CHAPTER VII--SETTLING A SCORE
The girls walked back to school in a rather thoughtful frame of mind.They were sorry for poor Mrs. Haddon, and they were worried about littlePeter.
"The sandwiches and milk and things that we brought this morning willlast them a little while," Billie said. "But I don't suppose MissWalters would want us to take them food every morning."
"Oh, and that reminds me!" cried Laura. "You haven't told us yet whathappened after we ran for the doctor and left you alone with Mrs.Haddon."
"There isn't very much to tell," said Billie. "She didn't want to touchthe basket at first, but when she thought of the kiddies she changed hermind. She said that the children hadn't had any real nourishing foodsince the day before yesterday."
The girls were silent for a moment, letting this last remark of Billie'ssink in. Then it was Billie who broke the silence.
"I wonder," she said, "how they have ever managed to get along up tothis time. They must have had something to live on."
"Why," said Vi, wrinkling her forehead thoughtfully, "the doctor saidsomething about Mrs. Haddon having to give up her work because of illhealth. Didn't he, Laura?"
"Yes," said Laura, stuffing her hands deeper into her pockets. "He seemsdreadfully sorry about poor little Peter. I heard him mumble somethingabout troubles always coming in a heap."
"Oh," said Billie, with a big long sigh, "if somebody could only stumbleacross those inventions someway or other! Then we could all be happyagain."
For a moment her classmates stared at Billie blankly. They had all butforgotten about the invention. Somehow, Mrs. Haddon's tale of a nearlywon fortune had seemed unreal and vague to them--almost like a fairystory. And now here was Billie bringing it all up again and even talkingabout finding that knitting machine model!
"If it doesn't always take you to think up impossible things, BillieBradley," said Vi.
"Just the same," Laura spoke up unexpectedly, "you must admit that lotsof times Billie has done what we would think was impossible to do."
"Goodness, have you got 'em, too?" asked Vi, with a giggle. "We all knowBillie's a wonder, but I don't think she is going to find an inventionthat has been missing for a long time. Probably it wouldn't be any good,anyway. All rusted and everything."
"That wouldn't make any difference," Billie pointed out promptly. "Aslong as they had the model to copy from they could make any number ofnew machines just like it."
"All right, rave on, Macduff!" cried Laura, who was just beginning toread Shakespeare and who annoyed the other girls by insisting uponquoting him--incorrectly--upon all occasions. "If you can find this oldthing and get a fortune out of it for Mrs. Haddon and the kiddies andtwenty thousand nice little dollars for yourself, honey, nobody'll begladder than me."
"I," corrected Violet sternly. "Don't you know me is bad grammar?"
"Well, me's a bad girl," said Laura irrepressibly, and the girlsgiggled.
A few minutes later they came within sight of the school and found totheir dismay that it was lunch hour.
"Do you mean to say we have been gone all morning?" cried Laura,stopping short at the familiar sight of the girls pouring out on thecampus for a breath of air before their studies should commence again."Goodness, Miss Walters will murder us."
"Oh, come on," cried Billie, hurrying the girls along. "Haven't we beenon an errand of mercy--and everything? She can't kill us for that, evenif we were a long time about it."
Greetings and laughing gibes were flung at the girls as they hurriedacross the snow-covered campus, but they did not stop to answer. Theywanted to see Miss Walters, explain why they were so late, and get abite of something to eat before the afternoon classes began.
They had almost reached the door when a voice called to Billie fromoverhead. She looked up unsuspectingly and received an avalanche of snowright in the face, almost blinding her and sending her staggering backagainst her chums.
Sputtering and choking, she dashed the snow from her eyes and looked upto see who had done such a mean thing. There at a window just over herhead was the grinning face of Amanda Peabody. In a flash Billie realizedthat it had been Amanda who had pushed the snow from the window ledgeupon her.
"Want some more?" asked that disagreeable person in response to Billie'sstare. "There's just a little bit left," and she made a gesture as if topush the rest of the snow from the windowsill down upon Billie'supturned face.
But Billie did not wait to see whether she would really have done it.With a cry she made for the door of the school, pushing through a groupof the girls who had gathered at the first sign of a fracas. Laura andVi followed, fuming.
As usual, instead of staying and facing the consequences of her owndeeds, Amanda tried to get away. But Billie was too quick for her. Theformer reached the door of the room just as Amanda darted through it,bent upon escape.
Her eyes blazing, Billie seized the girl's arm and hurried her throughthe hall, Laura and Vi assisting, and a delighted crowd following closebehind.
"You let me go--you big cowards, you!" spluttered Amanda, almost cryingwith rage and fright. "You let me go, Billie Bradley! I'll tell MissWalters."
"Go ahead and tell Miss Walters, you miserable sneak!" cried Billie,giving the girl a contemptuous shake. "But you won't tell her till I'mthrough with you."
"What are you going to do?" whined Amanda, too scared now even tobluster. "I won't do it again, honest I won't. Only let me go."
"Don't you do it, Billie," cried one of the girls in the followingcrowd. "Don't let her off so easy."
But Billie had no intention of letting her enemy off easily. Having nowreached the outside door, she shoved it open, at the same time motioningto Vi and Laura to let go of Amanda.
Then she dragged the whimpering, whining girl over to a spot where thewind had formed the snow into a small drift. Into this she flung theprotesting girl, and the next instant was upon her, washing her facewith the snow, and it is safe to say that no girl ever had her face sothoroughly washed before. And the crowd of girls behind Billie cheeredher on gleefully.
There is no telling just how long Billie might have kept it up, for shewas enjoying herself immensely, if Laura had not brought her to hersenses. The latter leaned down, took a firm grip of the belt on Billie'scoat and jerked her to her feet.
"Better let her go," she warned. "We will have Miss Walters or one ofthe teachers out here in a minute. Come on, Billie. She's had enough."
So Billie reluctantly stepped back while Amanda picked herself out ofthe snow, wiped her red and dripping face on her sleeve, and pushedthrough the laughing, mocking crowd of girls toward the school.
She stopped just before she reached the door, however, and faced hertormentors, her face distorted with rage.
"You think you're smart, all of you!" she cried furiously, then added,as her eyes fell on Billie, who had drawn a handkerchief from her pocketand was wiping her hands carefully. "And you, Billie Bradley, standingthere grinning! Some day I'll make you grin out of the other side ofyour mouth. Just wait!"
"Would you like your face washed again?" Billie demanded, dartingforward threateningly. "Come on, let's get it over with----"
But Amanda did not wait for the threat to be carried out. She scuttledprecipitately into the Hall amid delighted giggles from the girls.
Amanda, fairly choking with rage at the laughter, stopped and shook herfist in the direction of it. Then, with all sorts of plans in her heartfor "getting even," she went on toward the dormitory.