Brenda Page

“ Kitty hated the idea of belonging to such a slack house. Couldn't she do something herself? She knew she was a good tennis and cricket player, and later on she would play for all she was worth. But the playing of one girl wouldn't make such a great deal of difference unless well supported. As the week slipped by she turned things over in her mind, until suddenly an idea flashed into it. Of course, they would think it frightful conceit on her part, but she didn't care about that. At least, it would give Carslake's the shock that was necessary to wake up the house from its lethargy.... ”

“ Erica sat quiet and still, her dreamy gaze wandering from Duane to Kitty, and from Kitty to Duane, and in her soft dark eyes was the whole-hearted if childish hero-worship that is so common and natural between small schoolboys and girls and their seniors, the girls and boys who are at top of the school. ”

“ The two girls shouted and halloed at the top of their voices, but the mist only returned the echoes of their own cries.
"Coming on?" asked Duane curtly.
"Of course," returned Kitty as briefly.
"We must keep to the track though. Won't do to get lost ourselves."
They stumbled forward again, neither of them daring to voice their secret fear that Erica, frightened and lonely and without a light, had wandered off the track when the mist and the darkness had descended so quickly, and was lost on the downs. Such a possibility made them both shiver. ”

“ If it had been anything else—but—but that kind of thing——"
"Then, the Richoter affair aside, your only prejudice to admitting me to your—your circle of friends, would be gone?"
"I don't know," replied Kitty, frankly. "You can't make yourself be friends with anyone, you know. At any rate, I don't think so. We're so utterly unlike, aren't we?"
"Are we? Then do you think that people must be alike to be friends?"
"They must have tastes in common," replied Kitty, firmly. "At least, so it has always seemed to me."
"Why not give it a trial?" suggested Duane. ”

“ Never ye mind; summer's before us, and cricket and tennis. Oh, the merry, merry month of May!" she began to sing in a tuneless voice.
"Cuckoo! Cuckoo!" sang somebody else; and there was a general chorus, "Oh don't, Paddy!"
"Always optimistic. You're very refreshing, Paddy, my child," remarked the tall girl when the hubbub had subsided. "I came down on the other line with Van, and she could talk of nothing but matriculation."
"When every prospect pleases, and only man is vile," sighed Paddy. "Hallo!" as her sharp eyes caught sight of Kitty's school hat resting on the rack. ”

“ She never appeared flurried, and, for hockey, was even unhurried. She played with neat adroitness, using both stick and feet with remarkable dexterity, invariably successful in robbing the attacker of the ball just at the right moment and hitting away without pause, as hard and accurate as a machine. The danger came from the wings, for the Carslake half-backs were comparatively weak and too slow to hold the school forwards. Kitty and Bertha found their work cut out for them in that quarter, while, by a tacit understanding, Duane held the centre. ”

“ The cubicle was empty. Quickly she made a round of the dormitory; the nine cubicles occupied by juniors were all deserted. The only occupants of the dormitory at that moment were herself, Kitty and Hilary, who could be heard breathing deeply and steadily, soundly asleep.
"Shall we follow them, and see what they're up to?" asked Kitty eagerly, only too willing for an adventure.
"No fear!" replied Duane with a yawn. "Bed for me. They'll only be gorging themselves in the common-room, I expect. Little wretches! It'll do in the morning. Good night." ”

“ Whereupon Kitty, her enthusiasm for her house catching fire from that of the girls of Sheerston's, Prince's and Green's, called out in her clear, decided way, a remark which she would afterwards have given worlds to have left unsaid, though it meant little or nothing at the time.
"Duane will be something more than a worthy opponent to your girls. She's going to win that prize, and we're going to use every means in our power to bring it off. You mark my words."
"I say, Kitty," remonstrated Hilary, a little later, "you needn't be so deadly certain that Duane will win the Richoter." ”

“ In no respect did she resemble her sister Bertha. She adored the high-spirited, masterful Peggy with a slavish devotion; in her eyes Peggy could do no wrong. On the other hand, Erica was petted and made much of by the rest of the dormitory, because she was the youngest, the "baby."
"You'll find standing room, if there's nowhere to sit down," remarked Duane, in an affable drawl. "Would you mind shutting the door behind you? Thanks so much. Now we can get to business. I suppose you won't deny the fact that all nine of you left your dormitory in the middle of last night?" ”

“ Inwardly they were all quaking at their temerity, even such bold spirits as Kitty and Peggy O'Nell, and looking forward to the match with feelings of apprehension.
Duane, with an undue amount of deliberation, had drawn up her team. "I've put Bertha and Edith in their usual positions at right back and goal," she explained. "Kitty, I want you to be the other back. Halves—Margaret, myself, Mary. Forwards, wings—France and Peggy. Yes, France, you must play, and what's more you'll have to run as you've never run in your life before, not even on Sports Day." ”

“ Kitty confided upon a sudden impulse, for here was a kindred spirit. "But don't tell anybody. They think it's just showing off on my part."
"Bless you, they'll forget all about that you put up a good enough game to win your match," said Paddy consolingly.
Meanwhile others were attacking the Carslake girls.
"I say, Duane, I suppose somebody will accept the challenge, or else it will look as though you've nobody good enough."
"You'll have to do it yourself, Cato. There's nobody else who can play decently in your house, is there?" ”

“ As they disappeared Hilary's face sobered suddenly. She turned to Duane.
"You'll report 'em, I suppose? It's the only way to stop these silly societies. One wouldn't mind them, of course, but these kids are far more enthusiastic over a cricket match between P. Squareds and Budmushes than one between Carslake's and another house, and when they actually cut school matches because their blessed society is running a picnic or has a jape on against the other one, it's getting more than a joke."
Such was the point of view of the seniors. ”

“ As you are a long way behind the others at present, you will have to make a big effort to catch up."
"We are handicapped, Miss St. Leger," said Duane. "We are so few numerically."
"Yes, I know your house is smaller than Sheerston's or Prince's, but no smaller than Miss Green's, and they are making quite a plucky fight for scholastic honours and the House Sports Shield."
"I did not quite mean the number of girls in the house, Miss St. Leger," the head prefect defended herself. "I was referring to the number of seniors. After all, it is the seniors who form the backbone of the house teams. ”

“ Bertha tried to muster up a smile as she turned her bike round. "You're a sport if ever there was one, Duane."
The next instant she had disappeared round the bend, and Duane and Kitty were left alone again, this time with a feeling of responsibility resting heavily upon them.
"Better just ask about the road, at the farm," suggested Kitty sensibly. "We neither of us know it."
A few brief questions elucidated the information that the road wound over the downs to Frattenton, that it was a lonely road, but that there were few turnings of any importance, and then one had to keep to the left. ”

“ Look at Sports Day—look at the hockey match——"
"Oh well, I do happen to be fairly decent at hockey," said Duane curtly. "It's the one thing I'm proud of. But that doesn't make me a success as a head prefect, does it?"
"Success or not," returned Kitty, "the house has pulled itself together again, and taken up its proper place in the school, and the head prefect takes the glory as well as the responsibility. That's only fair." ”

“ A brief examination proved the fact beyond a doubt. Kitty looked at Duane. The two had been the last to leave the farmhouse—where the cycling party had had tea—and were the only girls left behind, the others having ridden on a minute or two before Kitty's discovery.
"You ride on and overtake the others," she said. "I'll mend the puncture and come on afterwards. If I scorch I might catch you up some time. Only it won't be long before it gets dark."
"Oh, I'll lend a hand," said Duane good-naturedly. "I've got my lamps. Besides, Miss Carslake wouldn't like one of us to be left alone." ”

“ Perhaps their astonishment was their undoing, for Duane and Daisy had wriggled the ball through at the bully, and before the school could pull themselves together, Duane was racing down the field again. Just before she could be tackled she passed the ball with delightful accuracy to France, who was quite uncovered for the moment. To her everlasting credit, that budding artist rose to the occasion nobly, for in spite of her "stitch," she carried the ball well into the enemy's quarters and without attempting what she knew was beyond her powers, centred again to Duane. ”

“ The sun continued to shine; a spell of fine spring weather had evidently set in, and by the following Wednesday summer sports had begun at Easthampton.
The first event in which everybody was interested was the playing of the challenge games between the new Australian girl and her own house. Carslake's decided that France and Duane, their two best tennis players, were sufficient to uphold the dignity of the house, and told themselves with satisfaction that if Kitty could beat them upon their own courts, she would indeed be a welcome acquisition to their ranks. ”

“ There was several minutes' silence while the girls began to take their compounds from the midget furnaces, preparatory to weighing. Miss St. Leger and Miss Vacher were talking together in low tones when a sudden exclamation from Salome made them glance up quickly. With an expression of amazement on her face the girl was gazing at one of the pans which she had just removed from her balance; underneath the pan was a small gravel pebble attached to the pan by means of a piece of plasticine. ”

“ All light luggage is here, being only Easter vac.—except Kitty's, of course."
Eileen, as a prefect, took the new girl under her wing.
"Run down to the luggage van and have your trunks brought up here. Then they can go up to the school with ours. There's plenty of time. Paddy will be some while fetching Orpheus along with the truck; he always crawls about like a snail."
As Kitty obediently went off down the platform with her long strides, many of the girls turned round to stare after her as she passed, for she was far from being an insignificant girl. ”

“ Afternoon lessons finished at three-fifteen, and from then till tea-time, at five, everybody was free to play games, go for a walk, or, if it were very wet, amuse themselves indoors.
"Who's Cato?" inquired Kitty, looking puzzled.
"Cato? Why, the Hon. Duane of course. Nearly everyone gets a nickname of some sort. The meeting is to talk over Prinny's little welcoming lecture."
"I don't see much good in talking," retorted Kitty. "It's doing that matters."
"Well, as far as sports are concerned, I don't see there's much we can do. Duane is the only one who is much good at them. ”

“ Now show them that I'm not the only gifted one."
Kitty looked straight at her just for a moment and her eyes sparkled. "I'm going to," she snapped, and turned away, vowing that she would win the quarter-mile or die in the attempt. Strange to say, for once Kitty was not thinking of the honour of Carslake's; as she lined up for the race with lips set determinedly, the house was not even in her mind, only the house's head prefect.
The faces of the Carslake girls became even more seraphic when Kitty won the quarter-mile, by a bare half-yard. ”

“ Paddy was obliging enough to whisper to the new girl:
"That's Salome Hope, the head prefect of my house, Sheerston's; frightfully clever at lessons and a triple colour—hockey, cricket and tennis. There isn't a girl to touch her in the school."
The whisper was a very audible one, like all Paddy's whispers. Salome heard it quite plainly, and looked across at Kitty with a laugh.
"One of the school celebrities, in fact. Paddy is too, though she refrains from mentioning it. Are you a new girl?"
"Yes," answered Eileen. "Kitty Despard, from Australia. They've put her into Carslake's. ”

“ As if a girl who played the game like Duane did in that match against the school, could do a mean trick like that!"
Then Salome had sprung upon the dais and was speaking:
"There's just another thing, girls. As it happens, far more fuss has been made over the affair that it—it deserves. We must remember that Erica Salter is little more than a child, and did not realize fully what she was doing. I am sure, by Kitty's account, she has suffered enough, and we mustn't be hard on her. The best thing to do is to put the whole affair away and forget it as quickly as we can." ”