Mischief
Avelyn, I regret to say, was no ideal heroine of fiction, but a
particularly human girl, with a strong spice of mischief in her
composition. She considered that she owed her room-mates a grudge, and
she cast about for a suitable opportunity of paying the debt. As it
happened, fortune favoured her. Miss Kennedy sent her to the study to
fetch a book that was required. She knocked at the door, and as nobody
answered she turned the handle and went in. The room was empty. She
found Volume III of the _Encyclopaedia Britannica_, and as she turned
from the bookcase she cast an eye on Miss Thompson's desk. It was spread
with papers, and in front, just beside the inkpot, was a whole pile of
exeat forms. They were little printed sheets bearing the words:
SILVERSIDE
_I hereby certify that..............................is allowed
leave of absence for the afternoon._
_Signed............................._
_Date..............................._
When a girl visited the town, she was given one of these forms, duly
filled in by the Principal, without whose signature it was not valid.
The system, perhaps, savoured of red tape, but it saved the mistresses
the trouble of enquiring from head-quarters who were to compose their
parties. Avelyn looked critically and covetously at the exeats. Each
represented so much fun to one girl. A sudden idea struck her. She
laughed aloud at the thought of it, and yielding to the impulse, counted
out four of the forms, and popped them into her pocket. Then she fled
back to the waiting Miss Kennedy with Volume III of the _Encyclopaedia
Britannica_.
Wednesday afternoons at Silverside were chiefly devoted to optional
subjects. The violin master came to give lessons, and several girls
whose spines were suspected of symptoms of crookedness, did special
physical exercises under the eye of a gymnastic teacher. The elocution
pupils met in the Sixth Form room, and learned to recite Shakespeare,
while those who were taking oil-painting wended their way to the studio.
Those unfortunates whose parents did not rise to "extras" were herded
together in the dining-room, regardless of forms, and did plain sewing
or printing. A band of privileged boarders, under guardianship of a
mistress, started at 2.30 for the dissipations of the city. Now at 2.15
Avelyn was due for her music lesson. She put her pieces and studies into
her case, washed her hands carefully, retied her hair ribbon, scented
her pocket-handkerchief, and sauntered down the corridor. She paused for
a moment at the door of the Fifth Form room, then entered. Laura Talbot
was sitting disconsolately on one of the desks, girding at life to a
sympathetic audience. Avelyn thrust the four exeat forms into her hand,
and remarked:
"For the Cowslip Room! And I've got to go to my music lesson! Isn't it
hard luck! Ta-ta! I'm late as it is, and Mr. Harrison gets baity if he's
kept waiting."
Laura stared at the forms for a moment, utterly staggered, then
incomprehension changed to joy, and she jumped from the desk.
"Irma! Janet! Ethelberga! We've got exeats! Oh, jubilate! Scurry quick
and get ready! We've only just time to change our things. Oh, I say! To
think of seeing 'The Temple Bells' after all!"
An agitated ten minutes followed, in which the four girls almost tumbled
over one another in the hurry of making their toilets. Laura put on her
best hat and birthday furs, Ethelberga sported a bracelet, Irma, after
foraging at the back of her top drawer, was distinctly seen to abstract
a powder puff and apply it to the tip of her nose, Janet tried to coax
her fingers into new gloves a quarter of a size too small, there was an
unlocking of cashboxes and a taking out of money. At the eleventh hour
they sped down the stairs into the hall. The little party of elect were
drawn up ready to go, and only waiting for Miss Peters. That lady had
been impeded in her dressing, and consequently came hurrying up, very
much flustered.
She was a gentle, fair-haired, middle-aged, depressed little person,
who had been pitchforked into teaching against her will. Her weak point
was discipline, and the girls knew it, and took base advantage. Now,
instead of forming an orderly crocodile, they clustered round her,
clamouring all sorts of requests for things they wanted to do in town.
"If there's time! Dear me, I don't know! I can't promise anything! It
will all depend!" replied the harassed mistress.
She collected the exeats and counted them automatically. In her flurry
she never noticed that four of them were not filled in with names or
signed. Laura had handed them to her without herself noticing the
omission. There was nobody to rectify the mistake, so the four
room-mates, in most exuberant spirits, started in the crocodile for
Harlingden. They accomplished a few purchases in the town, but poor Miss
Peters found it so difficult to keep her flock together, that she was
forced to abandon the shops, and suggested the cinema. She considered
her role of duenna anything but an enviable position, and would
willingly, that afternoon, have exchanged jobs with a charwoman. She
breathed more freely when she had piloted her lively young charges up
the stairs at the picture palace, and ensconced them in a giggling
double row in the balcony. For a blissful hour and a half they would be
out of mischief, with eyes fixed only on the marvellous scenes from
India.
Meantime, while Laura, Irma, Janet, and Ethelberga were staring
fascinated at the bewildering East, following the heroine through a
series of dazzling adventures, things at Silverside were taking a
prosaic and totally different turn. It happened that Irma and Janet,
whose French recitations that morning had been a dismal failure, were
due in the Fourth Form room that afternoon to say their returned poetry
lesson to Mademoiselle. She waited a quarter of an hour for them, then,
as they did not turn up, she instituted enquiries. Several reliable
witnesses informed her that they had been seen (and envied) departing
with the crocodile for Harlingden. Mademoiselle's temper was naturally
peppery, and under such provocation as this she burst forth in great
indignation:
"What! Go out to pleasure when I tell them to come and say lessons to
me! It is what you call the limit! Of what use to try to teach, if they
are to do only what they like? I go straight to tell Miss Thompson!"
Mademoiselle was brimming over with wrath, and poured out her complaints
vehemently in the study. The Principal's lips tightened as she listened.
"I did not give exeats to Janet and Irma. This shall be enquired into,
Mademoiselle," she replied.
Miss Thompson meant what she said. When the crocodile returned from
Harlingden, she was waiting in the hall, and ordered Laura, Irma, Janet,
and Ethelberga to report themselves in her study. The scene which
followed was short and stormy. The girls, whose minds had scarcely yet
become detached from Indian jungles and Hindoo palaces, were suddenly
accused of having played truant. They denied _in toto_, pleading that
they had exeats.
"Where did you get these exeats?" demanded Miss Thompson sternly.
"They were handed to us in the schoolroom."
"By whom?"
With one consent the girls hesitated. They did not wish to throw the
blame upon Avelyn.
"You refuse to tell me?" said the Principal. "Very well, you may go to
the First Form room, where your tea will be sent to you. I shall sift
the matter thoroughly after preparation. It is disgraceful that such a
thing should happen at Silverside."
When preparation was over that evening, the boarders were ordered to
assemble in the big schoolroom. They went in much astonishment,
wondering for what reason they were thus summoned. A whisper got about
that four girls were in trouble, but on what exact count nobody seemed
to know.
They had scarcely taken their places when Miss Thompson entered. She
looked worried and serious. A decorous silence pervaded the room.
Everyone was alert with expectation and intense interest. There was a
sensation as when thunder is in the air. After an impressive pause, the
Principal, standing so that her eyes scanned all the faces fronting her,
stated the case briefly.
"A thing has occurred to-day which has never happened here before. Four
girls went into Harlingden without leave. They tell me that they were
handed exeats by a schoolfellow, and believed that they had my
permission for the holiday. I have examined the exeats that were given
in to Miss Peters, and find that four of them are unsigned. I can only
conclude that somebody must have taken these exeats from my study. I
intend to find out who that person is. Can anybody give any information
on the subject?"
There was absolute stillness in the room. Every girl looked at her
neighbour. Avelyn sat as if petrified. Until that moment it had never
struck her that her practical joke might have any serious issue. She had
not expected her room-mates to believe that the exeats were genuine. She
thought that when they looked at them they would notice at once that
they were unsigned, and therefore not valid. It was incredible that Miss
Peters should also have accepted them. What was intended for a piece of
silly fun had assumed the aspect of a very grave fault.
"I will ask Miss Peters to tell us what she knows," said Miss Thompson,
turning to the mistress.
Miss Peters, much worried and embarrassed, could only state that she had
counted the exeats, which tallied with the number of girls she had taken
in to town. In her hurry she had not examined every paper, and could not
say whether they were signed or not. It was an unpleasant situation for
the poor governess. She was conscious that she had been slack in the
performance of her duties, and that it was owing to her negligence that
the affair had been possible. Though the Principal did not openly blame
her, she felt that she stood reproved before the school. Laura, Janet,
Irma, and Ethelberga sat overwhelmed and injured, but stubbornly
determined not to betray their room-mate. They felt that they would
rather take the blame themselves than sneak.
"I give you all one last chance," said Miss Thompson. "Can any girl
throw a light on this unfortunate affair?"
The head mistress spoke clearly and slowly. Her glance passed along row
after row of young faces, as if she would read their very souls. A
minute of ghastly quiet followed, a horrible minute that seemed as long
as a year. Then Avelyn rose. She was very pale, and stood erect with her
head thrown a little back.
"I think I can clear it up, Miss Thompson," she answered, in a voice
that was steady, but full of suppressed emotion. "It was I who gave out
those exeats."
"_You_, Avelyn Watson! And on what authority? From where did you get
them?"
"From your study table."
"_From my study table!_" repeated Miss Thompson, her manner growing
still more grave. "What were you doing in my study?"
Avelyn was thoroughly ashamed of herself, but she did not hesitate.
"I was sent to fetch a book. I saw the exeats lying on the table, and I
took four of them to give to the girls. I meant it as a joke. I did not
think they would believe they were real ones."
A murmur of amazement, almost a laugh, circulated through the room. Miss
Thompson checked it sternly.
"Do you understand, Avelyn Watson, what a liberty you have taken? You
were sent into my study for a certain purpose, and you took advantage of
the privilege of entering my room to peruse the papers on my desk, and
to steal--yes, I use the word deliberately--to _steal_ some of them. I
don't know how you view such conduct, but at Silverside we consider it
utterly unworthy of a lady. You owe me an instant apology."
Avelyn writhed under her mistress's scathing words. "I'm very sorry,
Miss Thompson. I never thought of it as anything but a joke. I apologize
most sincerely. I didn't mean to get anybody into trouble."
The Principal looked searchingly at Avelyn.
"You have been guilty of a very grave breach of discipline," she
replied. "I accept your apology because you have spoken up and
confessed, but I cannot let such an episode go unpunished. Until you
return home on Friday afternoon you are not to speak to a single girl in
the school. You will attend classes as usual, but you will take your
meals in the studio, and will sit alone there during recreation hours.
You are also prohibited from writing any letters, or taking any books
from the library. You may spend your time upon your lessons. Go to the
studio now, and your supper will be brought to you. I put every girl on
her honour not to speak or write to Avelyn Watson until next Monday."
Avelyn walked out of the room quite steadily, but with downcast eyes.
She had the feeling of one who has fallen suddenly into a pit. It was a
horrible experience to be there arraigned, tried, and found guilty
before all her companions. Miss Thompson's sarcastic comments hurt her
more than the punishment. She spent the rest of the evening alone in the
studio, and was left there half an hour beyond her usual bedtime. When
she went at last to her own dormitory the other girls were in bed, and
feigned to be asleep. Miss Kennedy came in first thing in the morning,
and told her that she must dress in the bath-room. All day long her
"Coventry" was preserved. The girls, indeed, cast surreptitious glances
of sympathy at her, but they were on their honour not to speak or write,
and they did not break their word. It was a hard penance to sit by
herself, without even a story-book to amuse her. She felt specially
lonely after four o'clock, when she knew her friends would be laughing
and chatting together round the fire, and perhaps roasting chestnuts.
The studio was not a particularly cheerful room for solitary
confinement. As the dusk closed in, the casts loomed like white ghosts
from the corners, and she could almost fancy that the eyes of the
plaster Venus deliberately winked at her. She had no matches, and nobody
came in to light the gas. She had not even the satisfaction of a fire to
poke, for the studio was heated with hot-water pipes. She did not
expect her tea to be brought to her before 5.30.
"If I weren't going home to-morrow I don't know what I should do," she
thought. "Thank goodness I'm only a weekly boarder! I do think they
might have come and lit the gas."
The room was getting more and more dim, and Avelyn's spirits fell in
exact ratio. She was beginning to feel an almost superstitious horror of
the plaster Venus. Suppose it were to come to life, like Pygmalion's
statue of Galatea? The bare fancy gave her shivers, and a sudden sound
made her turn with a start. It was nothing less than an unmistakable tap
on the outside of the window. Avelyn's nerves were strung at highest
pitch. She almost screamed aloud. Peering in through the darkness was a
face. She forced herself to approach and look, and with a revulsion of
feeling recognized the enquiring countenance of her brother David, with
his freckled nose pressed flat against the glass. He tapped again, and
she opened the window.
"Dave! You mascot! How did you get here?"
"Climbed up the spout!" chuckled David. "It was quite easy. Move out of
the way! I'm coming in."
He dropped inside the room, then turning to the window again, gave a
soft whistle.
"Tony's down below," he explained, "and he'll swarm up too, now I've
given him the signal. I'll just lend him a hand over that last piece of
coping. Here he is! Come on, old chap! We've struck the right shanty
after all. Told you you might trust your grandfather!"
Anthony made his appearance with equal caution. His round face was
wreathed in delighted smiles.
"It was a little difficult to fix exactly _which_ window," he
volunteered.
"But how did you know I was here?" asked Avelyn ecstatically.
"We met Pamela at the station, and she told us all about it. So, instead
of going home by the 4.45, we thought we'd come up and see how you were
getting on."
"We made Pam describe which room you were in," added David. "I say, it's
a bit of beastly bad luck for you! Pretty stiff, I call it, to be shut
up here!"
"It's too ghastly for words!"
"Cheer oh! We've brought you something. Look!" David felt in his pocket,
and produced a paper bag full of toffee and a copy of _Tit Bits_. "It'll
do to read. We'd have got you more, only we didn't happen to have much
money with us."
"It was lucky we met Pam before we got into the train," commented
Anthony. "We were earlier than usual at the station to-day. As a rule we
tear up at the last moment."
"It was ripping of you to come!"
"Well, we couldn't desert you, old sport, at such a pinch."
"I don't believe anyone could have such decent brothers." Avelyn gazed
at him through the gathering darkness with admiration.
At that moment a tread of footsteps and a rattle of crockery sounded in
the passage.
"Goody! It's my tea coming!" she gasped.
There was not time for the boys to make their exit through the window.
While the door handle was turning they fled to what cover they could
find. David took shelter behind the pedestal of Apollo, and Anthony
crouched in a corner among some drawing boards. Fortunately it was Miss
Dickens who entered, and Miss Dickens was short-sighted.
"Take this tray from me, Avelyn," she commanded. "Dear me, you're all in
the dark here! Has nobody been to light the gas yet?"
"No, Miss Dickens."
"I must fetch some matches, then. Be careful not to upset that tray as
you put it down."
The second her back was turned the boys flew to the window, and,
dropping out one after the other, made their way safely down the spout
into the garden below, whence they waved parting salutations, and
retreated with all speed. Avelyn had just time to hide the toffee and
the _Tit Bits_ before Miss Dickens returned with the matches and lit the
gas. She assumed an air of appropriate subjection and melancholy before
her mistress, which at the moment she certainly did not experience.
Until four o'clock on Friday her punishment continued. Not a single word
was exchanged between herself and her schoolfellows. She had never felt
so glad to go home. The week-end made a break, and when she returned to
school on Monday she found herself apparently forgiven at head-quarters,
and no more a black sheep, but an ordinary member of society. Her
room-mates' attitude was a mixture of admiration and gratitude.
"You're the limit, Ave!" said Irma.
"I'd never have thought of it myself," admitted Janet.
"It was such a topping idea!" chuckled Laura.
"And we all got just the very time of our lives at 'The Temple Bells',
thanks to you!" added Ethelberga.
"But I never intended it for anything but a joke!" protested Avelyn.