The School Picnic
Towards the middle of July the girls at The Priory began to look forward
with eager anticipation to the annual picnic. In the minds of most it
was the great event of the summer term, and eclipsed even Speech Day.
Patty, who had not yet experienced the joys of such an excursion, was
anxious to learn something about it, and made many enquiries of her
friends.
"It's the loveliest fun," said Avis. "We have special saloon carriages
engaged on the train, and lovely baskets of lunch, and Miss Lincoln lets
us buy toffee and chocolates if there are any shops. I wonder where we
shall go this year, and if it will be to the country or the seaside. Has
anyone heard?"
"Phyllis Chambers said she believed it was to be Moorcliffe," said
Winnie.
"Where's that?"
"It's a dear little seaside place near Chelstone. There's a nice sandy
shore, and Phyllis says she shouldn't be surprised if we were allowed
to take our costumes with us and bathe."
"Oh, how glorious! I do hope we shall."
"I believe it depends on the tide," said Winnie.
"Why on the tide? How absurd!"
"No, it's not absurd. The sea goes out very far at Moorcliffe, and
leaves a large sandy bay. You don't want to walk half a mile to the
water. If the tide's up in the morning, and we can get our dip then, it
will be quite right, because there will be time for our costumes to dry
afterwards in the sun; but if it's not high water till afternoon, we
shall have to do without our swim. It would be impossible to carry back
more than seventy dripping bathing-dresses."
"Unless we chartered a tank for them and put them in the luggage van,"
laughed Enid. "I hope the tide will be nice and accommodating. Hasn't
anybody got an almanac?"
"Miss Lincoln is planning it all out, and is to tell us on Saturday."
"I don't think it depends entirely on the tide," said Beatrice Wynne. "I
was talking to Miss Latimer, and she says she knows of a splendid pool
under the cliff, which is always quite deep enough to swim in at low
water. She's going to tell Miss Lincoln about it."
"If we don't arrange for Moorcliffe, we shall probably go to Bradley,
and look over the Castle," said Maggie Woodhall.
"I hope not," said Cissie Gardiner. "I've seen several castles, and
they're all alike. You walk on the battlements, and peep down the well,
which is half filled with rubbish and ferns, and an old woman unlocks
the dungeon, and shows you a rusty chain, and then you eat sandwiches in
the courtyard. I'd far rather go to the sea."
Cissie's wish was gratified, for on Saturday morning Miss Lincoln gave
the welcome announcement that she had decided the picnic should be at
Moorcliffe on the following Thursday, provided that the weather was
favourable, and that no unforeseen event occurred in the meantime.
"Miss Lincoln always puts in a warning note of that kind," said Enid. "I
wonder what she expects to happen. Does she imagine we shall all catch
scarlet fever, or break our legs, before Thursday?"
"I should hope not, but of course it might be wet. If it's a pouring
day, we're to go on Friday instead," said Avis.
"To-day, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to get through," said
Jean. "It's a frightfully long time. I feel as if Thursday would never
come."
"So do I. I should like to go to bed, and sleep straight through till
Thursday."
"You lazy girl! Suppose you didn't wake, and we left you behind?"
"You wouldn't do that," declared Avis. "I shall be up first of all,
you'll see."
In spite of the girls' impatience, the longed-for Thursday came at last,
and proved such a fine, clear, beautiful day, that there was not the
slightest hesitation as to whether they should start or not. Avis
fulfilled her promise of early rising by getting up to watch the dawn,
and tried to make her sleepy room mates share her enthusiasm, an
attention which they scarcely appreciated when they discovered that she
had roused them three hours too soon. Long before the usual bell rang
everybody was up and dressed, which did not bring breakfast any the
quicker, though it allowed the girls time to work off some of their
spirits by a run round the garden. Punctually at a quarter to nine
o'clock a row of omnibuses arrived to convey the seventy-three pupils
and their ten teachers to the station. Each girl carried her bathing
costume and towel in a neat parcel, and large hampers of lunch were in
readiness.
"Miss Lincoln's taking the cricket tent," announced Cissie Gardiner.
"There it is, all wrapped up with its poles and pegs. Miss Latimer and
Miss Rowe are going to put it up on the beach, and then we can undress
and dress there again when we bathe. It's not very big. I'm sure it
can't possibly hold more than six of us at a time, so we shall have to
go in relays, and be very quick."
Patty felt at the high-water mark of bliss when she found herself seated
on the top of an omnibus between Enid and Jean, with Avis and Winnie
close by. She could have wished the drive longer, but when they reached
the station, and found the saloon carriages ready for them, labelled
"Special Excursion--Reserved", she was as anxious to get into the train
as she had been to remain on the omnibus. There were, of course, many
little excitements. Winnie nearly left the parcel containing her
bathing-dress on the seat near the booking office, only remembering it
just in time; Maggie Woodhall's hat blew away over the line, and had to
be recovered by the guard; and one of the luncheon baskets fell off the
truck as the porter was wheeling it along the platform, much to Miss
Lincoln's dismay, till she discovered it was luckily not the one which
held the breakables. Each mistress was to be personally responsible for
her own class, and for the day the six prefects were given as full
powers of authority as the teachers; so Miss Lincoln hoped that with so
many people to look after them, her lively pupils might find no
opportunity of getting into mischief, or running into danger. All were
able to take their places at once in the carriages which had been
waiting for them in a siding at the station, and were shunted on to the
Chelstone train when it arrived. The porters banged the doors with their
usual vigour, the guard waved his green flag, and at last they were off
for their delightful excursion. It was less than an hour's journey to
Moorcliffe, so by half-past ten the entire school was walking in a
procession through the small village, across the cliff, and down on to
the beach. The tide unfortunately was low, so Miss Lincoln was glad to
avail herself of Miss Latimer's knowledge of the place to find the cove
where there was a convenient bathing pool. It was some little distance
along the shore, and the girls were much tempted to linger to pick up
shells or sea urchins; but the prefects urged them sternly on, assuring
them that they would find plenty more of such treasures, and that time
was passing quickly by.
"When you consider how small the tent is, and how many of us have to
take it in turns to use it, you'll understand we need the whole morning
for our bathe," said Phyllis Chambers.
They at last reached the sheltered nook among the rocks which Miss
Latimer had chosen. The sea, retreating far into the distance, had here
left a wide and fairly deep pool, through which flowed one of the many
channels that intersected the bay. It was a pleasant spot, far enough
from the village to promise retirement, and the sparkling water lapping
gently in the sunshine looked inviting. Aided by a band of willing
workers, Miss Latimer and Miss Rowe soon erected the tent; the girls
effected their changes of costume with lightning speed, and in half an
hour a passing stranger might have imagined the coast to be invaded by
an army of mermaids. Jean, who had brought her camera, took several
snapshots of the lively scene.
"It reminds me of pictures I've seen of colonies of seals basking about
on the rocks," she declared. "Now, Patty, put yourself in a picturesque
attitude. I wish I dare ask Miss Rowe to let down her lovely hair, I'm
sure it would look so nice."
"Violet Chambers is swimming on her back," said Enid. "I'm so glad to
have the opportunity of watching her. I heard she could do it, but we
never get a chance to see the Second Class girls in the bath."
"And Mabel Morgan is trying to make a wheel," said Winnie. "Oh, look at
her! Isn't she clever? There! She's come to grief over it. I expected
she would."
"I haven't any accomplishments," said Avis. "I can only paddle round and
round the pool and float. I wish I were in the channel over there, and
could swim for a couple of miles."
"I heard Miss Lincoln tell Miss Latimer she was very glad the tide was
low, because it was absolutely safe here, and if we were in the real
sea, she should not know a moment's freedom from anxiety until she saw
us all out again."
"Miss Lincoln is quite ridiculous! What harm could happen to us? Of
course the pool is better fun than the swimming bath at The Priory, but
it's nothing to feeling yourself on big waves."
"We're going to Devonshire for our summer holiday, and I shall be able
to have some glorious swimming there, I expect," said May Firth.
"You'll have to mind not to get into a current," said Ella Johnson. "We
were staying in Cornwall last year, and my brother was nearly carried
out to sea by one. He declared it must have been the Gulf Stream; it was
so tremendously strong, it whirled him along, and he felt quite
helpless. All he could do was to float and to call, hoping somebody
might hear him. No one did for a long time, and he had drifted ever so
far from land, when at last a boat was passing, and some fishermen
picked him up. They told him it was very dangerous to swim there, when
he didn't know the coast."
"It's all right if you don't get cramp," said Avis. "That must be
dreadful. Once when we spent our holidays at Whitby we had such an
adventure. We were walking along the shore, and we saw a young lady
swimming a little distance out. Suddenly she flung up her arms and
shrieked, and went down into the water. My father threw off his coat and
his boots, and swam to the spot where she came up. He managed to catch
hold of her by her hair, and get her back to land. She was quite
insensible, and I thought she must be dead; but my uncle, who's a
doctor, was with us, and he immediately began the treatment for the
drowned, just like Miss Latimer teaches us in the swimming lessons. I
helped to work her arms up and down and to rub her, and at last she
opened her eyes. We were so relieved. She called at our lodgings
afterwards to thank us, and said she had gone for a little afternoon dip
alone; and she supposed the water must have been colder than usual,
because all at once she felt a terrible pain in her leg, and could not
move. She said it was the most awful sensation to feel she was sinking,
and not to be able to save herself."
"It was lucky for her that your father was close by to rescue her!"
"Yes, and Uncle Arthur too, to bring her round afterwards. I don't think
it's very safe for girls to go swimming alone."
No mermaids could have had a pleasanter time idling about in the pool
than Patty and her friends. They tried various performances in fancy
swimming, which, however, were quite unsuccessful, though they all
assisted to hold each other up during the experiments. They were in the
midst of a frantic effort to dance the Lancers in two feet of water,
when Miss Latimer called to them to come at once; and as the limited
accommodation of the bathing tent necessitated that the girls must make
their toilets in relays, they were obliged reluctantly to tear
themselves away, and in due course join the others, who were sitting on
the sand letting their loose hair dry in the sun and wind. Everybody was
very ready to open the luncheon baskets at half-past twelve. The sea air
had given fine appetites, and the provisions vanished steadily. Each
class had brought its own special hamper, and there was a great deal of
laughter when those of the Third and Fifth Classes got changed by
mistake, the thirteen indignant members of the former only receiving the
amount which had been intended for ten. The upper and lower divisions of
the Fourth feasted separately, the one under the auspices of Miss
Harper, and the other with Miss Rowe, as it would have been impossible
to pack lunch for twenty-two girls in one hamper, unless, as Enid
suggested, they had used a clothes basket for the purpose. After lunch,
Miss Lincoln insisted that everybody should take half an hour's quiet
rest lying on the beach.
"Many of you were awake at daylight," she said, "and you have been
racing about and exciting yourselves since before breakfast-time. I am
afraid you will all be thoroughly tired out by evening, so I forbid
anyone to speak; and if you can go to sleep, so much the better."
I hardly think Miss Lincoln expected her injunctions to be absolutely
obeyed; at any rate, a certain amount of whispering went on among the
girls, who collected in little groups to take the required repose, while
a low laugh every now and then did not indicate sound slumber. Avis
piled up a pillow of sand, and closed her eyes complacently, until she
found Winnie was tickling the end of her nose with a piece of seaweed;
Enid lay curled up under the shadow of a rock, looking at her watch
every few minutes; and Jean and Patty played a silent game of noughts
and crosses on slabs of smooth stone. The moment the half-hour was
finished the girls sprang up, and commenced to chatter with renewed
avidity, showing in their own lively fashion that they were not yet
tired, however they might feel by the end of the day. The classes
separated during the afternoon, some going for walks on the headland,
and others strolling farther along the beach, searching for cockles on
the sandbank, or throwing stones at a mark. They all met at four o'clock
for tea at the small hotel on the edge of the cliff, where tables and
forms had been set out in the garden, and the innkeeper and his wife and
two daughters were busily bustling about, carrying plates of cakes and
buns, jugs of milk, and trays full of cups and saucers, to meet the
requirements of their army of young guests. It was a merry meal, for
everybody was full of jokes and fun. Miss Harper told amusing stories,
and Miss Lincoln asked riddles, and Miss Rowe forgot she was keeping
order, and chatted almost like one of the girls themselves.
"I could sit here all afternoon," said Enid, "just watching the sea and
the boats and the people down on the shore below. If I could only get up
a second appetite, I should like to begin tea over again."
"You can have some more if you like. Miss Lincoln doesn't limit you,"
laughed Avis.
"No, thank you. The copybooks say: 'Never attempt impossibilities'. I
shall go and sit on the edge of the cliff."
"Come with me," said Winnie, "and we'll have a game of golf just to
ourselves, with two sticks and an indiarubber ball. You can't think what
fun it is. I was trying on the common a little while ago. Will you come
too, Patty?"
"No, thanks," said Patty. "I should only spoil sport. I mean to go down
on to the sands again. You can call to me when you've finished, and
perhaps I'll come up; but I won't promise, because I like the shore the
very best of all."