TRIALS
Ellice Medhurst was full of mystery and excitement as she dragged Bob
towards the staircase, anxious to escape observation, leading him to
the seclusion of the schoolroom, where they could talk undisturbedly
of the new inmate of Oaklands, who had arrived there since Bob's last
week-end at home.
"Oh, I say, I _do_ detest her," said Ellice, as she sprang on to the
table, placing her feet upon a chair and her face in her hands
supported by her arms, her elbows resting upon her knees.
"She _looks_ pretty decent," remarked Bob; "she is a sight better
than the one who has just gone. I say, what a shock I gave _her_,
didn't I? She howled like a hyena."
A shout of laughter rippled from his small sister as a memory,
mutually considered humorous, roused this expression of mirth.
"I can see her _now_ dancing about, and shrieking,
'Help!--Help!--Burglars!' as if she was being killed," continued Bob,
spluttering with amusement.
"And when--you--came--and offered to call father," put in
Ellice--"saying, 'What's all this? Whatever is the matter?' I just
rushed back into my room and buried my head in the pillows for fear
she'd hear me laughing, and guess. Just fancy, Bob, if she had?
Wouldn't daddy have been angry?" And as she finished, a more sober
expression came upon her face as she pictured unpleasant
possibilities.
"If you don't act the little idiot by laughing, no one will guess,"
answered the boy.
"I won't--I promise I won't," she answered.
"But I say, do you _want_ this one to go?" continued Bob.
"Of course I do. I don't mean to have a governess at all; I said I
wouldn't, and I _won't_."
"Well, you are a bit of a fool. Nice dunce you'll be when you grow
up," came the brotherly response.
"I shan't," flashed Ellice. "I can read all right, and when I get
older I'll just study, myself. What's the use of all the silly old
arithmetic and stuff?"
"Very well, only don't blame me when you _are_ grown up," answered
Bob loftily.
"As if I should. Come on; let's fix things," and, creeping softly
out on to the landing, and reconnoitring on the staircase, the two
stole up to Miss Woodford's room.
Ellice kept guard outside, while Bob evidently fixed matters to their
mutual satisfaction. It only took a few moments, and the culprits
were back again in their own quarters, their plans duly arranged.
Ellice was wild with delight at the prospect of anticipated fun, as
she called it; but in the back of Bob's head there was a little sense
of doubt and discomfort.
"She seemed so jolly decent," he muttered to himself; "I hope she
won't be awfully frightened. I think you are a little beast to do it
to her, Ellice."
"Oh, you don't know her like I do! She was horrid to me, and I'll
just pay her out," replied the child.
"All right then. Now shut up about it till to-night."
With this the conspirators went down, ready to behave in an exemplary
fashion at tea-time, to disarm suspicion.
Margaret was tired that night in spite of her rest in the afternoon;
it was a heavy, slumbrous day, thunder still threatened, and the
atmosphere seemed waiting for the refreshment of a cool breeze which
might, it was hoped, spring up in the night. It seemed too hot to
sleep, and it was quite a long time before Morpheus closed Margaret's
lids, and led her into the land of dreams.
It was still dark when she was roused into semi-consciousness by
something which at first her senses hardly grasped, then, as full
wakefulness came to her, she became cognisant of a soft scraping
noise in her room, as if someone might be in her vicinity. She was
startled for a few moments, and her heart quickened its beating, as
now, fully alert, she listened intently, anxious to discover the
reason of the unusual sounds.
This house had held many surprises for her, and she was not quite
satisfied in her own mind as to the kind of post she had accepted;
but Margaret Woodford was no coward, and therefore she never dreamt
of screaming, or getting into a panic, although the noise, which
continued at intervals, seemed to come from the ground near her, and
each moment to become more distinct.
Suddenly her tension ceased; she had caught the sound of muffled
voices outside her room, and in an instant she realised the
circumstances. Perhaps her face at that moment would have surprised
the culprits outside if they could have seen the hot indignation
which surged into it. She waited a little until it died down and she
felt calmer, and then, as quietly and stealthily as the enemy, she
crept out of bed, and, without lighting the gas, donned her
dressing-gown, and, ignoring further preparation, flung the door wide
open!
"What are you children doing here?" she asked quietly.
There was the instant flight of a small figure in white, and then
Bob, who was stooping down to the floor jerking a string, the end of
which issued from under the rug on the landing--Bob, with all the
blood in his body seeming to be rushing to his head, rose to his feet.
"Oh, you've tied that to a can under my bed, I suppose?" said Miss
Woodford witheringly--"hoping to frighten me? And _this_ is the way
you treat lady visitors to your home? And you call yourself a
_gentleman_, I presume?" The tones were scathing--how scathing
Margaret scarcely realised herself. "And with childish tricks of
this kind," she continued, "you encourage your silly little sister in
insubordination."
The door of Ellice's room stood open, and she was listening to every
word--"_silly little sister_." She writhed as she heard the epithet
applied to herself; she had felt so clever and important just before,
and now she dived under the clothes, cringing with mortification.
The sarcastic contempt in Miss Woodford's voice was far worse than
the severest punishment Bob had ever endured, and he felt covered
with confusion and disgust at his invidious position.
"Go--go to your bedroom at once," finished Margaret, "and see that
you don't cause any further trouble."
At this moment Mr. Medhurst opened his door, and inquired if anything
was the matter. "Now I shall get it," thought Bob to himself; but he
was mistaken. Margaret had spoken in low tones up to now, being most
anxious the master of the house should not be disturbed. She was
fighting her own battle in her own way, and did not need any court of
appeal at present.
"Bob and I both heard a slight noise, Mr. Medhurst," she answered.
"But it seems quiet enough now. I don't think there is anything the
matter really."
"Cats, perhaps," he answered, smiling; "they do come up these stairs
at night sometimes. You are not nervous, I hope, Miss Woodford?"
"Not in the least," she answered. "I think we can all go to bed
again satisfied."
"Ah, that's sensible," he replied, adding, as he was in the act of
closing his door, "I am glad you came down to reassure Miss Woodford,
Bob. I expect you remembered Miss Warner was alarmed in the same
way."
Margaret stole a glance at the boy, but he would not raise his eyes
to hers, but instead he turned swiftly and fled up to his room. She
smiled to herself as she closed her door, then with a little sigh of
weariness returned to her slumbers.