Clair Blank

“ The wind up here was cold and Brent buttoned his coat more tightly as best he could, using one hand. It put new life into one, though. The air was keen as a knife and the sky as clear as crystal water. Brent remembered the exhilaration he had experienced last night flying through the star-studded sky. It had been keen! But a most cruel reminder of his last flight with Gale. Then, too, in the beginning the stars had been close and friendly.
Brent halted in his stride and knit his brows in perplexity. Had the plane crash occurred near here? No, he corrected himself. ”

“ It was almost like standing on the edge of the world. Behind her towered high and mighty mountains, before her lay a sea of moon-swept valley. Born and brought up in the little town of Marchton, Gale had known some outdoor life, but never the breathless beauty and limitless quiet of a night in Arizona. Quiet had she thought? Far away a coyote howled and yet another. ”

“ Gale proposed.
“Don’t you think you had better go home? Your parents will worry,” Brent Stockton said.
“They know where I am,” Gale said. “Besides, I want to wait and it isn’t late.”
Brent and Gale stood at the door of the hangar and watched until Bruce and Stubby had disappeared toward the highway where they were to take the bus back to town. When there was nothing in sight and not a sound to disturb the stillness the young man and the girl continued to stand there. The moonlight was like a path of silver straight down the runway of the landing field. ”

“ Madge prodded Janet firmly. “We have to dress for dinner.”
“And we have to get back to Happiness House,” added Gale to Ricky and Gloria, but making no movement toward home.
“Isn’t spring the most glorious time of the year,” sighed Valerie. “When the grass is growing, the buds budding——”
“And the brooks brooking,” Carol finished. “Come along,” she urged Janet. “We have to dress and I’m hungry.”
“I will be black and blue tomorrow,” Janet prophesied gloomily. “My chagrin is mountainous. To think I had to fall off when we were going so good.” ”

“ Virginia laughed when Gale started out. “Just sagebrush, rocks, and trees.”
Gale liked to be alone sometimes and now she did not feel the need of the companionship of any of her friends. Once in a while the other girls thought her a little strange when she went off by herself. But there was nothing strange about her. Gale was the sort of person who is not dependent upon other people. She could spend a whole day by herself and not be bored with her own company. She couldn’t see why some people had to always travel with a crowd, always have a lot of other people with them. ”

“ Diving and side-slipping, the pilot put on an air circus by himself for the benefit of the people below. Straight upward the pilot nosed his ship, but suddenly it failed him. The roar of the engine was cut off abruptly. Like a falling leaf caught in an autumn wind the plane turned over and over. In scarcely any time at all the shining red monoplane lay a twisted mass of wreckage on Cloudy Island.
“You girls stay here,” called Bruce over his shoulder as he and the other two boys started off on a run for the little wharf where Bruce’s motor boat lay rocking gently on the swell of the water. ”

“ Phyllis felt as if she would never again get the smell of smoke out of her system.
One—two—three—she counted the horses neighing and rearing at their posts. Nine! There should be ten! With a sinking of heart she looked at them all again. White Star was not there! White Star! The best of the group! How could she possibly have missed him?
Without another thought but that of her favorite mount Phyllis dashed back into the stables. One—two—three—stalls empty. Nothing but silence and the crackling of flames—flames creeping closer, destroying, and smoke. ”

“ Gale was staring at the dark little shanty that Tom had said was doubtless the entrance to the old miner’s mine. She wondered if the man had ever realized his dream of great wealth, the dream he doubtless had when he settled here and began to dig. A shadow, a moving shadow, had detached itself from the spot of darkness which was the shanty and was going toward a thick clump of trees. ”

“ The waves rocked the little boat gently, the air was cool and the night star-studded.
“We better do something or I’ll fall asleep,” Gale declared. “It is too peaceful here. Isn’t the moonlight glorious?”
“Mmm.” Bruce started the motor.
“Let’s go to the island,” Gale proposed. “We will officially open it for the summer.”
The prow of the boat cut through the water like a giant knife sending a light spray back over the two occupants. Twice Bruce circled the bay, the thrill of speed and wind exciting them. Finally he drew up to the island and they went ashore. ”

“ Janet declared bluntly. “We are to mind our own business—or else.”
“Or else what?” Carol demanded.
“Mind our own business,” Madge repeated. “But what have we interfered in?”
“True,” Valerie admitted. “We haven’t done anything.”
Gale sat on the bed beside Phyllis. “I wonder if this was meant only for you and me—or for all of us,” she murmured.
“No one knows we are here tonight—at least I hope no one knows,” Janet said.
“It is obvious someone doesn’t want us to discover something,” Phyllis murmured.
“But what?” Carol insisted. “Mixed up, I call it.”
“You’re always mixed up,” Janet said loftily. ”

“ The Arizona night was cool, the sky studded with stars. In the living room the girls from the East were toying with the radio and dancing. Gale and Valerie stepped out onto the porch into the cool darkness. ”

“ Phyllis sighed. “I suppose I must, but I shall hate it,” she said with sudden vehemence. “I don’t want to be separated from all the Adventure Girls. You mean more to me than you know,” she said, a sudden mist in her eyes. “You are the only friends I have. The only fun I have I have to steal with you. I never thought a person could be as cruel as Aunt Melba. She has taken every nice thing I ever had away from me. ”

“ Gale had been thinking over what Phyllis told her last night. What a struggle had been going on in Phyllis’ mind these past weeks and none of them had guessed! Just those few words on the night before had brought home to Gale the knowledge of what Phyllis was up against. The girl was afraid—terribly afraid that the miracle Doctor Elton had performed would not hold. Something must be done! The girls must do something to bring back Phyl’s self-confidence. But what? Only Phyllis herself could really go through this trial. She must try her own strength. ”

“ The sun dropped from sight, leaving a trail of glorious colors in his wake. From the east, night like a pearly gray blanket covered the sky.
Virginia sliced bacon in the frying pan over the fire. Gale made coffee and soon inviting aromas of their supper drifted on the air.
52 “The smell of food will bring Tom if nothing else does,” Virginia declared laughingly.
But it grew later. Darkness with its impenetrable shadows closed down. The girls huddled about the campfire, watching the fantastic shadows the flames threw over the tents. ”

“ She says—‘I love thee with the breath, smiles, tears, of all my life!’ I always thought—maybe—I should love someone like that some day.” Gale was so thankful for the darkness here against the hangar. He couldn’t see how her cheeks were burning. Never, never, had she thought she would ever talk to anyone like this!
Brent Stockton thoughtfully brushed an imaginary bit of dust from his jacket sleeve. “You are right,” he said. “You should love someone like that. You are young and—quite lovely.” He grinned down at her. “There will be a great many boys in love with you, Gale.” ”

“ There was no discrimination for the wealthy girls. The officers sought girls who were honorable, pleasant, and had a sense of humor. The standards they secretly set were sometimes hard to surpass and it was the reason the sorority had not a larger membership than it had.
On this night the officers of the Omega Chi were secreted in the dining room. Freshmen had been banished to their rooms. Other sorority members lounged about the living room or on the veranda outside. The tinkle of a guitar and the hum of girlish voices rose to Gale and Phyllis at the window of their room. ”

“ I wish you could have seen him, girls. He is positively thirsting for knowledge. But he can’t go to school because his mother has no money with which to send him. It is a shame because an education would certainly not be lost on him. It made my heart ache just to see him and to hear him tell about how fortunate he was that Tom and Virginia and the other cowboys told him stories and taught him a little of arithmetic 233 and spelling. He is so cheerful with what he has, his riding and fishing and hunting. He could be such a fine man because he has an insatiable ambition. ”

“ François earned enough money by his work in logging camps during certain months of the year to keep the little farm running smoothly. Toto was the very last addition to their mansion and he was the gayest of company for the girl when her brother was away.
In the other little room Gale sat up in the bed and stared out the small window at the snow. The ground was white in the moonlight, and unbroken save for the path from the door of the cabin. She clasped her knees in her arms and rested her chin on them. Her eyes were dark, like the waters of a bottomless pool. She didn’t cry any more. ”

“ She was to be no more favored than any other girl. That didn’t please Marcia, and since she couldn’t very well spite the Dean she decided to torture Gale—supposedly a close friend of Dean Travis.
Gale bore the girls’ teasing silently, in amused indifference. She didn’t mind the stunts she and Phyllis had to perform to appease their sorority sisters, but from the minute Marcia Marlette appeared on the campus things were different. Gale could bear the other girls’ teasing, their songs, their sly pointed remarks, but she couldn’t and wouldn’t stand for it from Marcia. ”

“ Janet declared, “but hang it all, I almost cried with him.”
“I guess we never realized before how fortunate we were,” Phyllis said, contemplating the blue sky overhead. “Didn’t it do something to you just now? I feel all sort of big inside. Like--like I wanted to be nice to everybody in the world.”
“It does make you happy just to make somebody else happy,” Madge agreed. “He is such a cunning little chap.” ”

“ Bruce declared, on his knees coaxing a flame into life in the dark fireplace.
“That feels good!” Gale shivered, holding her hands out to the blaze, after wrapping herself in a blanket. “How are we going to get home?”
“I don’t think we will—tonight,” Bruce said, frowning. “No one knows where we are for one thing. I’ll sleep in the canoe house on the cot tonight and you can have the bunk in here. Pleasant dreams!” and he was gone. He knew the struggle in the water had tired Gale and it was best to let her rest. ”

“ Gale said.
“Simple? Biology is anything but simple! I never heard of so many bugs back on the ranch,” Ricky mourned. “I sometimes wish I had stayed there.” She put her arm about Gale. “Tell Auntie what the trouble is.”
Haltingly Gale told Ricky everything the Doctor had said.
“We gotta do something,” Ricky said. She sniffed. “You’ll have me crying too in a minute. Does Phyllis know?”
Gale shook her head. “We don’t want her to—yet.”
“Then you had better not tell the other girls,” Ricky advised wisely. “One of them is sure to let it slip.” ”

“ With a ringing crash, the room was plunged into darkness. She heard Pedro shout to his partner as she saw Val’s figure outlined against the window when her friend climbed over the sill. It all happened in a split second and Gale sprang to the front door which the outlaw had deserted when he sprang after Valerie. But ere she reached the door Pedro was behind her and a heavy hand on her shoulder pulled her stumbling back into the room. She eluded him and sprang away. She had the advantage of the bandits, for she knew the Wilson living room and she knew what to avoid but the men didn’t. ”

“ After dinner Gale stepped out onto the porch and viewed the sky overhead. It was studded with stars and high in the East rode a giant yellow moon. She looked out over the lawn to where deep shadows lay thick beneath the trees and about the shrubs. There was a decided tinge of early winter in the air. The football game this afternoon had been another hint that winter was officially on the way. It had been an exciting game! A thrill every minute. ”

“ She tapped a white envelope before her. “I have had a long letter from your former High School teacher, Miss Relso.”
“Everything is perfect, thank you,” Gale said politely.
“Your roommate is your friend from home?”
“Oh, yes.”
“I hope you are going to like Briarhurst, Miss Howard.”
“I am sure I shall.”
“The girls are all pleasant, that is for the most part. Of course there are some who are selfish and like their own way, but one finds them in every walk of life. Briarhurst tries to fit the girls to take a definite place in the world, to help them live the kind of life worth living. ”