The Leader of the Lower School: A Tale of School Life

  CHAPTER IV

  A Mass Meeting

  A LARGE school is a state in miniature. Quite apart from the rule of themistresses, it has its own particular institutions and its own system ofself-government. In their special domain its officers are of quite asmuch importance as Members of Parliament, and wield an influence and anauthority comparable to that of Cabinet Ministers. Tyrannies, strugglesfor freedom, minor corruptions, and hot debates have their places hereas well as in the wider world of politics, and many an amateur "HomeRule Bill" is defeated or carried according to the circumstances of thecase. At Briarcroft Hall there had hitherto existed a pure oligarchy, orgovernment of the few. The Sixth Form had jealously kept the reins intheir own hands, and, while granting a few privileges to the Fifth, haddenied the slightest right of interference to the Lower School. So far,though the Juniors had grumbled continually, they had never taken anysteps to redress their grievances. Here and there one of them wouldoffer an indignant protest, which was treated with scorn by the Seniors,and things would go on again in the old unsatisfactory fashion.

  Gipsy, with the unbiased judgment of an entirely new-comer, had formedher opinion of the Briarcroft code, and deeming reform necessary, set towork to preach a crusade. She expounded her views to Hetty Hancock,Lennie Chapman, and a few other sympathizers, and organized a plan ofcampaign.

  "What we want to do is to combine," she announced. "It's not theslightest scrap of good a few single girls going and airing their woesto the Sixth. They're not likely to listen. If we could show them thatthe whole of the Lower School is one big united body, pledged toresist,--well, they'd just have to give way."

  "All the lower Forms feel the same," said Hetty. "I was speaking to theThird about it this morning."

  "How are we going to begin?" asked Lennie.

  "We must call a mass meeting of Juniors, and put the thing to themfairly and squarely," said Gipsy. "Explain what we want, and draw up aprogramme of what we mean to do, then see if they'll give theirsupport."

  "Best lose no time about it, then. I'll post up notices at once, andwe'll have a meeting at two o'clock to-morrow afternoon in theplay-room. It's no use letting the grass grow under our feet. Have you apencil and a scrap of paper there, Lennie? Give them to me, and I'llmake a rough draft. How will this do, do you think?

  "'A Mass Meeting of all Members of the Lower School will be held in the Junior Play-room on Wednesday at 2 p.m. prompt. Business: To consider the question of readjusting the Management of the various Guilds.

  "'Speaker: GIPSY LATIMER.'"

  "First rate!" said Lennie. "I'll help you to make some copies. We mustpin one up on the notice board of each Junior classroom, and one in thedressing-room. It'll make a stir, and no mistake!"

  "Rather!" chuckled Hetty. "Gipsy, you're an Oliver Cromwell!"

  "You might add: 'Chairman, Hetty Hancock', then I guess it will do,"said Gipsy, scanning the scrap of paper.

  As Lennie had prophesied, the announcement caused a great stirthroughout the Lower School. Excited girls crowded round the noticesdiscussing the question, and for that day the talk was of nothing else.Gipsy had rather taken the popular fancy; and though a few considered itimpertinence on the part of a new girl to offer any criticisms onexisting institutions, all were anxious to hear what she had to say onso absorbing a topic. At 2 p.m. on the Wednesday, therefore, theplay-room was crowded. Juniors of all sorts and conditions were there,from the tall girls of the Upper Fourth to giggling members of theThird, and small fry of the First and Second, who felt themselves vastlyimportant at being included in the proceedings. The instigators of themovement were determined that the meeting should be held in strictorder. They had placed a table to serve as a platform, and arrangedbenches that would accommodate at least a part of the audience.

  "Lennie, you make them take their seats properly," commanded Hetty; "bigones at the back, and little ones in front: those First Form kids cansit on the floor. Don't stand any nonsense with the Third. Now, Gipsy,are you ready? Then we'll mount the platform."

  Hetty had been studying up her duties as "Chairman", and was anxious todo the thing in style. She had prepared her speech carefully beforehand.

  "Ladies and gentlemen," she began glibly, "at least, I mean girls andfellow members of our Junior School, my pleasant business this afternoonis to introduce to you the speaker, Miss Gipsy Latimer. Though she is anewcomer amongst us, I'm sure we all realize that by her wide experienceof American and Colonial schools she is particularly fitted to speak tous on the subject in hand. She has had the opportunity of studying theworking of other Societies and Guilds, and she will no doubt be able tooffer us many valuable suggestions. I will not take up the time of themeeting by any further remarks, but will at once call upon the speakerto address us."

  Hetty sat down, consciously covered with glory. Her own Form cheeredlustily, and even the unruly Third appeared much impressed. The littlegirls in the front row were staring round-eyed and open-mouthed withadmiration. Gipsy rose slowly, took one long, comprehensive glance overher audience, then in her clear, high-pitched tones began her crusade:

  "Girls! I'm afraid most of you will think it's rather cheeky of me tohave taken the matter up when I've only been ten days or so atBriarcroft, and I'd like at the very start to apologize for what reallymust look to you like a piece of cocksure presumption. I think you'llall allow, though, that it's a pretty true saying that 'outsiders seemost of the game'. I've been examining your institutions prettycarefully since I came, and it seems to me the game's all in the handsof the Sixth. There are five separate Guilds in this school--theNeedlework, the Photographic, the Dramatic, the Musical, and theAthletic. I made enquiries about all of them, and I find that though theJuniors contribute the bulk of the subscriptions, they haven't the leastvoice in the arrangements. Now, in the countries I've lived in, such astate of affairs would be denounced as tyranny pure and simple. I reckona school ought to be a democracy, and every member who joins a societyand pays a subscription has a right to have some say at least in the waythe subscriptions are to be spent. If they don't, it's 'taxation withoutrepresentation', a bad old mediaeval custom that it's taken somecountries a revolution to get rid of. I put it to the meeting--Are youwilling to sit down and be tyrannized over by the Sixth? Do you mean togo on paying your shillings, and never getting the least advantage orsatisfaction out of any of the Guilds?"

  An indignant roar of "No, no!" came from the audience. Gipsy had statedthe case very clearly. It was what the Juniors had all felt, but hadnever fairly voiced before. They wanted to hear more.

  "Go on! Go on!" they cried eagerly.

  "There are at present ninety-three girls in this school," continuedGipsy. "Twenty-two are in the Fifth and Sixth, and seventy-one in thelower Forms. Just compare those figures! Twenty-two Seniors andseventy-one Juniors! Why, our majority is simply overwhelming. Now, foran example let us take the Dramatic Guild. At a shilling a year a head,the subscriptions of the Upper School amount to L1, 2_s._, and those ofthe Lower School to L3, 11_s._ I asked how last year's funds were spent,and found the whole went in hiring Pompadour wigs and other things thatwere worn by the Sixth. Only three Juniors took part in theperformances, and they were actually obliged to provide their owncostumes, because there was no money left to buy materials. Now, I askyou, is such a state of affairs to be tolerated any longer?"

  "No!" shrieked a chorus of voices.

  "The Dramatic Guild is no exception. All the other societies are equallybad. The funds ought to be applied to the general good; and if they'reonly spent on a few, I call it misappropriation of a trust. In Americaand in the Colonies our watchword was always 'Liberty'; and we took carethat all got their rights. Are you Briarcroft girls going to let thisinjustice go on, or will you all join together and make a stand for fairpractices? In the name of Liberty, I ask you!"

  As Gipsy warmed to her subject her brown eyes flashed and sparkled, andthe whole of her dark fac
e seemed afire with enthusiasm. She looked aconvincing little figure as she stood there, urging the rights of herschoolfellows, and hardly a girl in the room but was carried away byher arguments. Instinctively the Juniors felt they had found a leader.

  THE LOWER SCHOOL FIND A LEADER]

  "I put it to the meeting. Are you ready to combine and stand together?Those who are in favour, kindly hold up their hands."

  Such a clamour arose from the play-room that the noise drifted upstairsto the ears of the Seniors, who sat all unconscious of the rebellionthat was being preached below. With memories of Wat Tyler, Hampden,Oliver Cromwell, the Seven Bishops, and other famous champions of thecommonweal fresh in their minds from their history books, the girls wereready to take any measures suggested to them. There was scarcely adissenting voice. Enthusiasm fires enthusiasm. Gipsy's speech seemed aninspiration, and everybody was agog with interest.

  "She's right!"

  "We've been kept down too long!"

  "I always said it was monstrously unfair!"

  "The Seniors will have to give way!"

  "We'll get our rights now!"

  "I wonder nobody thought of it before!"

  The talk burst out on all sides, for every one was eager to have her ownsay, and discuss the matter with her neighbour. Even the First Formchildren had followed the arguments, and were as keen as anybody. Gipsycalmly counted the upraised hands, then rang a bell for silence.

  "I may take it, then, that the motion is carried by the general consentof the meeting," she continued. "We're agreed that some stand ought tobe made against the aggressions of the Seniors. Now, the nextquestion to be considered is what we mean to do, and how we're going todo it. It seems to me that we ought to have something very definite towork upon. What I propose is that a picked few of us go as delegates tothe Sixth, and ask for something that has always been refused before.If, as I expect, they say 'No', then we shall have a just ground ofcomplaint, and we'll use it as a text at the Annual Meeting to demand anew arrangement of the Guilds. Four of us ought to make up thedeputation. I'm willing to go for one, and I think I can promise forHetty Hancock and Lennie Chapman. Who'll volunteer to be the fourth?"

  There was a moment's silence. It was all very well to shout rebellion inchorus, but the old tradition of awe for the Sixth still oppressed theJuniors, when it came to the point of openly bearding the lions inquestion.

  "I will!" said a voice from the back row.

  It was Meg Gordon, a member of the Upper Fourth, a rather nice-lookinggirl of about Gipsy's own age. Meg had listened with closest attentionand wholehearted agreement, and was prepared to embrace the cause withthe zeal she considered it deserved. If called upon to do so, she wouldhave been ready even to face Miss Poppleton herself.

  "Good!" replied Gipsy. "Then we'll make up a test case. If it's refused,then we draw up a statement of our grievances, and what we wantreformed, and present it at the General Meeting. If that's alsorefused--" (Gipsy paused a moment to let her words take due effect)"then we show our teeth!"

  "What's our programme then?" shouted one of the Lower Fourth.

  "I'll tell you. If the Seniors have shown themselves unworthy of ourconfidence, they don't deserve our support in any respect. Instead ofvoting to elect them as officers, we'll withdraw our subscriptions, andfound a separate system of Guilds for the Lower School alone."

  The boldness of Gipsy's suggestion almost took away the breath of herhearers. To break loose from the hard regime of the Seniors and form asystem of self-governing societies among the Juniors had never occurredto anybody at Briarcroft before. The idea was splendid in its magnitude.

  "It seems to me we've got the game into our own hands if we like,"continued the speaker. "Nobody can force us to subscribe to societies ofwhich we don't approve. We'll insist on a referendum of the wholeschool, and see how the result turns out. Are you all ready to combineon this point? Those in favour, please say 'Aye'."

  "Aye! Aye! Aye!" arose from all sides.

  "Well spoken!"

  "Hurrah for the Junior School!"

  "Three cheers for Gipsy Latimer!" shouted Hetty Hancock, jumping upagitatedly from her chair, and nearly falling over the edge of theplatform in the heat of her enthusiasm.

  "Hear, Hear!"

  "Hip, hip, hip, hooray!"

  The excitement was intense. Gipsy's oratory had been quite spontaneousand unaffected, and like most genuine things it carried conviction toits hearers. In the midst of a babel of voices the big bell rang forafternoon school. The girls fled to their various classrooms, discussingthe matter on their way upstairs.

  "It's the best idea I've ever heard!" declared Meg Gordon. "GipsyLatimer's a trump! I'll support her in anything she proposes."

  "I wonder we never thought of such a thing before," said Cassie Bertram.

  "Yes, to think of our having stood the Sixth for years, and never makinga move!"

  "I think it ought to have come from some of us, though," objected MaudeHelm. "Gipsy's quite a new girl, and it's rather cheek of her to try andfoist her American notions upon us, as if we didn't know anything."

  "Oh, you shut up! Why didn't you suggest it yourself?"

  "I'm rather of Maude's opinion," said Alice O'Connor. "I agree with thething in principle, but I don't like it coming from a new girl."

  "New girls oughtn't to run the whole show," added Gladys Merriman.

  "Oh, you three! You'd find fault with an angel! For goodness' sake don'tget up these petty little jealousies, and spoil the whole affair. Whatdoes it matter if Gipsy's new? Everybody has to be new some time. She'sshown she's capable of a great deal more than most of us are."

  "And she knows it too, doesn't she just?" sneered Maude. "The way shestood on that platform and talked!"

  "It's sheer nastiness on your part, Maude Helm, to try and belittle her!You won't get much glory for yourself by sticking pins in other people;and I can tell you, if you're going to set up in opposition to Gipsy,you've no chance. I'll undertake there's hardly a girl in the LowerSchool now who won't side with Gipsy Latimer!"