CHAPTER V.
A FALLEN QUEEN.
Next morning Nellie set out for school in apparently the best ofspirits, returning Aunt Judith's encouraging smile with one as brightand hopeful, and shouting a merry farewell as she ran lightly down thegarden path and closed the little gate behind her.
Arriving fully ten minutes before the hour, she found several of thegirls already assembled in the large class-room, gathered as usual inknots, and talking gaily to one another.
"Good-morning," said Agnes Drummond, coming forward and holding out herhand in a friendly manner. "You are going to be a punctual pupil, MissLatimer." And the other scholars, not being overpowered as yet byAda's presence, nodded blithely and allowed their new school-mate tojoin in the general conversation.
While girlish tongues were busy and the room was filled with the hum ofmerry voices, the great bell rang loudly, and at the same moment Winniecame rushing in, crying half breathlessly as she did so, "Just in time,girls; not a minute too soon. Good-morning, everybody. Do I look asif I had been having a good race?" and she turned her piquant faceround for a general survey.
"A species of milk-maid bloom," said Ada Irvine, catching the words asshe leisurely entered the room, "which makes you appear more suited toyour friend of the dairy-maid type;" and Miss Irvine looked insolentlyat Nellie's fresh bright face as she spoke. The soft tints on thesmooth, rounded cheek deepened, and the girl bit her lip hard to keepback the angry words.
Not so Winnie, however. Turning a pair of great, serious eyes on herhaughty school-mate's fair, placid countenance, she said with an air ofprophetic solemnity,--
"Ada Irvine, you will yet be rewarded for all your contemptuousspeeches. Mark my words, and see if you don't get smashed up in arailway accident, or fall a victim to that delightfully disfiguringdisease--small-pox. Serve you right too. Every dog has its day: youare enjoying yours at present, and can say and do as you please;but--ugh! I'm disgusted at you," and Winnie "tip-tilted" her littlenose with the most charming grace imaginable.
Ada smiled loftily.
"I would not be vulgar, if I were you," she remarked calmly. "Isuppose you learn all those choice proverbs from your aristocraticbrother. Ah, there is Mrs. Elder coming to open the school. Do alteryour expression, my dear; you are regarding me with such loving eyes, Iam sure she will think you are too affectionate," and Ada swept to herseat with a mocking laugh.
The lessons commenced, and Nellie, thoroughly prepared, almost forgotthe morning's annoyance in the joy at finding herself slowly rising tothe head of the class, where Miss Irvine sat with all the dignity of anenthroned queen.
Ten minutes' respite; then came the English, conducted by Mr. King, themost thorough and rigid master in the school. A question was asked--aquestion calculated to tax severely the skill and ingenuity of theactive brain. Ada hesitated for one moment, then made a fatal blunder;and Nellie, answering correctly, slipped quietly into the seat of thedeposed sovereign. Winnie's delight was indescribable. One triumphantglance after another flashed upwards to the fallen queen's angry face,and her bright eyes fairly danced with wicked joy when, at the close ofthe class, Mr. King said a few words of commendation on Miss Latimer'sabilities.
"Nellie, Nellie! I'm proud of my friend to-day, She's a regular brick,and deserves any amount of hugging and petting. Oh joy, joy! how didyou manage it, dear? You have taken the wind out of Ada's sails andgained a feather in your cap, I can assure you. It all seems too goodto be true. The queen dethroned at last!" and Winnie catching Nellieround the waist, danced her up and down the schoolroom in a regularmadcap whirl.
"You'll be late for dinner if you don't hurry home at once, Win," saidone of the elder girls, crossing over to the fire and seating herselfby its cheery blaze with a tempting book and box of caramels. "There,run away and don't waste your precious time in speaking uncharitablewords, dear. Recess will soon be over;" and Elsie Drummond lookedkindly down on the little figure dancing before her with such evidentdelight.
"I'm just going," replied Winnie, stopping to bestow a smile on theelder girl's pleasant face. "But you can't understand why I am sohappy. You don't belong to our set, and therefore know very littleabout Ada's conceit and--yes, I shall say it--priggish ways. She'sjust as horrid as can be, and I hate her," wound up the maliciousmonkey, quite reckless of the character of her language.
"Agnes owns rather a sharp tongue, dear, and I hear many a tale fromher," replied Elsie, referring to her younger sister; "but I think,Win, if you wish to be a true friend to Nellie, you will refrain fromexpressing your joy at her success too openly, at least in Ada'spresence. Such unconcealed delight will, believe me, dear, do moreharm than good."
"Oh, nonsense, Elsie," was the impetuous reply. "I must sing and dancemy joy, it's such a splendid opportunity. Why shouldn't I crow overthe nasty proud thing? She needs somebody to ruffle her, and I can dothat part better than any one else in the school.--You don't mind myhaving a little fun, do you, Nellie? she's such a cross-patch, youknow."
Now, as was quite natural under the circumstances, Nellie did feel nota little elated over her success. It was a triumph certainly, andgirl-like she found it both palatable and pleasant to rejoice over afallen enemy. At the same time, however, she saw the force of MissDrummond's caution, and the wisdom of yielding to her advice, soturning to Winnie she answered gently,--
"Please say no more about it; it was all chance, and Ada may gain herold seat to-morrow again, though I mean to try to prevent her fromdoing so."
But the words were simply wasted on the incorrigible child, who resumedher fantastic war-dance as she replied,--
"No, no; I shall not make any false promise. I mean to be a true,loyal friend, Nell; but if a nice little malicious speech comes glidingsoftly to the very tip of my tongue, I must let the words out,otherwise there will be choking. Prepare then for sudden squalls," andwith a mischievous laugh Winnie vanished from the room, and was soonrunning along the road in the direction of home.
"The old story--late again," said Dick, looking up from his well-filledplate as she entered and sat down opposite him at the table. "You'llnever have time to cram down cabinet pudding and tart to-day, I'll bebound;" and the boy grinned teasingly on the bright face before him.
"Won't I, though?" answered Winnie, nodding her head blithely, andeying the contents of the plate brought to her by Jane the parlour-maidwith decided relish. "Don't imagine you'll get my share to-day, Dickyboy, for I'm as hungry as a hawk. I have something to tell you,however, so please listen;" and between mouthfuls she told in arambling style the story of Nellie's triumph and Ada's defeat, endingwith the following words, "Do you know, Dick, when I saw Ada sittingbelow Nellie and looking so crestfallen, I could have risen there andthen and danced for joy before her. Will you believe me, I felt soglad I could hardly restrain my feet till the hour was up, and wheneverliberty was proclaimed, didn't they go well at the Irish jig! Ohdear!" and Winnie's face was all aglow as she waited her brother'scommendatory remarks on such behaviour.
Dick coughed, blew his nose violently, filled out some water into hisglass, quaffed the draught, cleared his throat, and then said gravely,"I'll tell you what to do, Win. This evening, after we have finishedstudying, I'll teach you a splendid double-shuffle which you willrehearse to-morrow (with added grace, of course,) in front of thelovely Ada, and before all the class--Mr. King included. My eye, whatglorious fun!" and vulgar Dick looked across at his sister with beamingface.
"I dare hardly attempt that," she replied dolefully, "though I shoulddearly love doing so. But you see, Dick" (with energy), "Mrs. Elderdetests me so much, and I have been caught in so many faults lately,that such an awful one as you propose would prove fatal. Yourdelightful plan must be abandoned, I am sorry to say."
"Well, perhaps after all you are right," replied the boy, changing histeasing tone into a serious one. "I daresay Miss Ada's rage would onlyincrease in fury if she saw you performing a triumph-dance andrejoicing so ex
travagantly over her defeat. I remember a few years agosomething of the same kind occurring in our school, and wasn't there ablow-up at the end! I was one of the little chaps then, but I managedto keep my eyes and ears open, and knew more about the whole affairthan any one guessed."
"Tell me the story, Dick," interrupted Winnie, holding a spoonful oftart suspended betwixt her mouth and plate, and speaking eagerly; "do,there's a dear boy." But Dick shook his shaggy head, and answered,--
"Not just now, Win. Our time is almost up. Finish your pudding, oldgirl, and let us away. By-the-by, don't expect me home till after fivethis afternoon;" and the boy's bright face clouded as he made thisstatement.
"Why not?" was the inquiry. "We were going to have such splendid funtogether. Is there anything wrong?"
"Kept in," uttered in a growling tone. "Lessons as usual badlyprepared--denounced for my stupidity, and ordered to remain after hoursand work up. See what it is to have a dunce of a brother, Win," andDick, curling his lip sneeringly, endeavoured to hide his woundedfeelings by putting his hands in his pockets and trying to lookperfectly indifferent.
Winnie, on her part, burst forth indignantly,--
"Not another word against yourself, Richard Blake. I won't listen."Then coming to her brother's side and slipping two soft arms round hisneck, she raised her eyes with the love-light shining so softly inthem, and murmured tenderly, "Don't be downcast, dear old boy--all willcome right some day; and I am just as stupid as you are."
"No, no," cried Dick quickly. "Indolence is your fault, Win, notstupidity. But I--I can't learn, and that's the simple truth. I'vetried over and over again, but it's no good; and, of course,"(doggedly) "no one believes that fact."
"I do," said the soft little voice. "But, Dick, people don't know you.There you go," (with quaint gravity) "hiding that great, kind heart ofyours, and showing only a rough exterior. Our father and mother neverguess bow brave and good and true you are. They'll find all that outsome day, however;" and Winnie looked into her brother's honestfreckled face with all the affection of her loyal, little heart.
"You're a decided goose, Win," was all the answer vouchsafed to hercheering words, as the boy rose from his chair and prepared to leavethe room; but the twinkle in his eye, and kind, firm pressure of hishand, when they parted at the street corner, spoke volumes to littleWinnie, and sent her back to school with a happy heart.
She was very thoughtful all that afternoon, however, and so quiet thatwhen school was over and the two girls stood on the steps of Mrs.Elder's Select Establishment, Nellie inquired anxiously if her friendwere ill.
"Ill!" repeated Winnie with a light laugh; "not I--only, I've beena-thinking," and a long-drawn sigh accompanied the words.
"What about?" asked her companion, descending the steps and viewing thelittle figure with the great, serious look on its face. "What adoleful expression, Winnie! You look as if you had, like Atlas, thewhole world on your shoulders."
"Nellie," interrupted the child--for indeed she seemed little more thansuch--with the faintest quiver in her voice, "did you ever think, andthink, and think, till your head seemed bursting, and all your thoughtsgot whirled together? No? Ah, well, I have; and somehow when I getinto these moods everything becomes muddled, and I find myself all in amaze. Oh!" and Winnie spoke with passionate vehemence, "often I wouldgive I don't know how much to find some one who could understand andexplain away my thoughts."
"Why not speak to your mother?" asked Nellie, rather surprised at thisnew phase in her friend's character; "surely she should be able to helpyou."
But the little girl shook her head despondingly. "No, no, Nellie; mystepmother is very kind and pretty, but I don't see much of her, andshe would only laugh at me."
They were strolling leisurely along the street now, and the child'svoice had a plaintive ring in it as she continued: "I was very illabout a year ago--so ill, Nellie, that I had to lie in bed day afterday for a long time. I can't tell what was wrong with me, but I knowthe doctor used to look very grave when he saw me; and one day, afterhe had gone away, nurse went about my room crying softly to herself. Iwas too weak to care or think, and only wondered dreamily what she wascrying for, till my stepmother entered, and I noticed that her eyeswere red too. They imagined I was sleeping, I suppose, for nurse quiteloudly asked, 'Is there no hope?' O Nellie! I shall never forget thatmoment, never so long as I live. I seemed to realize that I wasdying--really, truly dying--and the thought was awful. What wouldhappen to me after death? I could not, I dared not die. Springingwith sudden strength from the bed, I tried to rush anywhere, screaming,'Save me! don't let me die!' in the most awful agony. Then came a longblank. I never forgot that time, but I never spoke of it to any one.Where was the use? I should only have been laughed at, and told tothink about living, not dying."
There was something so pathetic in the way all this was told, there wassuch an amount of pathos in the quivering voice, that Nellie's heartached and the tears rushed to her eyes.
"Winnie," she began gently, "I know what would do you all the good inthe world--a talk with Aunt Judith. I am sure she would never laughaway your thoughts or refuse to listen, she is so good and kind; andwhen she speaks, one feels as if all one's wicked passions were hushedaway."
Winnie brightened visibly.
"Is that so?" she inquired; "then I should dearly like to see her.Won't you invite me to spend some afternoon with you, Nellie, and allowme to see Aunt Judith and your cosy wee home?"
"I shall be only too pleased, Winnie," replied her companion. Then thetwo friends parted and went their respective roads--one to afashionable home where gaiety reigned supreme and pleasure filled upevery hour; the other to a lowly cottage-dwelling where God's holy namewas hallowed, and the Christ-life showed itself clear and bright inAunt Judith's daily walk.