The Girl Warriors: A Book for Girls

  CHAPTER XIX.

  A BUSY MONTH.

  Mr. Van Orten left his niece behind him reluctantly, but Mr. Allen hadconvinced him that his sister had decided wisely, and that nothingcould be better for Ernestine during the coming month than the calm andcheerful atmosphere of Mrs. Burton's home. Ernestine's own cot had beenbrought and placed in Winnie's room, and the two girls were tucked inevery night by the same motherly hands. Little Ralph took Ernestineat once into his affections, made her smile at his quaint fancies andcunning little tongue, and his father and brother treated her as if shehad always been one of them.

  The end of the school year was rapidly approaching, and there was agreat deal of work to be done. Ernestine and Winnie were both anxiousto do honor to their school and to the teachers who had worked withthem hard and patiently, so every minute was occupied in some way, andErnestine had no time for unhealthy grieving.

  On Saturday afternoons Fannie and Miriam and Gretta came to Mrs.Burton's, and they all went over the week's work together. SometimesMr. Allen and Fannie came and took Winnifred and Ernestine for a drivethrough the beautiful suburbs, and one evening they had another row onthe river with Uncle Fred and Aunt Kitty.

  And so the weeks wore away and brought the bright June day when theyall walked together to the high-school to take their examinationseats. Their hearts beat high with hope and courage, and swelled withself-importance not altogether to be made light of; for it had beentheir aim for many months to gain this last fight of their school yearon the very field on which they would plant their banners of occupationif they won. And win they felt sure they would, for this was but thesupreme test to prove the force and earnestness of what had gone before.

  "On, on to victory!" laughed Miriam each morning, waving her hands highabove her head. And "On, on to victory!" laughed the four other girls,echoing her cry.

  How they worked that week, their young heads bent over their papers,while their young eyes carefully perused those wonderful "printedquestions"! The five, so different in manner, but so alike in aim andpurpose--Ernestine, calm, deliberate, direct; Fannie, thoughtful butrapid; Gretta, neat, painstaking, and a little anxious; Miriam, dashingahead impulsively, scratching out a word here or inserting one there,doing twice to thinking once, but thinking that once well; and Winnie,absorbed, thorough and confident--were noted with interest by thestranger teachers watching them, for they had learned to work with adefinite aim which showed itself in their very attitudes.

  They took the questions home with them, and each day the five mightbe seen at the home of one or the other, again going over the work,replying one at a time and sometimes all at once to the oft-repeatedquery, "How did you answer this?" or "Did you prove that?"

  Sometimes the group was joined by one or more of their other classmates,and once Josie Thompson, wearing her brightest dress and biggest pin,called to them as she passed: "Isn't this a horrid old examination? Iknow I won't pass, and I don't care if I don't. My mother says if I failshe'll take me out of school, and I'll be glad of it. I can't see anyfun in digging every minute, and what's the use of all this high-schoolstuff anyhow! I can have a better time without it."

  And on the last day she waved her hands to them across the street andshouted: "Good-by, girls! I know it's all up with me!"

  "Poor Josie!" said Ernestine, after they had gone home; "trying so hardto have a good time, and missing it after all."

  "Yes," said Mrs. Burton, laying her hand gently on the girl's head,"like the dog in the fable, she is losing the substance to grasp at theshadow."

  "Tell me about the dog in the table, Ernie," said Ralph, pulling atErnestine's dress to attract her attention.

  "I don't think I know, you little dear!" she said, laughing gently athis mistake. "We must ask your mamma to tell us both."

  "Then 'Innie must hear, too!" said the child, running to the door tocall his sister.

  It was what Miriam called a "delicious" evening, and after tea she andFannie and Gretta came strolling over to talk about the events of theweek and reassure each other that "all was well." Ralph looked upon eachof them as his own particular friend and in a sense his charge, andso he now proceeded to enlighten them on the subject of the dog in thefable as follows:

  "There was a dog and a table," he said, "but I don't know what the tablewas for, because he didn't eat on a table, you know, 'cause he was on'ya dog; but he stealed a bone, and he was wunning away wid it over somewatah, and saw his shadow looking like anudder dog wid a bone, an' hewas so greedy dat he dropped his bone to get de bone of de odder dogin de ribber, and so he lost his own bone and didn't get any odder, andJosie Thompson didn't get any bone eider."

  "Oh, Ralph," said Winnie, "you tell everything you know, besides muchthat you don't!"

  How the girls laughed when Winnie explained! And all the more aslaughter came easy to them, with hearts light from the consciousness ofa well-spent year which had brought its reward.