never saw such creatures for keeping their countenances,’ she said. ‘Somebody is as bold as brass. Didn't you see how I blushed when my piece was read?’
‘You monkey!’ whispered Clover, who at that moment caught sight of the handwriting on the paper. Rose gave her a warning pinch, and they both subsided with an unseen giggle.
‘What! The tea-bell!’ cried everybody. ‘We wanted to play another game.’
‘It's a complete success!’ whispered Rose, ecstatically, as they went down the hall. ‘The girls all say they never had such fun in their lives. I'm so glad I didn't die with the measles when I was little!’
‘Well,’ demanded Lilly, ‘so the high and mighty Society has had a meeting! How did it go off?’
‘Delicious!’ replied Rose, smacking her lips as at the recollection of something very nice. ‘But you mustn't ask any questions, Lilly. Outsiders have nothing to do with the S.S.U.C. Our proceedings are strictly private.’ She ran downstairs with Katy.
‘I think you're real mean!’ called Lilly after them. Then she said to herself, ‘They're just trying to tease. I know it was stupid.’
7
INJUSTICE
Summer was always slow in getting to Hillsover, but at last she arrived, and woods and hills suddenly put on new colours and became beautiful. The sober village shared in the glorifying process. Vines budded on piazzas. Wisteria purpled whitewashed wall. The brown elm boughs which hung above the common turned into trailing garlands of fresh green. Each walk revealed some change, or ended in some delightful discovery, trilliums, dog-tooth violets, apple-trees in blossom, or wild strawberries turning red. The wood flowers and mosses, even the birds and bird-songs, were new to our Western girls. Hillsover, in summer, was a great deal prettier than Burnet, and Katy and Clover began to enjoy school very much indeed.
Towards the end of June, however, something took place which gave them quite a different feeling – something so disagreeable that I hate to tell about it; but, as it really happened, I must.
It was on a Saturday morning. They had just come back from the bath-house, and were going upstairs, laughing, and feeling very merry; for Clover had written a droll piece for the S.S.U.C. meeting, and was telling Katy about it, when, just at the head of the stairs, they met Rose Red. She was evidently in trouble, for she looked flushed and excited, and was unde
r the escort of Miss Barnes, who marched before her with the air of a policeman. As she passed the girls, Rose opened her eyes very wide, and made a face expressive of dismay.
‘What's the matter?’ whispered Clover. Rose only made another grimace, clawed with her fingers at Miss Barnes' back, and vanished down the entry which led to Mrs Florence's room. They stood looking after her.
‘Oh dear!’ sighed Clover, ‘I'm so afraid Rose is in a scrape.’
They walked on towards Quaker Row. In the wash-room was a knot of girls, with their heads close together, whispering. When they saw Katy and Clover, they became silent, and gazed at them curiously.
‘What has Rose Red gone to Mrs Florence about?’ asked Clover, too anxious to notice the strange manner of the girls. But at that moment she caught sight of something which so amazed her that she forgot her question. It was nothing less than her own trunk, with ‘C. E. C.’ at the end, being carried along the entry by two men. Miss Jane followed close behind, with her arms full of clothes and books. Katy's well-known scarlet pincushion topped the pile; in Miss Jane's hand were Clover's comb and brush.
‘Why, what does this mean?’ gasped Clover, as she and Katy darted after Miss Jane, who had turned into one of the rooms. It was No. 1, at the head of the row – a room which no one had wanted, on account of its smallness and lack of light. The window looked out on a brick wall not ten feet away; there was never a ray of sun to make it cheerful; and Mrs Nipson had converted it into a store-room for empty trunks. The trunks were taken away now, and the bed was strewn with Katy's and Clover's possessions.
‘Miss Jane, what is the matter? What are you moving our things for?’ exclaimed the girls in great excitement.
Miss Jane laid down her load of dresses, and looked at them sternly.
‘You know the reason as well as I do,’ she said icily.
‘No, I don't. I haven't the least idea what you mean!’ cried Katy. ‘Oh, please be careful!’ as Miss Jane flung a pair of boots on top of Cousin Helen's vase, ‘you'll break it! Dear, dear! Clover, there's your Cologne bottle tipped over, and all the Cologne spilt! Wha does it mean? Is our room going to be painted, or what?’
‘Your room,’ responded Miss Jane, ‘is for the future to be this – No. 1. Miss Benson and Miss James will take No. 6; and, it is to be hoped, will conduct themselves more properly than you have done.’
‘Than we have done!’ cried Katy, hardly believing her ears.
‘Do not repeat my words in that rude way!’ said Miss Jane, tartly. ‘Yes, than you have done!’
‘But what have we done? There is some dreadful mistake! Do tell us what you mean, Miss Jane! We have done nothing wrong, so far as I know.’
‘Indeed!’ replied Miss Jane, sarcastically. ‘Your ideas of right and wrong must be peculiar! I advise you to say no more on the subject, but be thankful that Mrs Florence keeps you in the school at all, instead of dismissing you. Nothing but the fact that your home is at such a distance prevents her from doing so.’
Katy felt as if all the blood in her body were turned to fire as she heard these words, and met Miss Jane's eyes. Her old, hasty temper, which had seemed to die out during years of pain and patience, flashed into sudden life, as a smouldering coal flashes, when you least expect it, into flame. She drew herself up to her full height, gave Miss Jane a look of scorching indignation, and, with a rapid impulse, darted out of the room and along the hall towards Mrs Florence's door. The girls she met scattered from her path right and left. She looked so tall and moved so impetuously that she absolutely frightened them.
‘Come in,’ said Mrs Florence, in answer to her sharp, quivering knock. Katy entered. Rose was not there, and Mrs Florence and Mrs Nipson sat together, side by side, in close consultation.
‘Mrs Florence,’ said Katy, too much excited to feel in the least afraid, ‘will you please tell me why our things are being changed to No. 1?’
Mrs Florence flushed with anger. She looked Katy all over for a minute before she answered; then she said, in a severe voice, ‘It is done by my orders, and for good and sufficient reasons. What those reasons are, you know as well as I.’
‘No, I do not!’ replied Katy, as angry as Mrs Florence. ‘I have not the least idea what they are, and I insist on knowing!’
‘I cannot answer questions put in such an improper manner,’ said Mrs Florence, with a wave of the hand, which meant that Katy was to go, but Katy did not stir.
‘I am sorry if my manner was improper,’ she said, trying to speak quietly, ‘but I think I have a right to ask what this means. If we are accused of doing wrong, it is only fair to tell us what it is.’
Mrs Florence only waved her hand again; but Mrs Nipson, who had been twisting uneasily in her chair, said, ‘Excuse me, Mrs Florence, but perhaps it would be better – would satisfy Miss Carr better – if you were to be explicit.’
‘It does not seem to me that Miss Carr can be in need of any explanation,’ replied Mrs Florence. ‘When a young lady writes under-hand notes to young gentlemen, and throws them from her window, and they are discovered, she must naturally expect that persons of correct ideas will be shocked and disgusted. Your note to Mr Abernethy Searles, Miss Carr, was found by his mother while mending his pocket, and was handed by her to me. After this statement, you will hardly be surprised that I do not consider it best to permit you to room longer on that side of the house. I did not suppose I had a girl in my school capable of such conduct.’
For a moment Katy was too much stunned to speak. She took hold of a chair to steady herself, and her colour changed so quickly from red to pale and back again to red, that Mrs Florence and Mrs Nipson, who sat watching her, might be pardoned for thinking that she looked guilty. As soon as she recovered her voice, she stammered out, ‘But I didn't! I never did! I haven't written any note! I wouldn't for the world! Oh, Mrs Florence, please believe me!’
‘I prefer to believe the evidence of my eyes,’ replied Mrs Florence, as she drew a paper from her pocket. ‘Here is the note. I suppose you will hardly deny your own signature.’
Katy seized the note. It was written in a round, unformed hand, and ran thus:
‘DEAR BERRY,
‘I saw you last night on the Green. I think you are splendid. All the nuns think so. I look at you very often out of my window. If I let down a string, would you tie a cake to it, like that kind which you threw to Mary Andrews last term? Tie two cakes, please; one for me, and one for my room-mate. The string will be at the end of the Row.
‘MISS CARR’
In spite of her agitation, Katy could hardly keep back a smile as she read this absurd production. Mrs Florence saw the smile, and her tone was more severe than ever, as she said –
‘Give that back to me, if you please. It will be my justification with your father if he objects to your change of room.’
‘But, Mrs Florence,’ cried Katy, ‘I never wrote that note. It isn't my handwriting; it isn't my – Oh, surely, you can't think so! It's too ridiculous.’
‘Go to your room at once,’ said Mrs Florence, ‘and be thankful that your punishment is such a mild one. If your home were not so distant, I should write to ask your father to remove you from the school; instead of which, I merely put you on the side of the entry, out of reach of further correspondence of this sort.’
‘But I shall write him, and he will take us away immediately,’ cried Katy, stung to the quick by this obstinate injustice. ‘I will not stay, neither shall Clover, where our word is disbelieved, and we are treated like this. Papa knows! Papa will never doubt us a moment when we tell him that this is not true.’
With these passionate words she left the room. I do not think that either Mrs Florence or Mrs Nipson felt very comfortable after she was gone.
That was a dreadful afternoon. The girls had no heart to arrange No. 1 or do anything toward making it comfortable, but lay on the bed in the midst of their belongings, crying and receiving visits of condolence from their friends. The S.S.U.C. meeting was put off. K
aty was in no humour to act as president, or Clover to read her funny poem. Rose and Mary Silver sat by, kissing them at intervals, and declaring that it was a shame, while the other members dropped in one by one to re-echo the same sentiments.
‘If it had been anybody else!’ said Alice Gibbons; ‘but Katy – Katy of all persons! It is too much!’
‘So I told Mrs Florence,’ sobbed Rose Red. ‘Oh, why was I born so bad? If I'd always been good, and a model to the rest of you, perhaps she'd have believed me, instead of scolding harder than ever.’
The idea of Rose as a ‘model' made Clover smile in the midst of her dolefulness.
‘It's an outrageous thing,’ said Ellen Gray, ‘if Mrs Florence only knew it, you two have done more to keep the rest of us steady than any girls in school.’
‘So they have,’ blubbered Rose, whose pretty face was quite swollen with crying. ‘I've been getting better and better every day since they came.’ She put her arms round Clover as she spoke, and sobbed harder than ever.
It was in the midst of this excitement that Miss Jane saw fit to come in and ‘inspect the room’. When she saw the crying girls and the general confusion of everything, she was very angry.
‘I shall mark you both for disorder,’ she said. ‘Get off the bed, Miss Carr. Hang your dresses up at once, Clover, and put your shoes away. I never saw anything so disgraceful. All these things must be in order when I return, fifteen minutes from now, or I shall report you to Mrs Florence.’
‘It's of no consequence what you do. We are not going to stay,’ muttered Katy. But soon she was ashamed of having said this. Her anger was melting, and grief taking its place. ‘Oh, papa! papa! Elsie! Elsie!’ she whispered to herself, as she slowly hung up the dresses; and, unseen by the girls, she hid her face in the folds of Clover's grey alpaca, and shed some hot tears. Till then she had been too angry to cry.
This softer mood followed her all through the evening. Clover and Rose sat by, talking over the affair, and keeping their wrath warm with discussion. Katy said hardly a word. She felt too weary and depressed to speak.
What Katy Did at School Page 8