The Motor Maids' School Days

  CHAPTER IX.--AT THE SIGN OF THE BLUE TEA POT.

  Billie was thankful when they had got the box of jewels safely back intothe motor car and were on their way at last to Mary's home.

  Mary and her mother lived in a pretty old house facing the publicsquare, and it was fortunate that Mrs. Price's old home was so located.In order to support herself and her little daughter, the young widow hadtransformed the lower floor into a tea room and shop. A little blueboard hung from the portico, which bore the inscription in old Englishscript, "At Ye Signe of Ye Blue Tea Pot." A large bulletin on the frontdoor announced that tea and sandwiches of all varieties could be hadwithin; also that luncheons were prepared for pleasure parties andjourneys and that numerous dainty and pretty articles, made by hand,were there for sale.

  The inscription might have stated further that the plucky mistress ofthe little shop was as dainty and pretty as any of the articles for saleon the counter.

  As the soda water fountain was the Saturday afternoon meeting place ofthe boys and girls of West Haven, so the Sign of the Blue Tea Potattracted the older crowd. It had seemed a bold undertaking for thewidow to mortgage her home and put all the money in the chintz hangingsand wicker furniture of those two charming tea rooms. Her old friends,Mr. Butler and Captain Brown, had strongly advised against it, but herventure had been a success from the first, although a mortgage stillhung over the place like a black cloud and small debts would accumulateevery time she got a little ahead.

  When the red motor with its load of young people drew up at the door ofMary's home, the buzz of conversation from inside reached them out inthe street.

  Mary's mother appeared for a moment in the doorway, and smiled at them.

  "She's as beautiful as an angel," thought Billie, who never told howoften she had yearned for a real mother of her very own as other girlshad.

  Could any one else have looked so charming in a perfectly plain homemadegray chambray dress, with a white muslin fichu, and little white apronto set it off?

  "Won't you come in and have some tea and cake, children?" Mrs. Pricecalled to the young people, while she put an arm around Mary and shookhands with Billie, who had followed her friend to the front door withthe troublesome box.

  "No, thank you, Mrs. Price," replied Billie, as spokesman of the party."I only came to ask a favor," she added, in a lower voice. "Would youlet me keep this box in your safe for a while? I have no place, Imean----" Billie hesitated and blushed. Of all things, she detestedsubterfuge, and yet here she was making all sorts of lame excusesinstead of saying frankly that she was keeping the box for a friend.

  "You mean the old safe upstairs?" asked Mrs. Price, somewhat astonished.

  "Yes, mother," put in Mary. "I told Billie I knew you wouldn't mindlocking this box up for her for a while."

  "Certainly, dear, you are welcome to hide anything in it you like. Maryknows the combination better than I do. I always have to look it up inone of Captain Price's old note books. I am sorry you won't have sometea and cake, but I suppose you are all off for a spin this afternoon.It has done Mary more good than I can tell you, your motor car. Thechild is always studying so hard to hurry up and be a teacher and takecare of her old mother, so she says."

  "Only a few years more, Mother, and you shall never have to work again,"said Mary. "Some day I shall be the Principal of West Haven High School,when Miss Gray gets too old to work----"

  "What's this?" exclaimed Miss Gray herself, at the door. She had beendrinking tea inside with some friends. "Who's going to lay me on theshelf before my time?"

  "Mary intends to step into your shoes, Miss Gray," laughed Mrs. Price."Look out for her. She is a dangerous rival. She means to pay off allour mortgages and things, and provide for her mother's old age."

  Miss Gray pinched Mary's cheek.

  "Yes," insisted Mary stoutly, "all I want is money, money, money."

  The Principal patted the young girl's cheek kindly.

  "Don't be too mad about it, child. It won't buy everything, you know."

  It was only an idle speech of Mary's but you all know how much meaningcan sometimes be given to words spoken thoughtlessly and the day was tocome when Mary was to regret very deeply having used those words.

  All this time Billie had been standing quietly waiting for the momentwhen they could leave the older people and consign the box to the ironsafe upstairs.

  But before they could get away the tea room began to empty itself.Billie's Cousin Helen appeared in the doorway, with Mrs. Butler, lookinglike Elinor grown middle-aged, the beautiful aquiline nose slightly morepronounced, the blue eyes a little faded, but the same erect carriagewhich made her look an inch or more taller than the other women.

  Mme. Alta, the music teacher, was there with Miss Gray. She was a fiercelooking, dark-haired woman, her two upper teeth protruding over herlower lip like the tusks of a walrus, giving her a cruel animalexpression. Mrs. Rogers, Belle's mother, a small faded, intenselynervous little woman, joined the group, followed by Percival AlgernonSt. Clair's doting parent, "the Widow St. Clair," as she was known, acharming, plump, pretty woman, as good-natured as she was comfortablyself-indulgent.

  "Why, Wilhelmina, my darling, what is that large package you arecarrying?" demanded Miss Campbell anxiously. "Has your papa sent you apresent?"

  "Oh, no, just--just a package of things I was going to leave here. Weare going motoring for a while. You don't mind, do you Cousin Helen?"

  "No, my child, as long as you don't go too fast. But do put down thatbox. You will injure yourself carrying it so long. Why don't you put itin the motor? Why do you leave it here?"

  "Oh, it isn't mine," said Billie.

  Mrs. Price looked up at this.

  "But I thought----" she commenced, when Mary pressed her hand.

  "I mean I am keeping it for some one," went on Billie lamely.

  "My dear Miss Campbell," put in Miss Gray--and Billie thanked her forthe intervention--"it is a Blue Bird secret, you may depend upon it. Youdo not know school girls as well as I do."

  "It ees a ver-ry eenter-resting looking package," here remarked Mme.Alta. "It appears to be a ver-ry handsome box, as I can plainly see byone corner-r which protrudes. You perhaps use if for your club'ssegrets, eh?"

  Billie turned the box guiltily around. She had not noticed that the tornend was in view.

  Mme. Alta looked at her unnecessarily hard, Billie thought. She hadnever liked the strange woman and had preferred not to take pianolessons of her, after one glance at those hard, cruel eyes and thefierce walrus teeth.

  "I'm sure it contains much more beautiful and interesting things thanstupid secrets," exclaimed good-natured, pretty Mrs. St. Clair, whodisliked to see anybody around her uncomfortable and Billie looked veryuncomfortable. "Now, dear," she continued, giving Billie a littlesqueeze, "do go and hide your box, if you like. It's not fair to quizyoung girls about their secrets, any more than it is to quiz olderpeople," and she pushed Billie gently into the hall. Mary quicklyfollowed and the two girls ran upstairs, glad to get away from the groupof inquisitive ladies, and infinitely relieved to consign the unluckybox into the small safe in the hall closet.

  "What a joy to be rid of the thing," exclaimed Billie, as they shovedthe box inside, turned the combination lock, and fled downstairs.

  "I feel as if we need a good dose of fresh air, Mary, to revive us afterthat inquisition," she added, as they hurried past the company of teadrinkers, who still lingered chatting in the doorway, and joined theothers in the motor car.

  "Percival, my son," called Mrs. St. Clair, "don't lean out so far. Youmight fall and break your nose. Oh, oh, my precious boy, they'll killhim!" she shrieked, as Charlie and Merry seized him by the arms andpretended to pitch him overboard.