CHAPTER XVIII
WANTED: A MASCOT
"There will be a meeting of the big team and substitutes in classroom Aat 2 o'clock this afternoon. Please be prompt," read Lois, standing infront of the bulletin board. She had finished her last exam. and wasfree for the rest of the week.
It was Thursday and just one week before Commencement. Mrs. Bairdbelieved in having the examinations over before the excitement of thelast days gave the girls something else to think about.
School continued, however, until three days before the close. Theteachers took that time to go over the papers with the girls and have ageneral review.
Lois, still gazing at the notice, caught sight of her chum leaving theschoolroom and called to her:
"Hey, Polly, come here and look at this."
"Hum! Wonder what it's all about," mused Polly after she had read it."Do you know?"
"Final preparation for Field Day, of course. Oh, Polly, if we'd only geta chance to play!" sighed Lois.
"No such good luck. You may, but I've had my chance. Why couldn't I havewaited and sprained my ankle for this game, when I'm not needed!"grumbled Polly.
"What! And missed Commencement! Poll, you're crazy!"
"Well, perhaps I am. Anyhow, let's go down to Senior Alley and see if wecan find Louise," suggested Polly. "I want to know what's up."
They found Louise in her room and began at once to question her.
"What are we going to have a team meeting for?" demanded Lois.
"Are any of the big team sick?" Polly added eagerly.
"I never knew such inquisitive children," answered Louise. "I knew you'dbe here the minute you'd seen the notice. Can't you possess your soulsin patience until 2 o'clock?"
"No, we can't possibly. Go on and tell us, _please_," begged Lois,putting both arms around Louise's neck and ruffling her hair. "We won'topen our mouths," she promised.
"You know we love you an awful lot, and you might give us a tiny hint,"teased Polly. "Besides, we won't go till you do."
"Imps," declared Louise, and pulling the girls down on the bed besideher and putting an arm around each, she continued: "Listen to me: to getrid of you, I'll tell you part, not all, mind, of what we are going todiscuss."
"Well, go on; don't stop," prompted Polly and Lois, as Louise stoppedfor breath.
"Of course you know that Flora Illington's place is not filled so wehave to decide definitely on another substitute to play center and--"
"You'll choose Betty," finished Polly, with a rush.
"Will you tell her today?" demanded Lois excitedly. "Oh, I am glad!"
And to show their entire approval of the idea, both girls threw theirarms around their poor defenseless captain and hugged her until shecalled for help.
"Woh!" she exclaimed when they had finally let her go. "If I had knownhow you were going to treat me, I never would have told you; you'vepulled my hair all down, wretches."
"Never mind that; you can put it up again. Tell us when you are going totell Betty," urged Lois.
"We'll have to vote on it as a matter of form, but of course she'll getit. But promise me you won't breathe a word about it until I say youmay."
"We promise; but won't Betty be thrilled!" laughed Polly.
The luncheon bell interrupted them and they left Louise madly fixing herhair, to join the line.
At the table Betty asked:
"What are you two so quiet about?"
Polly and Lois exchanged smiles.
"You'll see soon enough; it's about you," Polly told her, and for feartoo much had been said, Lois added:
"It's something terrible!"
Betty stopped in the act of putting some tomato catsup on her croquetteto demand:
"Which exam. have I flunked, or is it all of them?"
"Worse than that," answered Lois. "But you'll soon know."
At 2 o'clock the teams met in classroom A and Betty's name was put upfor substitute, and as Louise had prophesied, every one voted yes. Thegirls all adored Betty and had been sorry to see her left out in thefirst election on account of the fouls she always made. But now when hername came up again and they remembered the plucky fight she had made theday of the Indoor Meet, they were only too delighted to welcome her asone of the "subs."
"Hadn't we better call her in for the rest of the meeting?" suggestedLouise. "Polly, will you go and find her? Don't tell her what she'swanted for; just bring her here."
A few minutes later Betty arrived, looking very apprehensive, and Louisetold her with all due form and ceremony that she had been chosen to fillFlora's place on the team.
Betty's delight knew no bounds. The girls cheered her and were verystrenuous in their congratulations. It was fully fifteen minutes beforethe meeting came to any sort of order. When things did finally quietdown, Louise, as captain, took the chair.
"Field Day is not two weeks off," she began. "You all know that we aregoing to play the Fenwick School again this year and we must win."
Then looking at Polly, she added: "Please be careful and don't get anybroken ankles or arms, for you may all be needed. Remember, they beat uslast year."
"That was because we played on their floor and it was strange to us,"spoke up Florence Guile. She had played in the game the year before andfelt she must defend the team's honor. "This year we play here and wewill win; you see if we don't."
At this point Nora Peters, one of the Juniors who was not on the team,knocked at the door. She had a letter in her hand and she spokehurriedly to Louise.
"I am awfully sorry to disturb you," she said, "but I've just had aletter from one of the Fenwick girls, and I thought it might interestyou. It's about the team."
"Good! Read it to us!" exclaimed half a dozen voices.
"This is the important part," began Nora as she read:
"'We have a wonderful team this year and so far we haven't had a singledefeat.'"
("O Jemima!" groaned Betty.)
"'We play four other teams every year; you play only two, don't you? Ourcenters are great! I remember last year when your team played here howeasily we beat you! I hate to say it, Nora dear, but we're going to beatyou again!'"
"That's all she says about the team," Nora finished, folding up theletter. "No, wait a minute," she added. "This may interest you, too. Shesays:
"'We have the most adorable mascot; wait till you see him; and he'snever failed us yet.'"
"Thanks, ever so much," Louise exclaimed as soon as she stopped reading."That's valuable information. We're much obliged to your friend."
"I wouldn't have said anything about it if she hadn't bragged so," Noraanswered, backing to the door. "But mind, you beat them _well_, so thatI can say 'I told you so.'"
"We will, we will," cried the team with one voice.
"Now what do you think of that?" demanded Madelaine Ames, one of theguards, a tall lanky girl with straight hair.
"What did she say about a mascot?" Betty inquired eagerly.
"That they had an adorable one," replied Mary Reeves, the other guard.
"We ought to have one, too," chimed in Helen Reed, the jumping center."Something original, I say; I'm tired of cats and dogs."
"Everybody think hard," suggested Louise, "and if you think ofsomething, let me know and I'll call a meeting. We can't let them getahead of us even in a mascot."
After a few unimportant details were discussed, the meeting broke up andthe girls separated, each to think of a fitting mascot.
The next morning Lois, Betty and Polly, having finished all their exams,had the whole glorious day to themselves. Right after breakfast theydisappeared into the woods and sought their favorite brook. When theyreached it, they were very hot and tired, for the day was warm, and theyhad run all the way.
"Phew!" gasped Betty, throwing herself down beside the stream. "I'mhot."
"So am I," Polly agreed, resting her chin on her hands. "My feet,particularly. I have on these old hot gym shoes."
"Why don't we go in paddling?" suggested Lois. "
It couldn't hurt us;it's so lovely and warm."
No sooner said than done. In two minutes their shoes and stockings wereoff and they were wading, ankle-deep, in the cool water.
"Great, isn't it?" gurgled Betty, looking down at her toes. "Ouch! Becareful of this spot; there's a sharp stone," she warned.
As Polly was about to look at the spot Betty was pointing to, a queerchattering noise up in the tree above her head caught her attention.Looking up she saw a dark brown "something" sitting on a limb of thetree.
"Look!" she whispered.
"What is it?" gasped Lois when she had seen.
"Why, don't you know?" Betty demanded. "We've simply got to get it; I'llclimb up the tree."
"Be careful not to scare it," cautioned Polly.
But there was no fear of that, for as soon as Betty reached the limboccupied by "it," there was a scuffle, and she felt something land onher shoulder.
"I've got it, safe and sound," she called to the girls below.
"Look how thin it is," said Lois when Betty was again on terra firma."Let's take it back to school and feed it, it must have run away."
"Of course we will--the darling--and--Oh, Polly, Lo, why didn't wethink of it the minute we saw it? We'll have it for a mascot!"
That afternoon there was a very important team meeting in one of theclassrooms. It lasted just a few minutes, but when the girls came outthey were all smiling very mysteriously, and they seemed to be delightedabout something.
There was a good deal of smuggling of food into the cellar, of whichMrs. Baird had given Betty the key.
For the remaining few days before Field Day, every time one of the teammet Betty, Lois or Polly, they would inquire very mysteriously how "it"was, and before many days passed the word went round the school thatSeddon Hall had discovered a worthy mascot.