“That isn’t the point,” said Nora. “He’s only doing all this to annoy you, and if only you’d take no notice of him, and not try to pay him back, he’d soon get tired of it.” “He’s a hateful bully!” said Elizabeth, “You’re not to say things like that unless you have real proof,” said Nora, at once. “And if you have real proof, then you must make a complaint at the Meeting. That’s the place to accuse people of things. You know that quite well.” Elizabeth made a sulky face and went off by herself. Why couldn’t Nora believe her? Oh, well-Nora wasn’t in her form and didn’t know that hateful Robert as well as she, Elizabeth, knew him.
The next afternoon, after tea, Elizabeth went round to play with the rabbits. On the way she heard somebody calling out in a pleading voice: “Please don’t swing me so high! Please don’t!” Elizabeth peeped round at the swings. She saw a small boy on one, about nine years old. Robert was swinging him, and my goodness, wasn’t he swinging him high! “I feel sick!” cried the boy, whose name was Peter, “I shall be sick! I shall fall off. Let me down, Robert, let me down! Don’t swing me any morel” But Robert took no notice of the small boy’s shouting. His thin lips were pursed together, and with an unkind gleam in his eyes, he went on pushing the swing-high, high, higher! Elizabeth was so angry that she had to blink her eyes to see clearly. She ran to Robert, “Stop!” she cried. “You’re not to do that! You’ll make Peter ill,” “Mind your own business,” said Robert. “He asked me to give him a swing and I’m giving him one, Go away, you interfering girl. You’re always poking your nose where it isn’t wanted,” “Oh, I’m not!” cried Elizabeth. She tried to catch hold of the swing as it came down, to stop it, but Robert was too quick for her, He gave her a push and sent her spinning into a bush. Then he sent the swing even higher than ever.
“I’ll go and tell somebody!” cried Elizabeth, picking herself up.
“Tell-tale, tell-tale!” chanted Robert, giving the swing another push. Elizabeth lost her temper completely and rushed at the aggravating boy. She caught hold of his hair and pulled at it so hard that she pulled a whole handful out! Then she slapped his face and gave him such a punch in his middle that he doubled himself up with a groan.
Elizabeth stopped the swing and helped the trembling Peter off the seat. “Go and be sick if you want to,” she said. “And don’t let Robert swing you any more.” Peter staggered off, looking rather green. Elizabeth turned to face Robert, but just then three or four children came up, and neither child felt inclined to go on with the quarrel in public.
“I’ll report you at the very next Meeting!” cried Elizabeth, still in a great temper. “You just see! You’ll be punished all right, you cruel, unkind boy!” She went off, raging. Robert looked round at the interested children who had come up. “What a temper that girl has got I” he said. “Look here-she pulled my hair out!” He picked up some of his dark hairs and showed them to the others. They looked surprised.
“You must have been doing something awful to make Elizabeth lose her temper like that,” said Kenneth.
“I was only giving someone a swing,” said Robert. “Elizabeth interfered, as usual. I wish she’d leave me alone, No wonder she was called the naughtiest girl in the school last term!” “We pinned a notice on her once, calling her the Bold Bad Girl!” said somebody, with a laugh, as he remembered how angry Elizabeth had been. “Did you hit Elizabeth, Robert? If you did, you’re mean. Girls are awfully annoying sometimes, but if you’re a boy, you can’t hit them.” “I didn’t touch her,” said Robert, though he knew quite well that if the others hadn’t come up at that moment he would certainly have gone for Elizabeth and slapped her well, “She just went up in smoke and flew at me, the horrid girl!” Elizabeth rushed off to tell Joan all that had happened. Joan listened gravely.
“Robert really is a horrid bully,” she said, “He’ll have to be stopped. But oh, Elizabeth, I do think it’s rather a pity you lost your temper like that! You have got such a hot temper, you know!” “Well, anyone would have lost their temper if they had seen Robert swinging that poor wretched little Peter almost over the top of the swing-post!” said Elizabeth, still boiling with rage. “He was quite green.” “You don’t suppose the Meeting will think it’s telling tales if you report Robert, do you?” asked Joan doubtfully. “If I were you, I’d ask Nora first.” “I’ll do no such thing!” cried Elizabeth, “I’m the best judge of this! I saw what happened, didn’t I? All right then-I’ll report Robert at the Meeting tomorrow, and then we’ll just see what the Jury say. He’ll get a dreadful shock-and he’ll deserve it, too.” Elizabeth was angry all day, and when the next day came she could hardly wait for the evening to come, to report Robert. Then he would see what happened to boys who did mean, unkind things! Robert did not seem to be at all upset at the idea of Elizabeth reporting him, He made faces at her whenever he saw her, which made her very angry indeed. “You’ll get a shock at the Meeting to-night!” said Elizabeth. But there was a shock waiting for Elizabeth tool WHAT HAPPENED AT THE MEETING.
THE time for the weekly Meeting came. Elizabeth sat down on the form next to Belinda and Joan, longing for the moment to come when she could make a complaint about Robert. Robert sat not far away, his sullen face unsmiling, but there was a gleam in his eye when he turned to look at Elizabeth.
“.1 shouldn’t be surprised if Robert doesn’t make a complaint about you too, Elizabeth,” whispered Joan, “He looks as if he’s got something up his sleeve.” “I don’t care,” said Elizabeth. “Wait till the Meeting hear what I’ve got to say!” William and Rita came in, with the mistresses and Mr.
Johns, The children stood up. The Head Girl and Boy sat down, and the Meeting began.
Money was collected, though there was not very much that week. Kenneth had had a birthday and had five shillings to put into the box. Janet had a shilling. Everyone was given their two shillings, and Mary got her four- pence ha’penny extra for her weekly stamp.
“Have you found the lost library book yet?” asked William, looking at Kenneth. “We said you could have back your sixpence fine if you did.” “No, I haven’t found it,” said Kenneth. “I’ve hunted everywhere.” “Anybody want any extra money?” asked Rita, jingling the box to see how much there was in it.
“I suppose I couldn’t have any extra?” asked Ruth, standing up. “I lost all my two shilling last week. It was a dreadful blow because I badly wanted some stamps.” “How did you lose it?” asked Rita, “There was a hole in my pocket,” said Ruth, “It fell out through that, goodness knows where.” “Did you know there was a hole in your pocket?” asked Rita.
Ruth hesitated. “Well,” she said, “I did know there was one coming, as a matter of fact, It was just a tiny little hole. I didn’t know it had got big enough to lose money.” “Who’s your monitor?” asked William. “Oh, you are, Nora. Do you think it was Ruth’s fault?” “Well,” said Nora, “quite truthfully, Ruth isn’t awfully good at mending her clothes when she ought to, She lost a lovely pocket-knife last term, through a hole in a pocket -didn’t you, Ruth?” “Yes,” said Ruth, looking rather uncomfortable. “Yes, I did. I know I should have mended that hole, I’m untidy and careless about things like that. I jolly well won’t get a hole again, though. I think I shouldn’t have asked for extra money, as it was my own fault,” She sat down, The Jury began to talk to one another, A girl sitting on one of the forms stood up. It was Eileen, a kindly girl with a mass of lair curls.
“May I say something?” she asked. “I think that as Ruth has owned up that it was her own fault, and as she really is very generous with her money when she has it, couldn’t she have an extra two shillings, just for once?” “We are just discussing that,” said Rita. “This is what we are going to do. We will let you have a shilling, Ruth, not two shillings, because we all believe you aren’t quite so silly as to let a thing like this happen a third time, and you have been very honest about it, Come and take an extra shilling.” “Oh, thank you,” said Ruth, going to the table. “I had to borrow some stamps from Belinda, and now I can pay her back without using this week’s two shillings. I’ll be more careful in future, Rita!” “Any more money wanted?” asked William, knocking on the table with his hammer, for the chi1dren had begun to talk to one another. Everyone was quiet.