Patriotic Gardening
The direct result of the potato walk to Mr. Briggs's farm was that a
friendship sprang up between Winifrede and Marjorie. It was, of course,
rather an exceptional friendship, involving condescension on the part of
the head girl and frantic devotion on Marjorie's part. Six months ago it
would not have been possible, for Winifrede's creed of exclusiveness had
discouraged any familiarity with her juniors, and it was only in
accordance with Mrs. Morrison's wishes that she had broken her barrier
of reserve. She had, however, taken rather a fancy to Marjorie, and
sometimes invited her into her study. To go and sit in Winifrede's tiny
sanctum, to see her books, photographs, post cards, and other treasures,
and to be regaled with cocoa and biscuits, was a privilege that raised
Marjorie to the seventh heaven of bliss. Her impulsive, warm-hearted
disposition made her apt to take up hot friendships, and for the present
she worshipped Winifrede. To be singled out for favour by the head girl
was in itself a distinction; but, apart from that, Marjorie keenly
appreciated her society. She would wait about to do any little errand
for her, would wash her brushes after the oil-painting lesson, sharpen
her pencils, set butterflies for her, mount pressed flowers, or print
out photographs. Winifrede was fond of entomology, and Marjorie,
beforetime a lukewarm naturalist, now waxed enthusiastic in the
collection of specimens. She was running one day in pursuit of a
gorgeous dragon-fly through the little wood that skirted the
playing-fields, and, with her eyes fixed on her elusive quarry, she
almost tumbled over Chrissie, who was sitting by the side of the stream.
"Hallo!" said Marjorie, drawing herself up suddenly. "I didn't see you.
As a matter of fact I wasn't looking where I was going."
"What are you doing here?" asked Chrissie.
Marjorie pointed to her butterfly-net.
"What are you doing here?" she returned.
"Reading."
Chrissie's eyes were red, and she blinked rapidly.
"You've been crying," said Marjorie tactlessly.
Her chum flushed crimson.
"I've not! I wish you'd just let me alone."
"Cheer oh! Don't get raggy, old sport!"
Chrissie turned away, and, opening her book, began to read.
"Will you come round the field with me?" asked Marjorie.
"No, thanks; I'd rather stay where I am."
"Oh, very well! I'm off. Ta-ta!"
This was not the first little tiff that had taken place between the two
girls. Chrissie seemed to have changed lately. She was moody and
self-absorbed, and ready to fire up on very slight provocation. Her
devotion to Marjorie seemed to have somewhat waned. She scarcely ever
made her presents now or wrote her notes. She was chatty enough in the
dormitory, but saw little of her in recreation hours. Marjorie set this
down to jealousy of her friendship with Winifrede. In her absorption in
her head girl she had certainly not given Chrissie so much of her time
as formerly. She walked along the field now rather soberly. She disliked
quarrelling, but her own temper was hot as well as her chum's.
"I can't help it," she groused. "Chrissie's always taking offence.
Everything I do seems to rub her the wrong way. She needn't think I'm
going to give up Winifrede! I wish she'd be more sensible. Well, I don't
care; I shall just take no notice and leave her to herself, and then
she'll probably come round."
Marjorie's surmises proved correct, for Chrissie placed a dainty little
bottle of scent and an enthusiastic note on her dressing-table that
evening, the clouds blew over, and for a time, at any rate, matters were
quite pleasant again. Constant little quarrels, however, wear holes in a
friendship, and it was evident to St. Elgiva's that some cleavage had
taken place.
"Chrissie and Marjorie seem a little off with the David and Jonathan
business," commented Francie.
"Too hot to last, I fancy," returned Patricia. "Marjorie's got a new
idol now."
One reason for the separation between the two girls was that, while
Chrissie cared chiefly for tennis, Marjorie was a devotee of cricket,
and was spending most of her spare time under the coaching of Stella
Pearson, the games captain. She showed much promise in bowling, and was
not without hopes of being put into her house eleven. To play for St.
Elgiva's was an honour worth working for. It would be a great triumph to
be able to write the news to her brothers.
Dona had not taken violently either to cricket or tennis, and beyond the
compulsory practice never touched bat or ball, giving herself up
entirely to Natural History study and Photography. She was not so
energetic as her sister, and did not much care for running about. At
half term, however, a new interest claimed her. The head gardener was
taken ill, and Sister Johnstone assumed the responsibility for his work.
She asked for helpers, and a number of girls volunteered their services,
and occupied themselves busily about the grounds. They rolled and marked
the tennis-courts, earthed up potatoes, put sticks for the peas, planted
out cabbages, and weeded the drive.
It was the kind of work that appealed to Dona, and her satisfaction was
complete when Mrs. Morrison excused her cricket practices for the
purpose.
"I like gardening much better than games," she confided to Marjorie.
"There's more to show for it. What have you got at the end of a whole
term's cricket, I should like to know?"
"Honour, my child!" said Marjorie.
"Well, I shall have six rows of cauliflowers, and that's more to the
point, especially in these hard times," twinkled Dona. "I consider it's
I who am the patriotic one now. You're not helping the war by bowling
with Stella, and every cauliflower of mine will go to feed a soldier."
"I thought the school was to eat them."
"They won't be ready till the holidays, so Sister Johnstone says they'll
have to be sent to the Red Cross Hospital. We're going to gather the
first crop of peas, though, to-night. You'll eat them at dinner
to-morrow."
Two of the prefects, Meg Hutchinson and Gladys Butler, had joined the
band of gardeners, and carried on operations with enthusiasm.
"I mean to go on the land as soon as I leave school," declared Meg. "My
sister Molly's working at a farm in Herefordshire. She gets up at six
every morning to feed the pigs and cows, breakfast is at eight, and then
she goes round to look after the cattle in the fields. Dinner is at
twelve, and after that she cleans harness, or takes the horses to be
shod, and feeds the pigs and calves again. She loves it, and she's won
her green armlet from the Government."
"My cousin's working at a market garden," said Gladys. "She bicycles
over every morning from home. It's three miles away, so she has to start
ever so early. She's got to know all about managing the tomato houses
now. Once she'd a very funny experience. They sent her out for a day to
tidy somebody's garden. She took a little can full of coffee with her,
and some lunch in a basket. An old gentleman and lady came out to
superintend the gardening, and they seemed most staggered to find that
she was a lady, and couldn't understand it at all; but they were very
kind and sent her some tea into the greenhouse. Evidently they had
debated whether to invite her into the drawing-room or not, but had
turned tail at the thought of her thick boots on the best carpet. Nellie
was so amused. She said she felt far too dirty after digging up borders
to go indoors, and was most relieved that they didn't invite her. She
had a tray full of all sorts of things in the greenhouse--cakes and jam
and potted meat. The old lady asked her ever so many questions, and it
turned out that they knew some mutual friends. Wasn't it funny?"
Mrs. Morrison was very pleased with the results of the girls' work in
the garden. She declared that the tennis-courts had never looked better,
and that the crop of vegetables was unusually fine.
"I can't give you armlets," she said, "though you thoroughly deserve
them. I should like to have your photos taken in a group, to keep as a
remembrance. I shall call you my 'Back to the Land Girls'."
At Brackenfield any wish expressed by the Empress was carried out if
possible, so Muriel Adams, who possessed the best and biggest camera,
was requisitioned to take the gardeners. They grouped themselves
picturesquely round a wheelbarrow, some holding spades, rakes, or
watering-cans, and others displaying their best specimens of carrots or
cabbages. Sister Johnstone, in the middle, smiled benignly. The plate
was duly developed, and a good print taken and handed round for
inspection. Each girl, of course, declared that her own portrait was
atrocious, but those of the others excellent, and it was unanimously
decided to have a copy framed for presentation to Mrs. Morrison.
There was one advantage in belonging to the "Back to the Land Girls",
they might visit the kitchen garden at any time they wished. It was
forbidden ground to the rest of the school, so it was rather nice to be
able to wander at will between the long lines of gooseberry bushes or
rows of peas. Dona loved the fresh smell of it all, especially after
rain. She spent every available moment there, for it was an excellent
place for pursuing natural history study. She had many opportunities of
observing birds or of catching moths and butterflies, and generally had
a net handy. With a magnifying glass she often watched the movements of
small insects. She had come in one afternoon for this purpose, and
wandered down to a rather wild spot at the bottom of the garden. It was
a small piece of rough ground surrounded by a high hedge, on the farther
side of which the land sloped in a sharp decline. As Dona hunted about
among the docks for caterpillars or other specimens, greatly to her
surprise she saw a figure come pushing through the hedge. It wore a gym.
costume and a St. Elgiva's hat, and, as the leaves parted, they revealed
the face of Chrissie Lang. Her astonishment was evidently equal to
Dona's. For a moment she flushed crimson, then turned the matter off
airily.
"I've often thought I should like to see what was on the other side of
that hedge," she remarked. "You get a nice view across the country."
"You'll lose three conduct marks if you're caught in the kitchen
garden," remarked Dona drily. She was not remarkably fond of Chrissie,
and did not see why anyone else should enjoy the privileges accorded to
those who were working in the garden. "Meg Hutchinson's weeding cabbages
up by the cucumber frames," she added.
"Thanks for telling me. I'll go out the other way. I've no particular
wish to be pounced upon."
"What's that in your hand?" asked Dona. "A looking-glass, I declare!
Well, Chrissie Lang, of all conceited people you really are the limit!
Did you bring it out to admire your beauty?"
"I want to try a new way of doing my hair, and there's no peace in the
dormitory."
"Can't you draw the curtains of your cubicle?"
"They'd peep round and laugh at me."
"Well, anyone would laugh at you more for bringing out a looking-glass
into the garden. I think you're the silliest idiot I've ever met!"
"Thanks for the compliment!"
Chrissie strolled away, whistling jauntily to herself, and picking a
gooseberry or two from the bushes as she passed. Dona frowned as she
watched her--it was a point of honour with the Back to the Land Girls
never to touch any of the fruit. By a heroic effort she refrained from
running after Chrissie and giving a further unvarnished opinion of her.
Instead, however, she walked back up the other path. She found Meg
Hutchinson and Gladys Butler sitting on the cucumber frame. It was in a
high part of the garden, and commanded a good view over the country.
Gladys had a pair of field-glasses, and with their aid could plainly
make out the German camp on the hill opposite. She was quite excited.
"I can see the barbed wire," she declared, "and the tents, and I believe
I can make out some things that look like figures. The focus of these
glasses isn't very good. I wish we had a telescope."
"If they've field-glasses I expect they can see the school," said Meg.
"Oh, but they wouldn't let them have any, you may be sure!"
"Are they kept very strictly?" asked Dona.
"Of course. They're under military discipline," explained Meg.
"Would you like to take a peep?" said Gladys, offering the glasses. "You
must screw this part round till it focuses right for your eyes. Can you
see now?"
"Yes, beautifully. What are they doing?"
"Just lounging about I expect. I believe they have to do a certain
amount of camp work, keep their tents tidy, and clean the pans and peel
potatoes and that kind of thing, and they may play games."
"It's a pity we can't set them to work on the land," said Meg.
"They do in some places. I'm afraid it couldn't be managed here. So near
the sea it would be far too easy for them to escape."