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A HARUM-SCARUM SCHOOLGIRL
"COULD YOU DO ME A KINDNESS, MISS?" SHE ASKED _Page 252_]
A HARUM-SCARUM SCHOOLGIRL
BY
ANGELA BRAZIL
_Illustrated by John Campbell_
NEW YORK FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY PUBLISHERS
_Copyright, 1920, by_
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
_All rights reserved_
Contents
CHAP. Page
I. A PIXIE GIRL 9
II. STARS AND STRIPES 23
III. A PENNILESS PRINCESS 39
IV. THE RUSH-BEARING 51
V. DIANA DARES 65
VI. FRENCH LEAVE 77
VII. LAND GIRLS 91
VIII. ARMISTICE DAY 108
IX. DIANA'S ENGLISH CHRISTMAS 128
X. A FIT OF THE BLUES 141
XI. DIANA TO THE RESCUE 153
XII. DIANA BREAKS OUT 167
XIII. CRUSOE ISLAND 178
XIV. SPOOKS 195
XV. JOY-RIDING 207
XVI. A FAMILY CREST 219
XVII. THE GREEN-EYED MONSTER 235
XVIII. DIANA'S FOUNDLING 247
XIX. AMBITIONS 259
XX. A TANGLED PLOT 271
Illustrations
Page
"COULD YOU DO ME A KINDNESS, MISS?" SHE ASKED _Frontispiece_
"O-O-O-OH! HOW GORGEOUS TO BELONG TO A HIGH-FALUTING FAMILY THAT'S GOT LEGENDS AND GHOSTS!" 48
TWO PAIRS OF BARE FEET WENT SPLASHING JOYOUSLY INTO THE BROOK 72
WE SET OFF AND RODE ALL THE MORNING 144
ITS COWL FELL BACK, AND DISCLOSED A WELL-KNOWN AND DECIDEDLY MIRTHFUL COUNTENANCE 200
DIANA CALLED AND SHOUTED TO THEM. THEY TOOK NO NOTICE 240
A HARUM-SCARUM SCHOOLGIRL
CHAPTER I
A Pixie Girl
"If I'd known!" groaned Winifred Cranston, otherwise Wendy, with a noteof utter tragedy in her usually cheerful voice. "If I'd only known!D'you think I'd have come trotting back here with my baggage? Not a bitof it! Nothing in this wide world should have dragged me. I'd haveturned up my hair--yes, it's _quite_ long enough to turn up, Jess Paget,so you needn't look at it so scornfully; it's as nice as yours, andnicer! Well, I tell you I'd have turned up my hair, and run away andjoined the 'Waacs' or the 'Wrens', or have driven a motor wagon orconducted a tramcar, or scrubbed floors at a hospital, or doneanything--_anything_, I say!--rather than stay at the Abbey without Mrs.Gifford."
"It's pretty stiff, certainly, for the Head to go whisking away likethis," agreed Magsie Wingfield, sitting on the other shaft of thewheelbarrow. "And without any notice either! It leaves one gasping!"
"Stiff? It's the limit! Why didn't she give us decent warning, insteadof springing it on to us in this sudden fashion? I feel weak!"
"There wasn't time," explained Sadie Sanderson, who, with Violet Gortonand Tattie Clegg, occupied, in a tight fit, the interior of thewheelbarrow. "It was all done at a day's notice. Geraldine's beentelling me the whole history."
"Well?"
"Mr. Gifford got suddenly exempted, and was made Governor of someoutlandish place with an unpronounceable name in Burma. He telegraphedto Mrs. Gifford to join him at Marseilles, and go out with him. So shewent--that's the long and the short of it!"
"Went and left her school behind her," echoed Vi.
"I call it simply running away," commented Wendy. "Why couldn't she havestopped to arrange things--say till Christmas--and then followed him?"
"It's some tiresome red-tape business at the War Office. They'd give hera passport to travel out _with_ him, but not to join him afterwards, soshe thought she'd better take the opportunity and go out with him whileshe could. It must have been a terrific scramble for her to get off. Ibelieve she just bundled her things together and bolted, and left theschool to Miss Todd."
"Will she ever come back?"
"I shouldn't think it's likely now."
"Then we're left for evermore to the tender mercies of Toddlekins?"
"That's just about the size of it. Toddlekins has taken the whole thingover."
"She's been longing and yearning to seize the reins and drive the coachever since she came," commented Tattie.
"Well, she's got her chance now."
"And she'll use it, too! You bet there'll be changes!"
"Changes! There are changes already, although Mrs. Gifford can hardlyhave reached Marseilles yet."
"It's going to be a queer term," grunted Wendy.
The five girls were sitting in a retired corner of the garden atPendlemere Abbey. On one side, above the tops of the rhododendronbushes, they could see the tall, twisted chimneys and flagged stone roofof the old house; on the other side, below the lawn and across thepaddock, gleamed the silver waters of the lake, with its banks of rushesand alders, and beyond lay a range of grey hills that seemed to meltaway into more distant peaks that merged into the mists on the horizon.It was a beautiful view, and on this hazy September afternoon, with thehidden sun sending long shafts of light from behind radiant masses ofcloud, it formed a prospect that should have afforded keen aestheticsatisfaction to anybody who cared to look at it. Usually the girlsappreciated its changeful glories, but to-day--this first day of a newterm--they were too much taken up with their own grievances to thinkabout scenery. In fact, they sat huddled together in the wheelbarrowwith their backs towards the view.
It had certainly been a considerable shock to the girls to find, onarriving after the holidays, that their popular Principal had desertedthem in so sudden a fashion. It was not indeed the first surprise whichshe had given them. Two years before she had been Miss Housman, with apurely educational outlook in life, and a horizon bounded by her school;but Cupid, who plays strange pranks even with head mistresses, broughther fate along in the shape of a major from the temporary camp by thelake, and shot his arrows with such deadly aim that the whole romanticbusiness--courtship, engagement, and war wedding--took place in thecourse of a few weeks, almost under the very noses of her interestedpupils. They had gone home for their Easter holidays much thrilled abouther engagement ring, and had returned to school to find her a war bride,with her husband already in the trenches. When the excitement ofchoosing her a wedding present was over, matters seemed to settle downpretty much as before. Except in an increased anxiety for news from thefront, Mrs. Gifford had differed in no degree from Miss Housman. To theschool the Major was a mere abstraction; his leave had always occurredduring the holidays, and up to this time his existence--apart from theelement of romance with which it invested their head mistress--had notaffected the atmosphere of Pendlemere in the least. It had occasionallyoccurred to some of the girls to question what would happen when the warwas over, but they generally ended by deciding: "He'll have to come andlive here, I suppose, and turn the junior room into a smoke-room". Someof the more imaginative had even ventured the suggestion that he mightteach drilling and Latin. It never struck any of them that instead ofsettling down at the school he would want to whisk away his bride to theother side of th
e world. The unexpected had happened, however. PrettyMrs. Gifford had decided that the claims of matrimony outweighed allconsideration for her pupils, and had gone without even a good-bye,leaving Miss Todd to reign in her stead.
There was no doubt that Miss Todd was admirably fitted to fill the post.Possibly, unknown to the girls, she had been gravitating towards it eversince her principal's hasty war wedding. Certainly she was ready, withthe utmost calm, to take over the school at the critical moment, andtransfer the connection from Mrs. Gifford's name to her own. She was awoman of decided character, at her prime intellectually and physically,tremendously interested in reconstruction problems, and longing to trysome educational experiments. So far, her ambitious schemes had beenmuch hampered by her Head. Mrs. Gifford, pleasant and popular both withgirls and parents, had clung to old-fashioned methods, and had been verydifficult to move in the matter of modern innovations. She had alwaysput on the curb when the second mistress's fertile imagination hadpranced away on Utopian lines. To an ardent spirit, steeped in newrace-ideals, and longing for an opportunity of serving her generation,it was a proud moment when she suddenly found herself in a position tocarry out her pet schemes unchecked. On this first day of the new termshe moved round the school with the satisfaction of an admiral reviewinga battleship.
It was much to Miss Todd's credit that she was able to take her freshduties quite calmly, and without any fuss or exhibition of nerves. Shewas not a nervy woman, to begin with, and she had made a great point ofcultivating self-control. With her tall figure, clear grey eyes, brightcomplexion, and abundant chestnut hair, she made a very favourableimpression upon those parents who had brought their daughters back toschool in person. At the moment when Wendy, Sadie, Tattie, Magsie, andVi were sitting grousing in the wheelbarrow, Miss Todd, in thedrawing-room, was completing an arrangement which was largely to affecttheir future.
"It's very short notice, of course," she was saying. "But, as ithappens, there's a vacant bed, and I can manage it perfectly well."
"That's just a real relief to me!" replied a pleasant American voicefrom the sofa. "We can't take Diana with us to Paris, and I don't wantto burden my cousin with her, so I said to my husband: 'There's nothingfor it but school, only it must be a good one'. Well, we motored alongto the nearest clergyman, introduced ourselves, and asked him torecommend a real first-class, high-toned British school that would takein Diana, and he said: 'Why, there's one on the spot here--you needn'tgo any farther!' Time was getting short, so we brought her right along.I must say I'm satisfied with all I've seen, and the talk I've had withyou, and I feel we're leaving her in good hands. My cousin, Mrs.Burritt, will send over the rest of her things from Petteridge, and ifthere's anything else she needs please get it for her. Well, Steve, ifwe've to catch that 4.30 train, we must be going."
The tall dark gentleman in the arm-chair consulted his watch and rosehastily.
"Just time if we put on some speed; but the roads are execrable," hevouchsafed.
The central figure around whom this conversation had revolved had beensitting in the window gazing at the view over the lake. She now turnedher head sharply, with an inscrutable expression in her dark grey eyes,and, walking across to her father, linked her arm in his. He bent downand whispered a few rapid words into her ear. Her mother patted her onthe shoulder reassuringly.
"You're going to have a good time, Diana. Why, I expect you won't bewanting us to come back, you'll be so happy here. Address your lettersunder cover of the American Embassy, Paris, till we send you the name ofour hotel. Good-bye! Be a good child and a credit to us."
The leave-taking was perhaps purposely cut short. Mr. and Mrs. Hewlitteach bestowed a swift kiss upon their daughter, then made a hasty exitto their waiting car, and were whirled away in the direction of GlenburyStation and the 4.30 train, and their ultimate destination of Paris.
Ten minutes later Lennie Browne, one of the juniors, disturbed thequintette on the wheelbarrow with a message.
"Miss Todd's sent me to find you," she announced. "You've got to comeand make friends with a new girl."
Sadie, Vi, and Tattie quitted their seats so suddenly that Magsie andWendy, still resting on the handles, came croppers on to the grass.Wendy rolled over into a comfortable position, and did not trouble torise.
"Bunkum!" she remarked incredulously. "Don't try to rag _me_, LennieBrowne, for it won't come off. As it happens, I asked Toddlekins half anhour ago, and she said there were _no_ new girls. There!"
"Well, there's one now, at any rate."
Wendy looked at her pityingly, and shook her head.
"Lennie, you're a decent kid, but you're not clever. If you'd reallywanted to have us on successfully, why didn't you try something more outof the common? You've a great lack of imagination. Anybody--yes,_anybody_--could have thought of inventing a new girl!"
"But I _haven't_ invented her--she's really here! She walked with me asfar as the sundial, and I left her sitting on the seat while I went tolook for you. I said I wouldn't be a minute. Why, there she is!--come tosee what's become of me."
The quintette turned hastily, to find themselves confronted with anabsolute endorsement of the truth of Lennie's statements. A stranger ofabout fourteen was walking towards them, or perhaps "shambling" would bea better description of her method of progress. She stooped badly, swungher arms in an awkward fashion, and shuffled her feet along the grass;her eyes were vacant, her chin was retreating, and her mouth was set ina foolish smile. For a full ghastly minute she stood and stared at thegirls, and they, in utter and amazed consternation, could not think of asingle intelligent remark with which to break the silence. Magsie wasthe first to recover herself.
"You--you've only just come, I suppose?" she gasped, as politely as shecould.
The stranger gave a sickly giggle.
"Are you my new schoolfellows?" she asked in a low creaking voice."Miss Todd said you'd be pleased to see me, and I must make friends withyou. I've been wanting a bosom friend, so I'll just pick one of you out.Let me see"--running her vacant eyes over the group and singling outWendy--"I may as well choose you as anybody. Are you ready to be mychum?"
Wendy flushed scarlet, and, jumping up from the grass, brushed some deadleaves from her dress.
"It's too soon to think about chums yet," she returned. "You haven'teven told us your name, and you don't know ours. Where do you comefrom?"
"That means, I suppose, that you don't want me for a friend!" rasped thecreaking voice. "Don't you like the look of me? What's wrong with menow? Please tell me, for I'd really like to know. I'm just crazy to makefriends."
In huge embarrassment Wendy and her companions stared at theextraordinary stranger. She bore their united gaze without flinching.She even turned round slowly, so that they might have an adequate viewof her foolish profile, protruding lips, and retreating chin.
"Do tell me what's wrong with me?" she repeated.
No one volunteered a criticism, and for another whole minute there wasdead silence. Then a brisk voice remarked:
"Would this style suit you better now, I wonder?"
The girls caught their breath in amazement. The stooping, slouchingfigure had suddenly straightened itself up, the protruding lips had setinto a small, neat mouth, the receding chin had come forward, and thevacant eyes were twinkling with mirth. Instead of a half-idiotic, andwholly unattractive, specimen of girlhood, a very charming littlepersonality stood before them. The transformation was so utter that atfirst the audience simply gaped, then with one accord they exploded intolaughter and words.
"Oh, I say!"
"You fraud!"
"I really thought you were dotty!"
"How _did_ you do it?"
"You looked too awful for words!"
"You haven't told us your name yet!"
"Can you do it again?"
The stranger curtsied, dropped her jaw, set her eyes in a glassy stare,and, resuming the creaking voice, bleated forth:
"Thank you! Thank you for welcoming me! I'm
called Miranda Jane Judkins,and I come from Conic Section Farm, Squashville, Massachusetts. Which ofyou wants to chum with me? Don't all speak at once!"
"Oh, for goodness' sake drop that awful face! It absolutely gives mespasms!" hinnied Magsie. "It's the very image of a village idiot whoused to terrify me when I was a kiddie. Don't look at me with thosehorrid eyes! I shall have a fit!"
"Look here, you mad thing!" said Vi. "Can't you tell us who you reallyare?"
"Miss Judkins."
"No, no! Your real name! Stop ragging!"
Once more the half-witted, shambling figure gave place to a sparkling,self-possessed, laughing young witch of fourteen, who with another mockcurtsy introduced herself.
"Diana Hewlitt--quick-change artiste. Entertainments arranged at anymoment. Reserved seats, five shillings. Proceeds to the Red Cross Fund.Oh, I believe at first I really _did_ take you in!"
"You did," admitted Wendy; "because, of course, we weren't expecting it.We shall know you better now, and be prepared. I say, you're rather asport! Where have you turned up from? Miss Todd said only an hour agothere weren't any new girls."
"No doubt she told the truth. There weren't then! Why, an hour since wewere just half-way between Glassenrigg and Scawdale, pelting along atabout double the speed limit. Miss Todd didn't even know of myexistence. I've been dropped upon her like a bolt from the blue. I mustsay I admired the calm way she fixed up to take me, all in ten minutes.Most Britishers wouldn't have fallen in so quickly with Dad's lightningmethods, but she seemed to understand right away."
"Are you American, then?"
"Rather! I was born under the Stars and Stripes. Never saw England tillwe crossed this summer. Dad's just been called over to Paris, and d'youknow, they've let Mother go with him, but they wouldn't give _me_ apassport. Wasn't it real mean of them? I do think the War Office is thelimit! Well, of course, the question was: what could be done with me. Isaid: 'Leave me at Petteridge'. But Mother said: 'No; I'm not going todump you on Cousin Coralie; she'd be down with nervous exhaustion at theend of a fortnight. School's the place for you, and we've got to rakeround and find a school in double-quick time'. Dad nodded, and just rangup and ordered the car, and we started out with no more idea than theman in the moon where I was going to be landed. I'm glad fate tossed mehere, though. It looks nice; kind of a real old-world flavour about theplace, somehow. I'm crazy on old things--Scott's novels, you know, andcastles, and all the rest of it. When I heard this was called PendlemereAbbey, I said: 'That'll do! Take me there!' So here I am!"
"It takes one's breath away," commented Tattie. "I don't know that I'dlike to be whisked off to school in such a precious hurry myself."
"It's rather as if the pixies had dropped you," laughed Vi.
"Right you are! I guess I'm a pixie sort of girl. Please don't expect'prunes and prism' from me, for you won't get them!"
"I don't know that we want them," chuckled Wendy.
"That takes a weight off my mind, then," twinkled Diana. "I likemediaeval abbeys and black beams and raftered roofs, and even ghosts; butI don't know that I exactly want mediaeval schoolgirls."
"Don't alarm yourself," said Wendy, clapping her on the shoulder. "Iassure you you'll find us all absolutely and entirely modern andup-to-date."