Jenny was really fond of her mice, Tears came into her eyes and she brushed them away. But others came, and she did not like to go back to the classroom crying. So she leaned against the passage wall for a minute, trying to fight back her tears. Someone had played a mean trick on her! Someone had tried to get her into trouble! Someone had made her lose two of her pets! It was horrid, horrid, horrid! Footsteps came down the passage-and who should come round the corner but Rita, the Head Girl! She was most surprised to see Jenny standing there, crying.
“What’s the matter?” she asked. “Have you been sent out of the room?” “No,” said poor Jenny. “It’s my white mice. They’re gone-and I’m so afraid the school cat will eat them.” She poured out the whole story to Rita. The Head Girl looked very grave, “I don’t like the idea of somebody trying to get you into trouble like this,” she said, “You are quite, quite sure you you didn’t play the trick yourself, Jenny?” “Oh, Rita-I really couldn’t treat my pets like that,” said Jenny earnestly. “Do believe me,” “Well, the matter must be brought up at the next Meeting,” said Rita. “We’ll have to get to the bottom of it. Now go back to your class, Jenny. Cheer up. Maybe the mice will turn up again!” Jenny went hack. Miss Ranger saw her red eyes and did not scold her any more. The bell went for the lesson to stop, and the class put away their books. Break came next. Thank goodness! Robert bumped into Elizabeth as they went out of the classroom, and she glared at him. “How many more books are you going to lose?” he asked.
Elizabeth tossed her head and walked off with Joan. But a thought came into her head. Could Robert have taken her books? It really was so very extraordinary that both her arithmetic-book and her geography-book should have gone! She went over to Jenny and pulled her into a corner, “Do you think Robert has got anything to do with my losing my books and your mice being put into the desk?” she said, “I know he’d like to get me into trouble.” “Yes-but why should he get me into trouble, too?” said Jenny.
“Oh, he might think that if he played tricks only on me, I would guess it was him,” said Elizabeth. “But if he played tricks on you and anybody else, we might not think it was him at all. See?” “Well, he must be pretty horrid if he’s as mean as all that,” said Jenny, troubled, “Oh, Elizabeth, I wish I knew who it was, It’s so awful having these things happen.” It was even more horrid when the history lesson came and Elizabeth had to confess to Miss Ranger that that book had disappeared too! “Elizabeth! This is really peculiar,” said Miss Ranger crossly. “One book is enough to lose-but three! You must have taken them out of the classroom and left them somewhere. You must hunt for them well, and if you cannot find them you must come to me and buy new ones.” “Oh, bother!” thought Elizabeth in dismay. “They are threepenee each. That’s ninepence out of my precious two shillings. It’s too bad! If Robert has hidden my books I’ll pull all the hairs out of his head!” She said this to Joan. “No, you won’t do anything of the sort,” said Joan. “You’ll report him at the Meeting and let the School judge him, After all, that’s what the Meeting is for, Elizabeth-for all of us to help to untangle the difficulties of a few of us. It’s much better, too, to let the Jury and the Judges decide for us, because we have chosen them as being the wisest among us. Don’t take matters into your own hands, Elizabeth, You’re such an impatient person-you’ll only do something silly!” “I wish you wouldn’t keep talking to me like that,” said Elizabeth, taking her arm from Joan’s, “You might back me up!” “I am backing you up, if you only knew it,” said Joan with a sigh. “I would be a poor friend to you if I said, ‘Go to Robert and pull his hair out,’ even before you really know for certain whether he is playing these horrid tricks, or not.” “Well, you’ve only got to see how pleased he is when I get into trouble to know that he’s at the bottom of it all!” cried Elizabeth. “Oh, if only I could catch him bullying someone again. Wouldn’t I love to report him at the very next Meeting!” Elizabeth hadn’t long to wait, She caught Robert the very next day! MORE TROUBLE.
For some time now Robert had not bullied anyone or been unkind, because he really had been afraid of being seen by Elizabeth, He knew that she was watching to catch him and he did not mean to give her any chance to report him again.
But two or three weeks had now gone by and he thought that she no longer bothered to watch, He did not know that she thought he had played the tricks on her and was watching very carefully indeed, Robert had to go and get some water for his painting after tea, Elizabeth saw him go out of the common-room and she looked at Joan.
“Joan! Do you think Robert has gone to take my books again, or do some horrid trick?” she said in a low voice. “Let’s follow him and see.” So the two girls got up and followed Robert. He went down the passage, and ran down the stairs to the cloak room where the water-taps were. And running round the corner came small, cheeky Leslie, the boy who had complained that another was always borrowing things and not giving them back. He ran full.tilt into Robert, and made him double up in pain.
Leslie giggled. It was funny to see big Robert panting like that! Robert put out a hand and caught him, holding the boy’s arm so tightly that it hurt, “Let me go,” said Leslie.
Robert looked up and down the passage quickly. No one was about. He pulled Leslie into the wash-place and shook him hard.
“How dare you run into me like that!” he demanded.
“And I’ll teach you to laugh at me, you little nuisance!” “Robert, let me go!” begged Leslie again. He knew that Robert was a bully and he was afraid of him, “Say ‘I humbly beg your pardon, and I will never, never do such a thing again!'” said Robert, Bat Leslie, although he was afraid, was not a coward. He shook his head. “I’m not going to be as humble as all that!” he said, “You let me go, you big bully!” Robert was angry, He shook Leslie hard again. “You say what I told you to say, or I’ll make you sit on the hot-water pipes!” he said, Hot-water pipes ran all round the wash-place to warm it. Leslie glanced at them fearfully. But he still shook his head, “No, I shan’t beg your pardon,” he said obstinately. “If you’d been decent to me, as any other of the big boys would have been, I’d have said I was sorry like a shot. Let me go!” “You’ll sit on the hot pipes first!” said Robert in a rage, and he dragged poor Leslie towards the pipes. They were not terribly hot, but hot enough to make Leslie shout, Meantime, where were Elizabeth and Joan? They were just round the corner, listening to all that was said, and when they heard Robert pulling Leslie to the hot pipes they ran into the wash-place at once, Leslie was just shouting.
Robert pulled the little boy off the pipes as soon as he saw Elizabeth and Joan. He went red and looked very angry. To think he had been caught by those interfering girls-and one of them Elizabeth too! “We’ve caught you nicely, you horrid boy,” said Elizabeth scornfully. “Leslie, we are going to report Robert at the next Meeting. Just see you tell the truth and back us up in what we say.” “I’ll do that all right,” said Leslie. “I’m not a little coward like some of the others, who didn’t dare to complain about Robert when they had the chance! As for Peter, you know why he didn’t say that Robert was swinging him much too high, don’t you? Robert went to him and threatened him with all kinds of punishment if he dared to say a word against him!” “I did not,” said Robert angrily, though he knew perfectly well that what Leslie said was true. “You wait till I get you alone again, that’s all!” “There you are, you see!” said Leslie, “You would like to do exactly the same thing to me again. But you won’t get the chance! I’ll report you at the Meeting all right, even if Elizabeth and Joan don’t!” The small boy marched off, Elizabeth turned to Robert. She spoke fiercely. “I know jolly well that it’s you that has been playing those horrid tricks on me and on Jenny,” she said.