“I did not,” said Robert, this time speaking quite truthfully.
“Well, I don’t believe you!” said Elizabeth. “You are mean enough for anything. You’re a perfectly horrid boy and I think you ought to be sent away from our school.” “Just as you ought to have been sent away last term, I suppose!” said Robert mockingly. He had heard all about Elizabeth’s naughtiness during the summer term. Elizabeth went red.
“Be quiet!” said Joan. “It was a good deal because Elizabeth wanted to be kind to me that she was disobedient and I won’t have you sneering at her for that!” “I shall say what I like,” said Robert, and went off by himself, hands in pockets, whistling as if he didn’t care about anything at all “Well, now that he knows we know he played those nasty tricks, he won’t dare to play any more,” said Elizabeth, pleased. “So that’s something!” But, of course, it was Kathleen who had tried to get Elizabeth and Jenny into trouble, not Robert-and she saw no reason why she should stop being horrid to the two girls whom she so much disliked, Both girls were pretty, clever, and amusing-three things that poor Kathleen was not-and she was jealous of their shining hair and bright eyes, their good brains and jolly jokes. She wanted to hurt the girls who had the things she hadn’t, and yet so much wanted to have.
Elizabeth told Jenny that she was sure it was Robert who had taken her mice and put them in the desk, The mice had never been found again and Jenny had been sad ever since. Her eyes flashed when she heard Elizabeth say that it was Robert who had played the trick.
“And I suppose he blotted my French book too, so that f had to do the work again!” said Jenny angrily. “And I shouldn’t be surprised if he dirtied those garden tools of yours, Elizabeth-I could never understand that, you know.” “Well, I guess we shan’t have any more tricks played on us, because Robert will he afraid we’ll tell them all to the Meeting,” said Elizabeth, “And we will too!” But next day another trick was played on her and on Jenny too. On Wednesdays their monitor had to look at all their drawers and their hanging-cupboards to see that they were tidy. Nora was very strict about tidiness, and the girls in her dormitory had learnt to be very neat indeed-even Ruth, who was most untidy by nature, and found it difficult to keep any drawer neat, “It’s awful!” she complained about three times a week, “I tidy my drawers so well-then I want a handkerchief in a hurry and can’t find it, and turn the drawer upside down, and thea it’s all untidy again!” Elizabeth and Jenny were quite tidy, and they always made a rule on Tuesday night to tidy everything beautifully so that their chest and cupboard were ready for Nora to inspect the next day. They had done this as usual-so on Wednesday, when Nora went to pull open their drawers and found everything in a most terrible muddle, they were too astonished to say anything, “Jenny! Elizabeth! What have you been thinking of to get your things into such a disgraceful mess!” cried Nora, looking at their drawers. “Look-everything jumbled up- crumpled, untidy-honestly I’ve never seen such a mess. And you are usually so tidy, both of you. What have you been doing? Didn’t you remember I always looked on Wednesdays?” “Of course we remembered,” said Jenny. “And we tidied them last night before we went to bed. Why, you must have noticed us, Nora.” “I didn’t notice,” said Nora, “I was at the other end of the dormitory.” The three girls looked into the drawers. Everything was upside down, Elizabeth and Jenny knew perfectly well they could never have got their things into that muddle, Somebody had played a hateful trick again, to get them into trouble, “It’s Robert!” burst out Elizabeth. “He’s always playing horrid jokes on us, Nora, He dirtied my tools, and took my books, and put Jenny’s mice into Miss Ranger’s desk, and.,.” “My dear girl, it couldn’t have been Robert who did this,” said Nora. “You know the boys never come into this part of the school. He would have been seen at once, because there is always somebody going up and down the ~passage outside.” “Well, it must have been Robert,” said Elizabeth sulkily.
“If you’re going to get anyone into trouble, for these untidy drawers, Nora, you ought to go and scold Robert.” “I’m not going to scold anyone,” said Nora. “You’re neither of you so untidy as all that! I think someone has been mean to you. Anyway, tidy your things, for goodness’ sake,” The girls set to work. They were both angry. They did not notice how pleased Kathleen looked. “Ah.” she thought, “so Elizabeth and Jenny thought that it was Robert who had played tricks! Good!” Nobody would think it was she, Kathleen, who had done them all. She felt much safer now.
The next School Meeting was not until Friday night. On Thursday something happened that disappointed Elizabeth very much. The Lacrosse Match was to be on Saturday. and she had been practising very hard indeed to be good enough to play in it. Only one of her form was to be chosen for the School team, and Elizabeth felt certain she would be the one.
But when she went to look at the notice-board, on which were pinned notices of matches, rambles, and so on, she found that Robert’s name was set down for the match instead of hers! There it was-“Robert Jones has been chosen from Form Three to play in the Lacrosse Match on Saturday against Kinellaa School” There was a lump in Elizabeth’s throat, She had tried so hard! She did so badly want to play, She was very good, really she was! And now that horrid, hateful Robert had been chosen instead of her, She could really hardly believe it, “Never mind,” said Joan, “You’ll get a chance next time, I expect~” “I do mind!” said Elizabeth fiercely. “He will crow over me now, Oh, how I hope that the School Meeting will punish him well and say he’s not to play in the match!” Robert was delighted to see his name down, but for all his pleasure he was really very anxious indeed, He knew Elizabeth and Joan were going to report him at the Meeting and he was not looking forward to that, He was a little coward at heart, and he was afraid, So when Friday came, Robert looked rather anxious. If only the Meeting were after Saturday, so that he could play in the match first! How marvellous that he had been chosen and not Elizabeth! Serve her right, the interfering girl! The time for the Meeting came, The children took their places, looking rather solemn, for they knew it was going to be a serious one, A VERY SERIOUS MEETING.
Even the smaller children felt rather solemn, as the whole School took their places in the big gym. Leslie had told everyone in his form that he was going to report the big boy, Robert, and some of the younger ones, who disliked Robert very much, had made up their minds that they too would tell about him if they had the chance, “I should have told the truth about him when I was asked at the other Meeting,” said Peter. “He did swing me much too high and made me sick-and afterwards he came to me and said he would open the door of my guinea-pigs’ cage and let them escape, if I dared to say anything against him. So I didn’t dare. But I wish I had now.” William and Rita looked rather grave as they took their places at the table up on the platform. Rita had told William of the mean tricks that had been played on Jenny to get her into trouble, and the two Judges knew that they might have a rather difficult time trying to get at the bottom of things Still, Miss Belle and Miss Best, and Mr. Johns too, were at the back of the room. They could help if things got too difficult, Robert looked pale. Elizabeth was red with excitement and so was Jenny. Joan was excited too, though she didn’t show it, The usual business was done with the box of money. The two shillings were given to everyone, and extra was allowed to two children for something they wanted, Then the Meeting got down to the real business of the evening.
“Any complaints or grumbles?” asked William, tapping on the table with his hammer.
Up jumped Elizabeth and Leslie, both together.”Elizabeth was first,” said Rita, “Sit down, Leslie, Your turn will come later,” Leslie sat down. Elizabeth began to speak, her words almost tumbling over one another in her haste.