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diff --git a/47471.txt b/47471.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 9b6261b..0000000 --- a/47471.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7004 +0,0 @@ - THE GIRLS OF CHEQUERTREES - - - - -This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online at -http://www.gutenberg.org/license. If you are not located in the United -States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are -located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The Girls of Chequertrees -Author: Marion St John Webb -Release Date: November 26, 2014 [EBook #47471] -Language: English -Character set encoding: US-ASCII - - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GIRLS OF CHEQUERTREES *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines. - - - - - -[Illustration: PAMELA READ THE SIGNATURE OF BERYL'S MOTHER THROUGH A -BLUR OF TEARS (_P._ 120)] - - - - - *THE GIRLS OF - CHEQUERTREES* - - - BY - - MARION ST JOHN WEBB - - AUTHOR OF - 'THE LITTLEST ONE' 'THE LITTLEST ONE AGAIN' 'KNOCK THREE TIMES' - 'THE HOUSE WITH THE TWISTING PASSAGE' - ETC. - - - - ILLUSTRATED BY - PERCY TARRANT - - - - GEORGE G. HARRAP & CO. LTD. - LONDON CALCUTTA SYDNEY - - - - - _First published September 1918 - by GEORGE G. HARRAP & CO. LTD. - 39-41 Parker Street, Kingsway, London, W.C.2 - Reprinted February 1923_ - - - - _Printed in Great Britain by Turnbull & Spears, Edinburgh_ - - - - - *CONTENTS* - -CHAPTER - - I. THE WINDOW OPPOSITE - II. PAMELA RECEIVES A STRANGE INVITATION - III. BERYL - IV. THE ROOM WITH THE LOCKED DOOR - V. MAKING PLANS - VI. MILLICENT JACKSON GIVES SOME INFORMATION - VII. BERYL GOES THROUGH AN ORDEAL - VIII. WHICH CONCERNS A VISIT TO INCHMOOR AND A WOMAN WITH A LIMP - IX. ISOBEL MAKES TROUBLE - X. PAMELA BEFRIENDS BERYL AND MEETS ELIZABETH BAGG - XI. THE WISHING WELL - XII. IN WHICH ELIZABETH BAGG PAINTS A PICTURE AND ISOBEL HEARS SOME - PLEASANT NEWS - XIII. MR JOSEPH SIGGLESTHORNE FORGETS THE DATE - XIV. CAROLINE MAKES A DISCOVERY - XV. ABOUT A BAZAAR AND A MEETING IN THE RUINED WINDMILL - XVI. PAMELA'S WISH COMES TRUE - XVII. IN WHICH OLD SILAS LAUGHS AND ISOBEL DANCES - XVIII. THE DOOR IS UNLOCKED - XIX. BERYL CONFESSES - XX. A NEW BEGINNING - - - - - *ILLUSTRATIONS* - -PAMELA READ THE SIGNATURE OF BERYL'S MOTHER THROUGH A BLUR OF TEARS -_Frontispiece_ - -ON THE FIRST FLOOR LANDING PAMELA POINTED OUT THE LOCKED DOOR - -A WOMAN WHO FROWNED AND PUT HER FOREFINGER TO HER LIPS - -A PAILFUL OF GARDEN RUBBISH DESCENDED IN A SHOWER - - - - - *THE GIRLS OF CHEQUERTREES* - - - - *CHAPTER I* - - *THE WINDOW OPPOSITE* - - -On a cold, damp January evening a woman sat in the dusk of a fire-lit -room gazing through the window. For half an hour she had been sitting -there fidgeting impatiently with her hands and feet every few minutes, -but never moving from the position she had taken up by the window. Her -expectant gaze was centred on the outline of a house that stood on the -opposite side of the village green at Barrowfield. - -From the window, or for the matter of that from the green or the road -that encircled the green, little could be seen of the house, as the high -ivy-topped walls which surrounded the garden guarded it jealously from -prying eyes. It was only through the tall iron-rail gate set into an -arch in the stone wall that you could ascertain that the house was -flat-fronted and square, a house entirely covered with ivy, out from -whose dark, rustling leaves many windows peered like deep-set eyes. A -broad gravel path swept from the gate to a flight of white steps that -led up to the front door. The garden, stretching away on either side of -the path, appeared to be thick and bushy with shrubs and tall old trees. - -This much the woman at the window had observed from the gate, and now -she was sitting--waiting. - -A little breeze sprang up and scurried through the ivy leaves as if it -and they were whispering together about something. Although the house -seemed silent, it was not deserted, for presently, as it grew darker, a -light appeared in one of the lower windows and a blind was drawn--a red -blind through which the light glowed, seeming to increase in strength as -the house gradually faded into the dusk and was lost to sight. - -The woman who was watching sighed and nervously bit the nail of her -thumb. - -"That's where she is," she muttered to herself, gazing at the red blind. - -At that moment the sound of wheels and jingling bells became audible, -and a light flickered at the top of the main road that led down to the -village from the station. The woman frowned and strained her eyes -toward the dancing light on the road. It was the station cab -approaching, jogging along at its usual pace, slowly but surely, with -stout old Tom Bagg, the driver, snugly ensconced on the box-seat. - -Outside the gate of the ivy-covered house the cab came to a stand-still, -and a young girl alighted. She was plainly visible as she paused beneath -the street lamp outside the gate before entering the dark garden, -followed by Tom Bagg much beladen and struggling with boxes. In a few -minutes the old cabman came out again, and the cab jogged away back to -the station. - -The woman who had watched all this intently then moved away from the -window, and, limping slightly as she walked, made her way to the fire. -Crouching down on the hearth she poked the fire into a blaze and warmed -her cold hands--her eyes fixed broodingly on the leaping flames. After -a while she pulled a chair toward her and sank into it--still with her -eyes on the fire, lost in thought. - -She was aroused from her reverie by the sound of wheels and jingling -bells again, heralding the return of the cab. Instantly she got up, -limped back to the window, and peered out. - -Once more the cab stopped at the gate of the ivy-covered house, and this -time two girls got out and passed through the garden gate, followed by -Tom Bagg still more beladen and struggling beneath boxes and parcels and -travelling rugs. - -The woman watched until old Tom Bagg had departed again, then she gave -an odd, short laugh, and for a while stared gloomily out at the closed -iron-rail gate in the wall opposite. - -Presently she said to herself, "Well--now we shall see!" - -Then she pulled down her blind. - - - - - *CHAPTER II* - - *PAMELA RECEIVES A STRANGE INVITATION* - - -A few days before the incident occurred which is recorded in the -previous chapter, Pamela Heath was standing at the dining-room window of -her home in Oldminster (a town about forty miles from Barrowfield). -Pamela, like the woman who sat watching the ivy-covered house, was also -gazing through a window--but on to a very different scene: morning, a -bright January morning, and a busy stream of people passing up and down -the sunny street. - -Pamela was a tall, slim girl, about sixteen years old; she was very -pleasant to look at with her curly, chestnut-coloured hair, tied at her -neck with a brown ribbon bow, and her brown eyes and clear complexion, -which were emphasized by the dark green dress she was wearing. Strictly -speaking Pamela would not have been called pretty--in the sense that -regular features stand for prettiness; her nose was a tiny bit square at -the tip, and the distance from her nose to her upper lip was a trifle -more than beauty experts would allow, and her mouth was a little too -wide for prettiness. But those who met Pamela for the first time found -her expression of frank good-humour far more attractive than mere -prettiness. And when she was in one of her 'beamy' moods (as her -brother Michael used to call them)--that is, when she was vivaciously -talking, and laughing, and keenly interested in making other people -enjoy themselves--then she was irresistible. However grudgingly you -admitted it, you found you _had_ to confess to yourself that you were -enjoying yourself--when Pamela was 'beamy.' - -This sunny Saturday morning when we first see Pamela she stands drumming -on the window-pane with her fingers, watching for Michael to come round -the corner of the street from the post-office, where he has been to post -their father's Saturday morning letters. Michael is her elder -brother--a year older than Pamela--and the two are great chums. There -are two sisters and another brother younger than Pamela, but they will -be introduced by and by, as Pamela is not thinking of them at the -moment; she is thinking of Michael, and wishing he would hurry up so -that they might start off on their sketching expedition. - -They were both fond of sketching, and used to tramp out on Saturday -mornings with their sketch-blocks and pencils (and some sandwiches and -fruit in a satchel) and try to picture some of the beautiful scenery -outside Oldminster. - -But there was to be no sketching for either of them this morning. For -on his way to the house where Pamela lived was a little old man, with a -very high bald forehead, and a top hat, and a shiny black coat--and the -news he was bringing was to drive all thoughts of sketching from their -minds for some time to come. - -Long afterward Pamela remembered every detail of this Saturday morning, -all the little familiar sounds going on in the house--the clatter of -dishes downstairs; the murmur of Mother's and Doris's voices in the -hall, and John's high, childish tones asking them some question--and -then their laughing at him. Father's typewriter could be heard faintly -clicking away in the study, and in the drawing-room Olive was playing -the only tune she knew on the piano. The butcher's cart came clattering -down the street and pulled up next door. - -Pamela stopped drumming on the window and, pushing it open, leant out to -see if Michael was coming. Then it was she caught sight of a rather -round-shouldered old man in a top hat hurrying down the street, stopping -every other second to peer closely at the numbers on the gates. When he -reached Pamela's gate he not only stopped and looked at the number but, -straightening himself up, he pushed the gate open and came in. - -Pamela withdrew her head hastily and stepped back into the room. - -"Whoever can this be?" she thought. "He looks rather shabby, poor -soul--I wonder if he's come begging or trying to sell machine needles." - -But the little old man's business had nothing to do with either of these -things, as Pamela was soon to find out. A few minutes later she found -herself in her father's study being introduced to Mr Joseph -Sigglesthorne, whose mild blue eyes and nervous manner ill accorded with -the businesslike news which he was endeavouring to convey. Mr and Mrs -Heath and Pamela sat facing the nervous little man, who had removed his -top hat of course, and now exposed the high bald forehead which gave -him, so he fancied, a slight resemblance to Shakespeare. Slight though -it was, this resemblance gave Mr Joseph Sigglesthorne a considerable -amount of happiness; it always made him feel more important directly he -took his hat off. - -"Perhaps I ought to say, first of all," began Mr Sigglesthorne, -producing a pair of spectacles from his coat pocket and commencing to -polish them nervously with his handkerchief, "that I--that I am--you -will excuse me, sir, _and_ madam," he turned to Mr and Mrs Heath and -inclined his head, "that--I was going to say, I have the honour to be a -kind of distant relation of a distant relation of yours." He rubbed the -glasses a little quicker. "You remember Miss Emily Crabingway, -doubtless. The lady is, if I am not mistaken, a fourth cousin to--to -madam here?" He inclined his head again toward Mrs Heath. - -"Emily Crabingway! Why, yes," said Mrs Heath. "But I haven't seen her -for years--quite twelve years I should think." - -"So she says, madam, so she says," continued Mr Sigglesthorne. "Well--I -am her second cousin once removed, if I may say so--and she has -entrusted me with a little--er--a little transaction--I mean proposal, -or rather suggestion--er--with regard to your daughter Pamela." Mr -Sigglesthorne was still polishing his glasses energetically. "Miss Emily -Crabingway is obliged to go up to Scotland--on business. That was all I -had to tell you about that part, I believe--yes, that's correct--on -_business_, she said. She will be away for six months..." He -hesitated, his eyes on the top of the window curtains behind Mr Heath's -head. "Yes--six months--and during that time she wants to know if Miss -Pamela will go and live at her house in Barrowfield, and look after it -for her--and--" he went on, emphasizing each word as if repeating a -lesson, "certain conditions being undertaken by Miss Pamela, and -fulfilled properly--Miss Crabingway will--er--bestow upon the young lady -a sum of--if I may say so--a not inconsiderable sum--er--in short, fifty -pounds." Mr Sigglesthorne removed his gaze from the top of the curtains -to Mr Heath's boots, which he appeared to study intently for a space. - -Mr and Mrs Heath exchanged surprised glances, but Pamela was looking -wonderingly at Mr Sigglesthorne's magnificent forehead, and did not -move. Before any of them could speak Mr Sigglesthorne resumed: - -"If Miss Pamela agrees to accept the offer she would be required to sign -this paper, promising to obey certain instructions of Miss Crabingway's; -but doubtless you would like to read it--I have it here in my pocket." - -Mr Sigglesthorne stopped polishing his glasses, and resting them on the -top of his hat, which lay on a chair beside him, he felt in his coat -pocket. But his memory had played him false; it was the wrong pocket. -He turned the contents out, but not finding what he sought he tried -another pocket, fumbling with nervous, clumsy fingers, and producing -various papers and envelopes and odd bits of string. The longer he -searched the more nervous he got. "Tut! tut!" he kept saying to -himself. "But how careless of me! Tut! tut! Exceedingly annoying!" - -Mrs Heath tried to ease the situation by murmuring something polite, but -Pamela was suddenly seized with an intense desire to start laughing. Mr -Sigglesthorne looked so funny and perplexed, and he kept dropping his -papers on the floor in his nervousness, and once he knocked his hat -down, and the glasses too. Pamela, almost choking with the effort of -keeping her face straight, was glad of the opportunity of rescuing the -hat and placing it back on the chair; she was thankful to be able to do -anything at all instead of sitting still and trying to keep serious. Mr -Sigglesthorne's apologies and thanks for his hat were profuse. - -At length, after going through five pockets, Mr Sigglesthorne found what -he wanted, to everybody's relief. - -"Perhaps I should mention," he said, as he handed an envelope across to -Pamela, "that Miss Crabingway is inviting three other young -girls--somewhere about Miss Pamela's age--to stay at her house also--but -you will see about that, though, in the letter." - -Pamela opened the envelope and spread out the sheet of paper it -contained so that her mother and father could read it at the same time. -It was a sheet of foolscap paper covered with black, spiky handwriting, -writing which Mrs Heath recognized as Miss Emily Crabingway's from the -Christmas card she received from her every year, the interchange of -Christmas cards being the only communication she had held with this -distant cousin of hers for the last twelve years. - -"Read it aloud, Pamela," said her father. So Pamela read the following -letter: - - -CHEQUERTREES, - BARROWFIELD, - _January 3rd_ - -DEAR PAMELA, - -Although I have not seen you since you were four years old, I have a -fancy that I should like you to come to Barrowfield and look after my -house and its inmates while I am away on business.... - - -Here Mr Sigglesthorne smiled and nodded his head vigorously, and leaning -back in his chair began to polish his glasses again. - - -... I shall be away for six months, and during that time--if you agree -to come--you must promise to obey the following instructions. You will -please sign your name under them and give the paper to Mr Sigglesthorne, -who is acting for me in this matter, as I am unable to come and visit -you myself owing to my urgent call from home. - -These are the instructions to be obeyed: - -1. While you are staying under my roof you are not to visit, nor invite -to the house, any relatives whatsoever. - -2. No letters are to be written home, but one postcard every month may -be sent; and you may only receive post-cards, no letters, from your -relatives--and then only one card each month. - -3. On no account may you try to open the locked-up room at the end of -the first floor landing. Nor may you peer through the keyhole. - - -A faint chuckle escaped Mr Sigglesthorne, a fleeting, scarcely audible -chuckle which he suffocated immediately. There was a blank space after -the 'instructions' for Pamela to sign her name; and then a few more -lines ended the letter. - - -I am leaving my two trusted servants, Martha and Ellen, to cook, and -clean the house. When I return at the end of six months I will hand -over to you--providing you have not broken any of the above -conditions--the sum of L50, which is deposited meanwhile with my banker. -(Enclosed you will find banker's guarantee for same.) - -I am likewise offering the same sum of money to three other girls who -are being asked to come and stay at my house, and to whom I want you to -act as hostess. The girls' names are: Beryl Cranswick, Isobel Prior, -and Caroline Weston. - -Send me a wire to reach me by Saturday evening saying whether you accept -this invitation or not. If you accept you must arrive at Barrowfield -not later than Tuesday next. - -Trusting you will be sensible and wire 'yes,' - -Yours sincerely, - EMILY CRABINGWAY - - -There was silence for a few moments when Pamela finished reading. She -handed the banker's guarantee across to her father, who took it without -a word. - -"Well!" queried Mr Sigglesthorne, polishing nervously. - -"Well," said Mrs Heath, "I think we must have a little time to consider -the matter." - -"Why does Miss Crabingway want to cut me off from you all like that, -Mother, for six whole months?" burst out Pamela. - -Mrs Heath shook her head and looked across at Mr Sigglesthorne, who, -catching her inquiring glance, shook his head also. - -"I know no more than I have told you, madam," he said. "Miss Crabingway -sent for me--she has been very good to me occasionally, when I have been -temporarily embarrassed for money--if you will excuse my introducing -such a subject--and asked me to go and see the parents of the young -ladies she wished to invite, and present them personally with her letter -and instructions. I have already seen one of the young ladies----" - -"And is she willing to come--the one you've seen?" asked Pamela. - -"She is going to make up her mind and wire to-day to Miss Crabingway, -and if she wires 'yes' she will post on to me the paper of instructions, -duly signed, to my address by Monday morning." Mr Sigglesthorne stood -up and began gathering his belongings together preparatory to taking his -leave. "I will leave you my address; will you kindly send me your -paper, if you decide to accept? Unfortunately, you have very little time -to consider the matter--only a few hours--as Miss Crabingway is -expecting your wire this evening.... Now is there anything more you -would like to ask me, madam, or sir?" he asked politely. - -But although Mrs Heath put one or two anxious questions, he could throw -no further light on the matter than before. - -"I think--if you will forgive my saying so--that it is just a whim--a -fancy on Miss Crabingway's part. I feel sure your daughter will be well -cared for at Barrowfield--and if she does not like it (although I -suppose I shouldn't say this) she can always come home--and forfeit the -fifty pounds, can't she?" - -"Yes, that's true," said Mrs Heath. - -"H'm, h'm ... yes--anyway, we can talk the matter over together and wire -by this afternoon," said Mr Heath. - -"This is my address," said Mr Sigglesthorne, handing Pamela a thumbed -and dog-eared visiting-card on which was printed: "Joseph Sigglesthorne, -Fig Tree Court, Inner Temple, London." "And now, if you will kindly -excuse me, I must hurry away, as I have other visits to pay this -morning." - -Mrs Heath invited him to stay and have some refreshment before he went, -but he declined, saying that he must lose no time in informing the other -young ladies of Miss Crabingway's invitation. So shaking hands all -round he departed, leaving them not a little perplexed. - -No sooner was he gone than Doris and Michael burst into the study, -anxious to know what the queer little old man's business with Pamela -could be. They were soon told all about it, and read Miss Crabingway's -letter with much curiosity. - -Doris, who was a year younger than Pamela, was as unlike her sister in -looks as she was in temperament. Doris was pale, very pale, with very -fair hair and eyelashes, and light blue eyes. She was inclined to be -pessimistic and over-anxious about most things, and lived up to this -reputation on the present occasion. - -Michael, with handsome features, an infectious laugh, and -chestnut-coloured hair (like Pamela's), was nothing if not optimistic; -he and Pamela were always getting sighed over by Doris because of the -levity shown by them over things which Doris considered "too important -to be laughed at." But to-day Michael's optimism seemed to have -suddenly deserted him, and he put down Miss Crabingway's letter in -silence. - -Pamela was watching his face anxiously. "What do you think about it, -Michael?" she asked. - -"I don't know. I suppose it's all right. What do you think about it -yourself, Pam?" he said. ("Six whole months! And only a few miserable -post-cards! Whatever was old Miss Crabingway thinking of!" said Michael -to himself.) - -"After all, it's a very simple matter," said Mr Heath. "Pamela to look -after Miss Crabingway's house for six months. There's nothing in that. -Six months' rest from her studies won't harm her, and she can keep up -her sketching and take some books with her.... It'll be quite a -holiday." - -"It's only those restrictions about not being allowed to see any of -us--and--and that curious mention of a locked door..." said Mother. - -"Ah, yes! I don't like the sound of that at all," said Doris, shaking -her head. - -"Oh, come now--it may be only her private and personal belongings she's -put in that room," said Mr Heath. - -"It _might_ be, of course," said Doris, in a tone that implied that -nothing was more unlikely. - -"Of course that must be it," continued Mr Heath (from whom Michael and -Pamela inherited their optimism). "Miss Crabingway wouldn't want all -those strange girls upsetting her personal things.... And remember the -fifty pounds--it'll be most useful for Pamela. But still, you must -decide yourself, Pamela, what you would rather do." - -"I _don't_ want to go--and I _do_--if you know what I mean," said -Pamela. - -They understood what she meant. But the matter had to be decided -immediately, and so they all sat down and began to discuss it from each -and every point of view, until at length, after much hesitation, Pamela -made up her mind to accept Miss Crabingway's invitation. - -Later in the day she and Michael walked round to the post-office and -sent off the wire to Barrowfield; and Pamela also sent the signed paper -off to Mr Sigglesthorne. - -During the next few days Pamela lived in a state of excited rush and -hurry. There seemed so much to be done, so many friends to see and say -good-bye to; so many clothes to get ready and pack; so much shopping to -do; and then there were a hundred and one odd jobs that she meant to -attend to before she went away, and never got time to see to any of them -after all. Everybody seemed very kind and anxious to help her as much -as they could. Even John and twelve-year-old Olive begged to be allowed -to help, and proposed that they should take a hand at packing Pamela's -trunk. Olive, indeed, could not be persuaded that her help was not -needed until she had been pacified with the gift of Pamela's glove-box -and a scent satchet to keep for herself. That was always the easiest -way to divert Olive's ambitions--make her a present of something you -didn't want and she quickly forgot what she had been clamouring for a -few minutes earlier. John, who was two years younger than Olive, was -the 'baby' of the family in name only. John was sturdy, noisy, and -emphatic in all he said and did--and was not so easily put off with -gifts. He would accept the gift and then go on asking for the other -thing as well. Fortunately he was not so insistent on helping to pack -as on being allowed to sit on the lid of the trunk to squash it down -when it was full and about to be locked. This little matter was easily -arranged, and when everything was quite ready he was called in, asked to -be so obliging as to cast his weight on to the top of the trunk--which -he did with great alacrity--and the trunk was locked in triumph. - -On the Monday night Mother came into Pamela's bedroom and wished her an -extra good-night. - -"Be sure to come home if you are unhappy, dear. Or if you are ill or -anything--let me know--and bother the old fifty pounds," said Mother. -"Promise me, Pamela--or I shall be so unhappy." - -So Pamela promised. "But I'm sure to be all right, Mother, and you're -not to worry about me at all, dear. But do take care of yourselves, all -of you, till I come back." - -Pamela said good night quite cheerfully, but after her mother had gone -downstairs again she found that she did not feel cheerful a bit. She -began to think things like "This is the last time I shall sleep in my -own little room," and "This is the last time I shall hear Michael -whistling on his way upstairs," until she made herself cry. Then she -scolded herself for being so silly, and fell asleep. - - - - - *CHAPTER III* - - *BERYL* - - -When Pamela alighted at Barrowfield station on the Tuesday afternoon -daylight was beginning to fade and a fine drizzling rain had set in. -She gazed round the deserted platform, and gave a shiver as a chilly -little breeze rustled past her, stirring the loose bits of paper on the -stone paving and making the half-closed door of the General Waiting Room -creak dismally as it pushed it farther open. Pamela had been sitting -for an hour and a half in the train, and she felt cold and stiff and -suddenly depressed. She was the only passenger to get out at -Barrowfield, and the only living soul about the place as far as she -could see was a porter, who now came strolling down the platform and -took charge of her luggage. - -"Where to, miss?" inquired the porter; and his voice at once reminded -Pamela of the voice of a man who used to come round selling muffins in -Oldminster, and this made her conjure up an instant's vision of home and -Mother and Michael and all of them sitting round the fire while Doris -toasted muffins for tea. It was a ridiculous thing to think of at this -moment, but she could not help it. How she wished she were at home, -toasting muffins.... But the man was waiting. - -"Miss Crabingway's house, Chequertrees," she answered. "Is it far from -here?" - -"'Bout a mile an' 'arf, Chequertrees is," said the porter. - -"Oh, dear," said Pamela. "Well, can I get a cab or anything?" - -Before the porter could reply the sound of heavy footsteps was heard on -the wooden floor of the station entrance, and the next moment Tom Bagg -hove into sight. Of course Pamela did not know what his name was then, -though she knew it well enough afterward; you could not help knowing it -if you stayed in Barrowfield more than a couple of hours, because Mr -Bagg was a local celebrity. However, all Pamela knew at present was that -a fat, burly man with an enormous waterproof cape and a waterproof hat -stood before her. Here was the very person she wanted--the Barrowfield -cab-man. He touched his hat with a fat forefinger. - -"Evenin', miss. Ascuse me, but are you the young lady for -Chequertrees?" he asked. - -When Pamela had informed him that she was, he told her that he had had -instructions from Miss Crabingway to convey her and her luggage from the -station. - -So Pamela got into the welcome cab outside, and was driven away through -the dusk. She could not see much through the blurred and steaming -windows, and the little she could make out appeared to be all hedges and -trees. Presently she could feel that the cab was going downhill, then -the pace slackened and it seemed to climb a little, then for a long time -(or so it seemed to Pamela) the cab jogged along on level ground. The -slow pace at which the cab moved along, the impossibility of seeing -anything through the windows, and her impatience to reach her journey's -end, made it seem a very long mile and a half from the station. - -All at once the cab stopped with a violent jerk. And here was -Chequertrees, at last. Tom Bagg clambered down from his seat and held -the cab door open while Pamela got quickly out. He smiled genially down -at her, and then pulled the iron bell-chain outside the gate of the -house. - -While Tom Bagg got her boxes down from the cab Pamela gazed at the house -which was to be her home for the next six months. She could not see -very much of the house from the gate--a tall iron-barred gate set into a -high wall topped with ivy. There was a long and wide gravel path up to -the front door, and Pamela could see that the house was covered with ivy -and had many windows. The garden struck her as being a lovely place for -hide-and-seek, on account of its thick bushes and number of big trees. -As she passed through the gate and made her way along the path, the -cabman following with her luggage, she saw that there was a light in one -of the windows behind a red blind. - -She had no time to notice anything else before the front door was opened -by a middle-aged servant in white cap and apron. - -"Oh, I'm Miss Heath--Pamela Heath," said Pamela, as the maid waited -silently. - -"Oh, please come in, miss," said the maid. "Miss Crabingway told us to -expect you." - -Pamela stepped in, then turned to the cabman, remembering his fare; but -she was told that he had already been paid by Miss Crabingway, and was -going back to meet the next down train and fetch another young lady to -the house--"What I was told you was expecting here," he said to the -maid. - -"That's right," she replied. "Two more young ladies we are expecting -to-night." - -"Oh, aye. Two it might be--one for certain. _I_ remember. Good -evenin', miss." And depositing Pamela's boxes in the hall the cabman -took his departure. - -Pamela then became aware that another white-aproned servant was standing -at the back of the hall, waiting to receive her; she was quite an -elderly woman with white hair. Directly Pamela caught sight of her -kind, motherly old face, the feeling of depression that had been with -her ever since she had got out at Barrowfield station fell away from -her, and she felt at home. This was Martha, she learnt, and Ellen it -was who had opened the front door. In the few minutes' talk Pamela had -with them before being shown upstairs to her bedroom to take off her -outdoor things and have a wash, she gathered that Miss Crabingway had -departed yesterday morning, and had left word that all orders were to be -taken from Miss Pamela, "just as if it was Miss Crabingway herself that -was telling us what to do," volunteered Ellen. It made Pamela feel -awfully young and inefficient and responsible to hear these two elderly, -experienced housekeepers asking _her_ for orders. - -"Oh, you'll please go on just as usual, won't you? ... It's all so -strange and new to me--I do hope you'll help me to do things right. I'll -have to come and talk things over with you presently," she said. - -And though Ellen declared in tones of great solemnity that anything that -she could do to be of use to Miss Pamela would be done with pleasure, -yet it was the kindly smile in Martha's eyes that comforted Pamela. -Things would be all right, she felt, so long as Martha was there. - -Pamela felt a great liking for Martha from the first--she seemed such a -sensible, cheerful soul; and the more Pamela got to know about her -afterward the more she respected and trusted her. Ellen she was not so -sure about, though she grew to like her later on, in spite of her -melancholy expression and tone of voice. Pamela was not long in -discovering that Ellen had grown to enjoy her melancholy as other people -enjoy their happiness. It was an art in which Ellen certainly excelled. -She could relate at great length, when in the mood, all the various -strokes of bad fortune that had fallen on her numerous relatives and -acquaintances, and all the illnesses they had suffered from, and died -of, and her favourite recreation was wandering round old churchyards and -exclaiming over the early age at which numbers of people died. - -But though Martha and Ellen might be opposite temperamentally, yet they -certainly united in making Pamela very welcome on her arrival at -Chequertrees, and she found them most kind and willing and anxious to -make her comfortable. Ellen carried her boxes up to the bedroom, while -Martha bustled about, getting hot water for her to wash, and pulling -down blinds and lighting the gas. - -As soon as Pamela was left alone in her bedroom she threw off her hat -and sat down on a chair and looked about her, taking stock of her new -surroundings. Of course she had not had time to notice much so far, but -as she had passed through the square hall and up the soft-carpeted -stairs to her bedroom, which was on the first floor landing, she had got -an impression of a house well furnished, but sombre. There were a great -many thick plush curtains hanging over doors and at windows, and the -walls were crowded with pictures, most of them having heavy dark frames. -And now, this room, which Miss Crabingway had said was to be Pamela's -bedroom--well, it was handsomely furnished and clean, but to Pamela's -eyes, used to her airy, sparsely furnished little room at home with its -fresh white paint, oak furniture, and plain green linoleum, this room -seemed dark and overcrowded. The bedroom suite was dark mahogany, and -had as one of its pieces a huge wardrobe with two glass doors which -filled almost the entire length of one wall; it was evidently intended, -originally, for a much larger room than the one it was in at present; -here it towered over the other furniture like a bullying giant. The -bedstead, dressing-table, and washstand, although they were of dark -mahogany, were evidently not of the same set as the wardrobe. Pamela -observed that the wallpaper was an all-over floral design in various -shades of green and raised gold roses; the gloomy, old-fashioned -fireplace, with its marble mantelpiece, on which were arranged a score -of old china ornaments and photo frames, and a massive marble clock, was -the chief feature of the wall opposite the wardrobe. The -window-curtains, the duchess set on the dressing-table, and the coverlet -on the bed were the only touches of white to relieve the general -sombreness that prevailed. Pamela was sorry to see that there was a -thick soft carpet on the floor--she hated carpets in bedrooms. As she -wandered round the room she was to occupy for many a day to come, -becoming acquainted with it from various angles, she sighed; everything -looked solid, expensive, and subdued, but it did not please her eye at -all (though she had to admit to herself that everything seemed very -comfortable nevertheless). - -The clothes you choose, and the furniture you choose to surround -yourself with, are an index of your character to a stranger. To Pamela, -who could not remember ever seeing Miss Crabingway, this room was an -introduction. Of Miss Crabingway's character she knew nothing, but in -her mind's eye she pictured Miss Crabingway fond of solid, expensive -things, as large and dark, with rich, black, rustling dresses, and gold -brooches, and a lot of thick gold rings set with large stones on her -fingers. Her face she could not imagine--except that it would be -massive and well preserved. Pamela never could imagine people's faces, -in her mind's eye; she could conjure up people's figures and movements -clearly--but the faces were always dim and misty. It sometimes worried -her that even her mother's face or Michael's refused to be clearly -recalled when she was away from them. Of course she knew their features -by heart, and every twist and turn of their heads--but she could not see -their features in her mind's eye. - -Having imagined Miss Crabingway, therefore, as well as she was able, she -hastily flung off her outdoor things, washed her hands and face and -brushed her hair, and prepared to go downstairs. She was wearing her -artistic, dark green frock, and as she stood a moment with her hand on -the door knob taking a final glance round the room, she looked as fresh -and clear-eyed a specimen of girlhood as one could wish to see. - -She made her way downstairs, and seeing an open door and a lighted room -on the left of the hall, she entered. It was, as she had expected, the -dining-room. Dark, sombre furniture again, and rich hangings; there was -a cheerful fire burning in the grate, and a white cloth, and cups and -saucers on the table hinted at tea in the near future. - -Pamela had come in silently, her footsteps making no sound on the thick -carpet, and it was not until she had been standing for a few seconds -inside the doorway that she noticed that there was some one already in -the room--some one who had evidently not seen, nor heard, Pamela enter. - -Crouching by the fire, and almost hidden by a big arm-chair that stood -on the rug, was a girl; she had her back to the door and did not move as -Pamela stood watching for a moment. The girl's thin hands were -stretched out to the blaze as if she were cold, and her head leant -against the side of the chair; she made no sound, but there was -something in her attitude that suggested great dejection and loneliness. - -Pamela was just about to go forward when a slight sound between a sob -and a sigh escaped the figure, and Pamela paused. She felt that it -would make the girl embarrassed to think that she had been watched and -overheard. So Pamela backed stealthily out of the room (hoping she -wouldn't run into Ellen or Martha), and crept up the stairs again; she -waited a moment on the landing, shut her bedroom door with a snap, then -came running downstairs, humming and patting the banisters with her hand -as she came--so as to give warning of her approach. - -She entered the dining-room. The girl was sitting in the arm-chair now, -and stood up nervously as Pamela came in. She was a pale, thin girl, -with large dark eyes and black hair, and her movements were nervous and -jerky. She wore a dark-coloured skirt and a white silk blouse with -short sleeves to the elbow, which made her look very cold, and -emphasized the thinness of her arms. - -The two girls gazed at each other for a second, then Pamela gave a -friendly smile. - -"As there's no one here to introduce us, we'll introduce ourselves, -shall we? I'm Pamela Heath," she said. - -"I'm Beryl Cranswick," said the girl, smiling shyly. - -Pamela held out her hand, and they shook hands. - -"I'm so glad to meet you," said Pamela. "I suppose we are the first two -to arrive." - -"I suppose so," said Beryl, which did not help matters forward at all. - -"What time did you arrive?" asked Pamela. "I came by the four o'clock -train from Marylebone." - -"I arrived here this afternoon about three," Beryl informed her. - -"Oh, you've been here a long time then--it's just gone six now. I -didn't know you were here when I came--they didn't mention it to me.... -But have you had any tea yet?" - -Beryl shook her head. - -"Why--why ever not?" said Pamela, in surprise, ringing the bell by the -fireplace. "We'll have some at once, shall we?" - -"They did ask me if I'd have some--but I said I'd wait. I--I didn't -like to--to bother them--till you came," stammered Beryl. - -"Why, you must have been awfully cold and hungry after that long railway -journey; you _should_ have had a cup of tea and something--I'm sure it -wouldn't have been a bit of trouble to them," said Pamela, seizing the -poker and stirring up the fire. "Sit down and have a good warm--you -look quite cold still. We'll soon have this fire ... there! that's -better." - -Ellen appeared at this moment, in answer to the bell. - -"Oh, could we have some tea, please?" said Pamela. "What time are the -other arrivals expected, can you tell me?" - -"I don't know, miss," replied Ellen. "At least, not for -certain--sometime to-day, that's all Miss Crabingway told us. The last -down train gets in at Barrowfield at midnight." - -"Oh, I see. Well, it's no good waiting for them, I suppose--we'd better -have tea now in case they don't arrive till midnight," said Pamela. - -"Very well, miss. I'll bring it in at once," and Ellen departed. - -It was rather a queer experience for Pamela, playing hostess in this -strange house to strange people, but her frank, easy manners helped her -considerably. - -Beryl, in Pamela's position, would have suffered agonies of indecision -and nervousness, and she felt thankful she was not in Pamela's shoes, -though she certainly envied the unself-conscious ease with which Pamela -managed things. They were really quite small, insignificant things, but -to Beryl, very self-conscious and timid, they would have caused much -dismay. Beryl was passing through a stage of acute self-consciousness, -not due to vanity in the slightest, but to nerves. Even to eat in -public was a misery to her; although she was aware that she was -scrupulously particular in the way she drank or ate her food, yet she -hated having to have meals with other people; she always felt that they -were watching her--criticizing her. - -And so, when she and Pamela had tea together for the first time, she -hardly ate or drank anything. Unfortunately, by accident, she got a plum -jam stone in her mouth and did not like to remove it, suffering much -discomfort in consequence until Pamela's attention being distracted to -the window blind behind her for a moment, Beryl quickly conveyed the -stone to her plate again, and finished her tea in peace. Pamela, who -was as fastidious as anyone in her table manners, was yet quite easy, -and appeared to enjoy a huge tea with comfort and daintiness combined. -Beryl certainly did envy her that evening. She wondered what Pamela -would have done if she had got a plum stone in her mouth--and rather -wished this could happen so that she might see how easily Pamela would -act. But Beryl's luck was out; no such opportunity occurred. - -Over tea Pamela gave Beryl a long account of her home and people, and -then began making inquiries about Beryl's home. But Beryl was strangely -reticent, and only stated a few bald facts. She was an orphan, she said; -no brothers--no sisters--and her father and mother had been dead many -years; her aunt, with whom she lived, had her home just outside -London--at Enfield. Beryl said she had never been to boarding-school; -no, she didn't go out much--didn't know many people--they lived very -quietly--and so on. From Beryl's manner Pamela gathered that she did -not wish to discuss her home or aunt, so the matter was dropped, and -Pamela suggested that when tea was over they should ask Martha or Ellen -to show them over the house, so that they would know their way about. - -Both Martha and Ellen professed themselves delighted to show them over -the house, and so both of them accompanied the two girls on a tour of -inspection. Martha, who liked to do things thoroughly while she was -about it, insisted on them seeing every room and cupboard from top to -bottom of the house, with the exception, of course, of the locked-up -room at the end of the first floor landing. - -On this landing there were five rooms: the locked-up room ran right -across the front of the house, the locked door being opposite the -stair-head; on either side of the landing were two rooms--all four to be -used as bedrooms for the girls, each having a separate room to herself. -The rooms allotted to Pamela and Isobel Prior were on the left, Isobel's -adjoining the locked room; Beryl's room was opposite to Pamela's, and -her next-door neighbour was to be Caroline Weston. - -Another flight of stairs, starting near by Beryl's door, led up to -Martha's and Ellen's rooms, the bath-room and airing cupboards, and -another spare bedroom. - -The ground floor included the dining-room (which we have already seen) -and, on the opposite side of the hall, a large drawing-room with French -windows that led into the garden. Next door to the dining-room, and at -the back of the house, was a queer little room with books all round the -walls, a huge writing-desk (much too large for the rest of the -furniture), half a dozen odd chairs, an old spinning-wheel, and a glass -cabinet full of curiosities. This was called the 'study,' Martha said, -where Miss Crabingway read or attended to her correspondence; but, in -spite of the books, it looked more like an interesting museum of odds -and ends. A spacious kitchen and scullery with a big larder, and a cosy -little sitting-room, leading out of the kitchen, and set apart for the -use of Martha and Ellen, completed the ground floor. - -There seemed to be a good many windows in each room, so it ought to be a -light house in the daytime, Pamela thought; otherwise her first -impression of sombre richness was strengthened after seeing over the -rest of the house. The furniture and fittings were all good and -heavy-looking; the walls were everywhere crowded with pictures--some -originals, some copies of well-known pictures, and some photographic -picture studies of people and places. There were carpets and dark -furniture in every room. And what struck Pamela as being very strange -was that each room in the house had at least one odd-sized piece of -furniture in it--either much too large or much too small to be in -keeping with the rest of the room; and this particular piece, in each -case, seemed to occupy a very prominent position, so that one couldn't -help noticing it. It reminded Pamela of the doll's house belonging to -Olive at home, where the doll's kettle and saucepan were the same size -as the chairs, and too big to stand on the doll's kitchen stove. She -wondered how Miss Crabingway had come to possess these odd bits of -furniture, and was just looking at the extraordinarily small piano-stool -set before the huge grand piano in the drawing-room, when a sudden ring -at the bell announced a fresh arrival, and Martha hurried out of the -room to open the front door. - - - - - *CHAPTER IV* - - *THE ROOM WITH THE LOCKED DOOR* - - -Isobel Prior and Caroline Weston had arrived together, having travelled -in the same railway carriage, each ignorant of the fact that the other -was bound for Chequertrees, until the waiting cab at the station had -made this known to them. - -"I'm simply _dead_," were the first words Pamela heard as she came out -of the drawing-room to greet the new-comer. The speaker was a -well-dressed, fluffy-haired girl with an aristocratic voice and bearing, -who was standing in the hall amid a pile of luggage. - -"Why, that sounds a cheerful beginning! Who is it that's dead?" asked -Pamela laughingly, as she came forward. - -The girl stared rather haughtily at Pamela for a second, then smiled and -shook hands. - -"Oh, I suppose you are Miss Heath," she said. "I am Miss Prior. I've -had a perfectly impossible journey here to-day, and I'm simply fagged -out and perishingly cold." - -"We must get you something hot to drink," said Pamela, "and you must -have a good rest. Would you like to come straight into the dining-room -and have a warm--there's a lovely fire there--or would you rather go up -to your bedroom first?" - -"Oh, _please_--a wash and tidy up first," said Isobel. "I must look -such a fright----" - -And then Pamela noticed that another girl was standing beside Martha, -just inside the front door. A big plush curtain in the hall almost hid -her from view. - -"I'm awfully sorry--I didn't see anyone else had arrived," said Pamela. -"Are you--are you Miss Caroline Weston?" - -The girl gazed stolidly at Pamela--a heavily-made girl, plumpish, and -wearing spectacles; she carried a very neat handbag in one hand and a -very neatly rolled umbrella in the other hand. - -"Y-e-s," she said, in a slow, drawling voice. - -Pamela shook her warmly by the hand, and then offered to take the two -girls upstairs and show them their rooms. As they passed the -drawing-room door Pamela caught sight of Beryl, who was waiting shyly in -the background, and she immediately introduced her to the others. - -"Beryl and I have just been shown over the house," Pamela explained. -"We only arrived to-day, of course--a few hours ago--I expect you're too -tired to want to bother to see all round to-night, and if you are you -must go over it in the morning. Then we shall all know our way about, -shan't we? Come along, Beryl, let's take these poor weary travellers up -to their rooms. And, Martha, can we have some hot supper--in about -twenty minutes, please?" - -Once again the house was astir with the bustle of welcoming the latest -arrivals. Martha vanished into the kitchen to prepare something hot and -tasty for supper, while Ellen hurried to and fro with warm water for -washing, and carried boxes and parcels upstairs, and lit gases, and -pulled down blinds, and generally made herself useful, while Pamela, -followed by Beryl, showed Isobel and Caroline to their rooms, doing her -best as hostess to make them feel comfortable and at home. - -Over supper the four girls became better acquainted. Naturally they -were all very curious to know why Miss Crabingway had invited the four -of them to Chequertrees, and they studied each other with interest, -trying to find an answer to the riddle. Following Pamela's friendly -lead they talked of themselves, and their homes, and the journey to -Barrowfield. That is, all of them talked a good deal with the exception -of Beryl, who still seemed very shy and only spoke when she was -addressed directly. - -Pamela was in one of her 'beamy' moods that night. She beamed and -laughed and talked and thoroughly enjoyed herself during supper, not a -little excited by all the strange surroundings and the strange new -acquaintances she was making; perhaps it was her genuine interest in -everything and everybody that made her so jolly a companion--and so -unself-conscious a one. Anyway, she liked girls--nearly all girls--and -they liked her as a rule. Of course she had her dislikes, but on the -whole she got on very well with girls of her own age. How was she going -to like and get on with these girls, all about her own age, who were -sitting at supper with her this evening, she asked herself. - -She felt vaguely sorry for Beryl, as if she wanted to protect her, -because Beryl seemed so painfully shy and ill at ease; her clothes were -cheap-looking and unsuitable for the time of year. - -Isobel seemed to Pamela to be slightly disdainful of everything and -everybody; she had a habit of over-emphasizing unimportant words when -she talked, and appeared at times to exaggerate too much. Her clothes -were well chosen and evidently of very good material, and well tailored. -Her features, framed by her pretty, fluffy hair, were clear-cut and -refined; she would have been a pretty girl had it not been for her eyes, -which were deep-set and a trifle too close together. She talked a good -deal about her 'mater' and 'pater,' and her brother Gerald and his -motor-car. - -Caroline, beside Isobel, looked very plain, and almost dowdy, in spite -of the fact that her clothes were good--the reason being that her -clothes did not suit her at all. She had no idea how to make the best -of herself; her one great idea was to be neat at all costs. Her -drab-coloured hair was brushed back smoothly, in a most trying fashion; -and never by any chance would she have a button or hook missing from any -of her clothing, nor a hole in her stocking--and this was a credit to -her, because she worked as slowly with her needle as she did with -everything else, though it must be owned that she was very fond of -sewing. Very slow, very methodical, very neat--such was Caroline. "I -believe she even dusts and wraps up in tissue paper each needle and pin -and reel of cotton after she has finished with it," was Isobel's opinion -after she had known her a week; and although this may sound like one of -Isobel's exaggerated remarks, yet it was nearer the truth than she -herself dreamt when she said it. - -What acquaintance had Miss Crabingway had with these three girls, Pamela -wondered. And what had made her choose them--and herself. They made an -oddly assorted quartette. - -As they were rising from the supper-table she asked them whether any of -them knew Miss Crabingway well, and learnt to her surprise that none of -them had more than the slightest acquaintance with her. Neither Isobel -not Caroline could remember ever seeing Miss Crabingway, and Beryl said -vaguely that she had seen her once--a long time ago. Beryl said she -believed that her mother had been a friend of Miss Crabingway's, many -years back. Isobel said her mater had met Miss Crabingway abroad--had -happened to stay in the same hotel--about six years ago. An uncle of -Caroline's, so she informed them, had once done some business -transactions with Miss Crabingway, and had corresponded with her since, -at intervals. - -"Well, I can't make it out at all," thought Pamela to herself. "Why -Miss Crabingway should have invited us--four girls--practically -strangers to her--to come and stay at her house while she is away.... I -can't see any reason for it.... Anyway, I suppose we shall know when she -returns." - -The supper having considerably revived Isobel, she said she would like -to see over the house before she went to bed; and Caroline, having no -objection ready against this suggestion (except that she was half asleep -in her chair), found herself joining in this tour of inspection and -stolidly taking stock of the house that was to be her home for the next -six months. - -In a whispered aside to Pamela Isobel pronounced the dining-room -wall-paper 'hideous' and the drawing-room decorations 'perfectly -awful'--both remarks being overhead by Ellen, who glared at the back of -Isobel's head in silent indignation at this reflection on her mistress's -taste. It was certainly not good manners on Isobel's part, but she was -not over-sensitive about other people's feelings, and was rarely aware -of the fact when her words or tone of voice had hurt or given offence. - -On the first floor landing Pamela pointed out the locked door. The -girls knew that they were forbidden to try to open it, or look through -the keyhole, their instructions being the same as Pamela's. - -[Illustration: ON THE FIRST FLOOR LANDING PAMELA POINTED OUT THE LOCKED -DOOR] - -"And to think that one little action--just kneeling down and putting -your eye to the keyhole--would make you lose fifty pounds!" exclaimed -Isobel. "It's not worth losing all that money just for curiosity, is -it?" - -"Rather not," said Pamela. "I vote that we all keep away from that door -as if the paint on it were poisonous to touch." - -"I'm sorry my room's next to it," Isobel went on, "but it doesn't really -matter--though I like to keep as far away from temptation as I can ... -not that I _want_ to look inside, but--you know the feeling--just -because I know I mustn't----" - -"I know the feeling," agreed Pamela. "But don't you think it would be -wisest not to talk about it any more, or we shall all be dreaming about -it to-night." - -Ellen, who was leading the way up to the top floor where her own room -and Martha's room were situated, pricked up her ears at this. - -"Dreams go by contrary," she said to herself mechanically, and, -apparently, without meaning. Besides being a mine of information on -melancholy events, Ellen was a great believer in dreams, possessing as -many as ten 'dream books,' which she consulted frequently on the meaning -of her dreams. Ellen believed also in fortune-telling by tea-leaves, and -lucky stars, and the like. And many a time she had made even -Martha--who knew her little ways and generally laughed tolerantly at -her--turn 'goose-flesh' at the terrible fate she would read out for -Martha and herself from the tea-leaves left in their cups. - -"Do you believe it's possible to _dream_ what is inside that room--I -mean dream truly--if you set your mind on it just before going to -sleep?" Isobel asked of Pamela, as she glanced round the bath-room. - -Caroline, who was examining everything in the bath-room closely and -minutely, as was her habit, raised her head as if to speak, but Pamela, -who had her back turned to her and did not see her mouth open, replied: - -"I don't know. I'm afraid I'm not an expert on dreams--I hardly ever -dream myself." - -"Wouldn't it be fun," suggested Isobel, as they all made their way -downstairs again, "if each of us tried hard to dream what was inside the -room--and then tell each other what dreams we had had, in the -morning--and when Miss Crabingway comes back we will see if any of us -are right." - -"Oh, I don't know," said Pamela. "Somehow I don't think we'd better -even try to dream what is inside the room. Perhaps it isn't quite fair -to--to--I don't know how to put it-- Anyway, I think it would be better -if we left the subject entirely alone, don't you?" - -Again Caroline opened her mouth and was about to say something, when -Isobel burst in with, - -"Oh, but Miss Crabingway didn't say we were not to _dream_ about it, did -she? ... That would be impossible to forbid.... But still, perhaps it's -best not to meddle with the subject. It's not worth losing fifty pounds -over, anyway." - -Beryl, although she had accompanied the others over the house, had not -spoken a word since they left the dining-room, but she had listened to -all that was going on with much interest. Here was another girl, -Isobel, who seemed quite at home among strangers in a strange house, -thought Beryl; but she did not envy Isobel; she was vaguely afraid of -her. Caroline appeared more at her ease than Beryl had expected her to -be; though Caroline seemed to others slow and awkward, she was not aware -of this herself, and so was not made uneasy on that score. Caroline did -not know her own failings, while Beryl was keenly alive to _her_ -own--and suffered accordingly. - -As the four girls bid each other good-night a few minutes later, -Caroline found the opportunity she had been waiting for, and mentioned -something that had been fidgeting her since her arrival. - -"Oh--er--do you know if my room has been well aired?" she asked slowly, -reminding Pamela irresistibly of an owl as she gazed solemnly through -her spectacles. "I'm rather subject to chills--and mother told me to be -sure and see that my bedroom had been well aired." - -Fortunately Martha was able to assure her on this point, and Caroline -went upstairs apparently content. But before she went to sleep she -thoroughly fingered the sheets and pillow-cases to satisfy herself that -Martha was a strictly truthful person. - -When, at length, every one had retired and all was quiet, a little -breeze arose in the garden and scurried round the house, whispering -excitedly among the ivy leaves. But though the breeze ruffled and -agitated the cloak of ivy, it had no power to stir the old house -beneath, which stood, grim and unmoved, brooding in silence over the -strangers within its walls. - - - - - *CHAPTER V* - - *MAKING PLANS* - - -In the morning, as soon as breakfast was over, Pamela held an informal -'council meeting' in the drawing-room. - -"I thought we'd better just talk over some sort of plan for organizing -things, so that we shall all be as comfortable as possible," she said, -leaning her elbow on the small round table before her and resting her -chin in the palm of her hand. "You see, it isn't as if there was a real -hostess here--you know what I mean--it isn't as if we could drop into -the ordinary life of the household. Here we are--four strangers -yesterday, four acquaintances to-day--and we've got to live and work and -play together for the next six months. Now what are the best -arrangements to make, so that we'll all have a good time? It's left -entirely in our hands. Anybody got any suggestions?" She looked -smilingly round at the other three girls. - -Isobel was the only one who answered. - -"Of course we didn't know _what_ we should be expected to do when we -came here," she said. "It was all such an _awful_ hurry and -scramble--there was no time to think of anything." - -"I know," agreed Pamela. "But now we are here, we'd better have some -sort of plan, don't you think--so as to leave each other as free as -possible--I do hate tying people down to time and--and things--but we'll -have to have some sort of arrangements about meals, for instance, or -else we'll keep Martha and Ellen busy all day long. Luckily, we've got -hardly any housekeeping difficulties. I had a talk with Martha and -Ellen this morning, before breakfast, and they're going on with their -work just as usual. Martha does all the cooking and washing, and Ellen -does the general work. But I expect four girls in the house will make a -good bit of difference! So I propose that we each make our own bed and -tidy our own room every morning--and Ellen will clean the rooms out once -a week. It won't take each of us long of a morning. What do you say?" - -Beryl agreed at once; and Isobel, though she said she wasn't _used_ to -doing housework, promised to do her best; Caroline was understood to say -she preferred making her own bed because other people never made a bed -to her satisfaction. - -Having settled this little point, Pamela went on: - -"As regards shopping--Martha says she always sees about getting in -provisions, but she would like us to say what we'd like for breakfasts, -and dinners, and so on. She says Miss Emily Crabingway left a sum of -money with her for purchasing enough food for the next three months; -after that time has elapsed, Mr Joseph Sigglesthorne is to send on a -further sum--enough for the final three months. You see that's all -arranged for us; but we've got to choose the meals, and I thought it -would be a good plan if we took it in turns, each week--first one, then -the other--to draw up a list of meals for the week. Write it all out, -and take it in to Martha. What do you think? Martha likes the idea." - -"I'm quite willing, but I don't believe I could think of enough variety -for a week straight off," said Beryl. - -"Oh, yes, you could," said Pamela, "with the help of Mrs Beeton's -Cookery Book--there are no end of hints in there. Martha has a copy of -the book on a shelf in the kitchen; she'll lend it to us. She says it's -very useful, but rather too extravagant for her liking, with its 'break -eight eggs and beat them well,' and 'take ten eggs' and 'take six eggs' -and so on. Martha says she always looks up a recipe in Mrs Beeton's, -and then makes it her own way (which is always quite different)." - -"As long as you don't choose boiled haddock every morning," said Isobel, -"and don't give us lamb chops and mashed potatoes every -dinner-time--with rice pudding to follow--I'm sure we'll none of us try -to assassinate you on the quiet." - -"I don't mind taking my turn at choosing the meals," said Caroline, -thinking tenderly of suet roly-poly. - -"And I'll do what I can," remarked Isobel, more in her element when -choosing work for others to perform than in doing work herself. She had -momentary visions of how she would astonish the others by the -magnificence of her menus; none of the 'homely' dishes for Isobel; with -the aid of Mrs Beeton, who knows what might not be accomplished in the -way of exclusive and awe-inspiring dishes. "But _you_ choose the first -week's meals, _do_," she begged Pamela. - -As this suggestion was proposed, seconded, and carried unanimously by -the others, Pamela agreed, and so the matter was settled. - -"Having now disposed of our housekeeping duties," Pamela laughed, "now -what are we going to do with the rest of our time? Had any of you any -idea of keeping up studies, or attending classes, or anything of that -sort? You see we are left idle--to act entirely on our own -initiative--without any suggestions or arrangements whatever on Miss -Crabingway's part. And I know that, speaking for myself, I don't want -to idle away the next six months." - -"_I_ shouldn't mind being idle," observed Isobel. "In fact mater said -the six months' rest would do me no harm. I was just going back to -college, you know, when we heard from Miss Crabingway--and of course all -my plans were upset--but I didn't mind so much with the prospect of a -lovely, lazy holiday at Barrowfield. But still, if you are all going to -take up some sort of work, I suppose I must, as well.... I should be -bored to death with my own company--if you are all going to work." - -"I only suggest a few hours' work each day," reminded Pamela. "It makes -the day seem so much more satisfactory when one has _done_ something." - -The question of what to study, and how to study, gave much food for -discussion; but the subject was prevented from taking too serious a turn -by Isobel's constant stream of facetious remarks on the kind of work she -would take up. She seemed to think it a huge joke; though Caroline, who -was apt to take things literally, was much perturbed at the numerous -studies Isobel proposed, until she realized that Isobel was only making -fun all the time. - -"I should prefer to keep up my music," said Beryl, presently. "And -study hard at theory, harmony, and counterpoint--and if it wouldn't -annoy anyone--perhaps I could practise on the piano here. I--I should -love that." - -"Of course it wouldn't annoy anyone, would it?" Pamela appealed to the -other two, who said that it certainly wouldn't annoy them. - -"It isn't as if it were the five-finger exercise--thump--thump--thump," -added Caroline cautiously. - -"Well, we should _hope_ you'd got beyond that," said Isobel to Beryl, -who flushed nervously. - -"Oh, yes," she hastened to assure them. - -"There are worse things than the five-finger exercise," broke in Pamela. -"I have a sister at home who knows _one_ piece, and whenever she gets -near the piano she sits down and plays it--thumps it, I should -say--because she 'knows we love it,' she says. We always howl at her, -on principle, and the nearest of us swoops down on her, and bears her, -protesting, out of the room." - -The others laughed with Pamela at this recollection of hers, and -attention was distracted from Beryl, much to her relief. - -"Well," said Pamela, "for myself--I am going to do a heap of -reading--especially historical books; and I want most of all to continue -my sketching. I'm very fond of dabbling in black and white -sketching--and I want lots of practice. I've brought with me some books -about it--to study." - -"Oh, you _energetic_ people," yawned Isobel. "It makes me tired to -think of the work you're going to do." - -"What are you going to do?" Pamela asked, turning to Caroline. - -"Well," drawled Caroline, "I like doing needlework better than -anything." - -Isobel put her handkerchief to her mouth to hide a smile. Fortunately -Caroline was not looking at her, but Beryl was. Caroline went on -undisturbed. - -"I'm not fond of reading or books, but I've been thinking--if there were -any classes near by, on dressmaking--cutting out and all that, you -know--that I could attend, I wouldn't mind that; but anyway I've got -plenty of plain needlework to go on with. I brought a dozen -handkerchiefs in my box to hem and embroider--and I've got a tray-cloth -to hem-stitch." - -"Mind you don't overtax your brain, my dear," muttered Isobel, giggling -into her handkerchief. - -"Eh?" asked Caroline, not catching her remark. - -"Nothing," said Isobel. "I was only wondering what work I could do." - -"I daresay you'll be able to find some dress-making classes, Caroline," -said Pamela. "We'll go out and buy a local paper and see what's going -on. But, Isobel, what are _you_ going to do?" Pamela asked, looking -across at Isobel. - -"Ah me!" sighed Isobel. "Well, if I must decide, I'll decide on -dancing. I'm frightfully keen on dancing, you know. I'll attend -classes for that if you like--that is, if there are such things as -dancing classes in this sleepy little place.... I might do a bit of -photography too. I didn't bring my camera--but perhaps I can buy a new -one--it's great fun taking snapshots." - -"If there are no classes in Barrowfield there is almost sure to be a -town within a few miles, where we can get what we want," Pamela said. - -Matters now being settled as far as was possible at the present moment, -Pamela said she was going out to look round the village, and Isobel -immediately said she would go with her as she wanted to buy some buttons -for her gloves. Beryl would have liked to go with Pamela, but felt -sensitive about visiting the village for the first time in Isobel's -company--for more than one reason; so she said she would go and unpack -her box and get her music books out, and look round the village later -on. Caroline also elected to stay and unpack and put her room in order. -So Pamela and Isobel started off together. - -They had been gone but five minutes when the post arrived with a -registered letter addressed to Pamela. - -"Ah," said Martha knowingly, as she laid the letter in the tray on the -hall-stand. - - - - - *CHAPTER VI* - - *MILLICENT JACKSON GIVES SOME INFORMATION* - - -"What a one-eyed sort of place this is," said Isobel inelegantly, as she -came out of the village drapery establishment and joined Pamela, who was -waiting on the green outside. - -"I was just thinking how charming the little village looks," said -Pamela, "clustering round this wide stretch of green with the pond and -the ducks. And look at the lanes and hills and woods rising in the -background! It _is_ picturesque." - -"Oh, it may be frightfully picturesque and all that," Isobel replied, -"but picturesqueness won't provide one with black pearl buttons to sew -on one's gloves. Would you believe it--not one of these _impossible_ -shops keeps such things. 'Black pearl buttons, miss. I'm sorry we -haven't any in stock. Black _bone_--would black bone do--or a fancy -button, miss?'" Isobel mimicked the voice of the 'creature' (as she -called her) who served in the tiny draper's shop. - -"Well, I suppose they're not often asked for black pearl," said Pamela, -as they moved on. "And wouldn't black bone do?" - -"Black _bone_!" said Isobel disdainfully. - -"Well, you can't expect to find Oxford Street shops down here in -Barrowfield," smiled Pamela. "And it's jolly lucky there aren't such -shops, or Barrowfield would be a _town_ to-morrow. Still, is there -anywhere else you'd like to try?" - -"No, I shan't bother any more to-day," Isobel sighed. "I did want -them--but I'll wear my other gloves till I can get the buttons to match -the two I've lost.... How people do _stare_ at one here. Look at that -old woman over there--And, oh, do look at the butcher standing on his -step _glaring_ at us! He looks as if his eyes might go off 'pop' at any -moment, doesn't he?" - -Although Isobel pretended to be annoyed, she really rather enjoyed the -attention she and Pamela were attracting. Naturally the village was -curious about these strange young ladies who had come to stay at Miss -Crabingway's house. Thomas Bagg had given his version of the arrivals -last night as he chatted with the landlord of the 'Blue Boar,' and had -professed to know more about the matter than he actually did. In acting -thus he was not alone, for most of the village pretended to know -something of the reason why Miss Emily Crabingway had suddenly gone -away, and why her house was occupied by four strange young ladies. In -reality nobody knew much about it at all. It speaks well for Martha and -Ellen that they were not persuaded to tell more than they did; maybe -they didn't know more; maybe they _did_, but wouldn't say. The village -gossips shook their heads at the closeness of these two trusted servants -concerning their mistress's affairs.... And so Pamela and Isobel -attracted more than the usual attention bestowed on strangers in -Barrowfield--the bolder folk (like the butcher) staring unabashed from -their front doors, while the more retiring peeped through their -curtains. - -Barrowfield itself was certainly very picturesque; no wonder it appealed -to Pamela's artistic eye. Surrounded by tree-clad hills, the village lay -jumbled about the wide green--in the centre of which was a pond with -ducks on it; white-washed cottages, old houses, quaint little shops, and -inns with thatched roofs, stood side by side in an irregular circle. -Seen from one of the neighbouring hills you might have fancied that -Barrowfield was having a game of Ring-o'-Roses around the green, while -the little odd cottages dotted here and there on the hill-sides looked -longingly on, like children who have not been invited to play but who -might at any moment run down the slopes and join in. The square-towered -church and the Manor House, both on a hill outside the magic ring, stood -watching like dignified grown-up people. - -Chequertrees was one of the biggest houses in the circle around the -green, and a few dozen yards beyond its gate a steep tree-lined avenue -led up to the big house of the neighbourhood--the Manor House, where -lived the owners of most of the land and property in Barrowfield. The -Manor House was about a quarter of a mile beyond the village, and stood -half-way up the avenue, at the top of which was the square-towered -church. Close beside the church, but so hidden among trees as to be -invisible until you were near at hand, was the snug vicarage. - -The railway station at which the girls had arrived on the previous -evening was a mile and a half away on a road that led out from the -opposite end of the green to where Chequertrees stood. Several lanes -climbed up from the green and wound over the hills to towns and villages -beyond--the nearest market town being four miles distant if you went by -the lane, six miles if you followed the main road that ran past the -station. - -Of course Pamela and Isobel would not have known all this on their first -short walk round Barrowfield had they not fallen into conversation with -the girl who served in the newsagent's, and who was only too ready to -impart information to them when they went in to buy a local newspaper. -She was a large-boned girl with a lot of big teeth, that showed -conspicuously when she talked; she eyed curiously, and not without envy, -the well-cut clothes and 'stylish' hats that the two girls were wearing. - -Pamela noticed that the girl wore a brooch made of gold-wire twisted -into the name 'Millicent,' and as 'Jackson' was the name painted over -the shop outside, she tacked it on, in her own mind, as Millicent's -surname. - -It being still early in the day Millicent Jackson's toilet was not -properly finished--that is to say, she did not appear as she would later -on about tea-time, with her hair frizzed up and wearing her brown serge -skirt and afternoon blouse. Her morning attire was a very -unsatisfactory affair. Millicent wore all her half-soiled blouses in -the mornings, and her hair was straight and untidily pinned up; she had -a black apron over her skirt, and her hands, which were not pretty at -the best of times, looked big and red, and they were streaked with -blacking as if she had recently been cleaning a stove. Poor Millicent, -she found it impossible to do the housework and appear trim and tidy in -the shop at the same time. She discovered herself suddenly wishing that -the young ladies had postponed their visit till the afternoon, when she -would have been dressed. But there were compensations even for being -'caught untidy'; for could she not see that young Agnes Jones across the -way peering out of her shop door, overcome with curiosity, and would she -not dash across to Millicent as soon as the young ladies had departed, -to know all about the interview! So it was with mixed feelings that -Millicent kept the young ladies talking as long as she could. - -"Yes, it's a vurry ole church, and vurry interestin'," said Millicent -for the third time. "But uv course you ain't been in these parts long -enough, miss, for you to 'ave seen everything yet, 'ave you, miss?" - -"No, we only arrived last night," said Pamela in a friendly way. - -"You don't say!" exclaimed Millicent in great astonishment; although -Thomas Bagg had been in the shop a few hours back and told her all about -their arrival. "Oh, well, uv course, miss--!" she broke off and waited -expectantly. - -But Pamela's next remark was disappointing. - -"I think it's an awfully interesting-looking village altogether," she -said. "Whereabouts is the ruined mill you mentioned just now? Very far -from the village? I wonder if we have time to go and see it this -morning." - -"It's a goodish way," said Millicent reluctantly. "Well, about two mile -over that way," she pointed toward the back of the shop. "Along the -lane that goes through the fields.... I expect you'd find it vurry -muddy in the lane after all the rain we've been 'aving." - -"Oh, I don't mind that," said Pamela, but Isobel wrinkled up her nose -and looked down at her dainty shoes. "But have we time before -lunch--um--no, it's half-past twelve now--what a shame! ... Never mind! -I must go along to-morrow if I can. I feel I don't want to use up all -the country too quickly--it's so nice exploring." She smiled at -Millicent, and gathered up the papers she had bought. - -"Oh, by the way, who lives at the Manor House?" asked Isobel, addressing -Millicent, directly, for the first time; her voice was slightly -condescending--it was the voice she always adopted unconsciously when -addressing those she considered her 'inferiors'; she did not mean to be -unkind--she had been taught, by those who should have known better, to -talk like that to servants and tradespeople. But Pamela, whose -upbringing had been very different, frowned as she heard the tones; they -jarred on her. - -However, Millicent did not seem to notice anything amiss. - -"Sir Henry and Lady Prior, miss," answered Millicent. - -Isobel raised her eyebrows and gave a short laugh. "Prior! That's -strange! I wonder if they're any relation to me," she said to Pamela. -"I must try to find out." She turned to Millicent again. "Sir _Henry_ -Prior, you said?" - -"Yes, miss," said Millicent, looking at Isobel with fresh interest. -(Here was a choice tit-bit to tell Aggie Jones.) - -"H'm," said Isobel. "Yes--I know pater had a cousin Henry--I shouldn't -be at _all_ surprised--Wouldn't it be delightful, Pamela, if it turns -out to be this cousin----" - -She broke off, feeling that until she was sure it would be wiser not to -talk too much before Millicent, who was listening, with wide eyes and -open mouth. To say just so much, and no more, was agreeably pleasant to -Isobel, and made her feel as though, to the rest of the world, she was -now enveloped in an air of romantic mystery. As far as Millicent -represented the world, this was true. Millicent at once scented romance -and mystery--for surely to be related to a titled person, and not to -know it, is mysteriously romantic! She looked at Isobel with greater -respect.... Pamela's voice brought her suddenly back to the everyday -world again--the shop, the papers, and the fact that she was untidy and -not dressed; she noticed with sudden distaste the blacking on her hands -and hid them under her apron. - -"Who lives in that pretty little white cottage opposite to -Chequertrees?" Pamela was asking. "I'm sure it must be some one -artistic--it's all so pleasing to the eye--it took my fancy this morning -as I came out." - -"The little white cottage--" began Millicent. - -"With the brown shutters," finished Pamela. - -"Oh, yes, I know the one you mean, miss," said Millicent. "Mrs Gresham -lives there, miss. I don't know that she's an artist--she lets -apartments in the summer--and has teas in the garden, miss. Does vurry -nicely in the season with visitors, but she's terrible took up with -rheumatics in the winter--has it something chronic, she does. But she's -a nice, respectable person--always has her daily paper reg'lar from us." - -"Her garden must look lovely in the summer," remarked Pamela. "There -are some fine old Scotch fir trees in it, I noticed." She had already -taken note of these particular trees by the cottage, for sketching later -on; they were the only Scotch firs that she had seen in Barrowfield so -far. - -As she and Isobel walked across the green on their way back to -Chequertrees the picturesque blacksmith's forge claimed her attention, -and she stopped to admire it. As she did so a woman came down the lane -beside the forge, and passing in front of the two girls walked quickly -over the green. Pamela's attention was immediately attracted to her, -firstly because she was carrying an easel (also a basket, and a bag, -evidently containing a flat box); secondly, because she was dressed very -quaintly in a grey cloak and a small grey hat of original design; -thirdly, because she went into the garden gate of the little white -cottage opposite Chequertrees; and lastly, because, as the woman turned -to latch the gate after her, Pamela caught sight of her face. - -"Who _does_ she remind me of?" said Pamela. "I'm sure I've seen some one -like her----" - -But Isobel was not listening to Pamela. - -"If Sir Henry Prior is related to us, mater will be frightfully -interested to hear what----" - -But Pamela was not listening to Isobel. - -"Oh, p'r'aps she doesn't live there then--I wonder," said Pamela, as the -woman in grey, after handing the basket in at the front door of the -cottage and speaking a few words to somebody inside, who was invisible -to Pamela, came quickly out of the gate again and hurried away down the -village, the easel under one arm and the bag under the other. - -"Who _does_ she remind me of?" puzzled Pamela, as she and Isobel turned -in at the gate of Chequertrees. - - - - - *CHAPTER VII* - - *BERYL GOES THROUGH AN ORDEAL* - - -When Pamela opened the registered envelope that was waiting for her she -found inside twelve pounds in postal orders, and a short note from Mr -Joseph Sigglesthorne informing her that Miss Crabingway had desired him -to send this pocket-money for her to share between 'the three other -young ladies' and herself. That was three pounds each--the pocket-money -for the next three months. To those girls who already had some -pocket-money in their purses this little addition came as a pleasant, -though not unduly exciting, surprise; to those who had little or no -money of their own the three pounds was very welcome indeed. - -Pamela shared out the money, wrote a note of acknowledgment to Mr -Sigglesthorne, and then retired into the 'study,' after dinner was over, -with a copy of Mrs Beeton, a paper and pencil, and a business-like frown -on her face. - -"Nobody must disturb me for half an hour," she said, in mock solemnity, -"for I am going to do most important work--make out a week's list of -_meals_." - -Caroline was not likely to disturb anyone, as she had betaken herself -upstairs to her bedroom again to continue arranging her belongings. The -morning had not been long enough for her to finish unpacking properly, -she said. - -Beryl, who besides being quicker than Caroline had also less to unpack, -had finished her room long ago; so this afternoon she wandered into the -drawing-room, and closing the door after her carefully, crossed over to -the piano. - -The drawing-room with its long French windows leading into the garden -was about the pleasantest room in the house. It was lighter than most -of the other rooms, and there were fewer hangings about, which was a -good thing for the piano, Beryl thought. "I wonder if it would disturb -anyone if I played," she said to herself, opening the piano and stroking -the keys with her fingers. The house seemed suddenly so quiet--she -hardly liked to break the silence; she feared somebody coming in to see -who was playing, for Beryl was nervous at playing before others, -although she loved music and could play very well. She would have to -make a beginning _some time_, she told herself, if she really meant to -practise--so why not now? But still she hesitated, her fingers -outstretched on the keys. - -She could hear faintly, the sound being muffled behind closed doors, the -clatter of dishes in the kitchen--Martha and Ellen washing up. Pamela -was in the study, she knew, and Caroline was upstairs; but where was -Isobel? Beryl wished she knew where Isobel was. She had a dread of -Isobel coming in to disturb her, and she would be sure to come, out of -curiosity, if she heard the piano.... Beryl felt suddenly annoyed with -herself. Why should she care who came in--if she really _meant_ to -practise---- - -Beryl began to play--softly at first; but as she became gradually -absorbed in the music, her touch grew firmer and the notes rang out -clearly, and she forgot all about anyone hearing--forgot everything but -the music. The only time Beryl quite lost her self-consciousness was -when she was playing or listening to music. - -She played on, happily absorbed, when suddenly her former fears were -realized; the door handle clicked and some one put her head round the -door. - -"Oh, it's you, is it?" said Isobel's voice; and Isobel pushed the door -open and came in. - -Beryl stopped playing, and swung round on the stool. - -"This room's not so bad when one gets used to it," said Isobel, walking -across to the French window and pushing the curtains back; she stood -looking out into the garden. "Anyway, it's better than that perfectly -hideous dining-room. What awful taste Miss Crabingway must have! I -really don't know whether I shall be able to endure it for six whole -months." She threw herself on the couch beside the window and yawned. - -Isobel felt rather bored this afternoon. Caroline was still -unpacking--besides, who wanted to talk to Caroline?--Pamela was still -busy, and waved threateningly to anyone who looked into the study, -keeping her eyes fixed on Mrs Beeton. There was no one but Beryl to -talk to. Isobel was rather curious about Beryl, because she seemed so -unwilling to talk about herself and her home. - -"I suppose you learnt music at college?" Isobel observed, studying -Beryl's slight, stooping figure, as she sat with her back to the piano, -her pale face gazing rather anxiously at her questioner. - -"No--oh, no," said Beryl. - -"Did you have a music master--or mistress--at home, then?" - -"No," said Beryl. "Mother taught me a little--and I--and I picked up -the rest for myself." - -Isobel raised her eyebrows. - -"We had a frightfully handsome music-master at our college at Rugford," -said Isobel. "Most of the girls raved over him--but I'm not so keen on -Roman noses myself.... What college are you at?" - -"Oh ... Just a school--near where we live--at Enfield," replied Beryl; -and Isobel saw to her surprise that Beryl was blushing. - -"You've never been away from home then--to boarding-school?" Isobel -suggested. - -Beryl shook her head. - -"Oh, it's great sport," said Isobel. "But you want plenty of spare cash -to stand midnight feasts to the other girls, and have a bit of fun. -Pater and Gerald used to come down in the car and fetch me home for -week-ends sometimes, by special permission; and sometimes one or two of -the girls would be invited to come with me. The girls were awfully keen -on getting invitations to our place; they used to 'chum-up' to me, and -really almost beg for invitations. And you should have heard them -simply rave about Gerald.... There was one girl, I remember, who -practically implored me to ask her home for the holidays--but she wasn't -a lady--I don't know how she managed to get into the college--the Head -was awfully particular as a rule. This girl was only there one term, -though, and then the Head wrote and told her people that she could not -continue at the college-- Well, what do you think they found out about -her? ... She was a _Council_ school girl! And her parents said she had -been educated 'privately' at home! I suppose her father had scraped up -a little money and wanted her to finish off at our college--to get a -sort of polish. But we weren't having any-- Good gracious! What a -colour you've got!" she broke off, and gazed at Beryl, whose cheeks were -scarlet. - -"It's--I'm rather hot," said Beryl. "What are 'midnight feasts'?" she -asked hurriedly. - -"Oh, they're picnics we have in the dormitories after all the lights are -out and we're supposed to be in bed," Isobel explained, still eyeing -Beryl curiously. "We choose a moonlight night, or else smuggle in a -couple of night-lights with the cake, and fruit, and chocolates. It's -frightfully exciting--because at any moment we may get caught." - -"What happens if you are?" inquired Beryl. - -"Well--we never were--not while I was there.... I wonder if I shall go -back for a term or two when my visit here is ended?" Isobel mused. - -"Will you be going back again to your school after you leave here?" - -"No, I don't think so," said Beryl, who was now quite pale again. - -"Did you get up to any larks? Were there any boarders at your school?" -Isobel persisted. - -"No," Beryl answered. "It was only a day school. We didn't have any -special larks." - -"Didn't you like the school?" - -"Not very much. It was all right." - -"Why? Weren't the girls nice?" - -"Oh, they were nice enough," said Beryl. "It was a nice school. But -nothing specially exciting ever happened. Just work." - -"Um ... I shouldn't have liked that," said Isobel. "By the way, your -father and mother are dead, aren't they?" - -Beryl nodded. - -"Many years ago?" asked Isobel. - -"Ever so many years, it seems to me," Beryl replied very quietly. - -"Was your father a musician?" Isobel went on. - -"No," answered Beryl. "Why?" - -"Oh, no reason. I only wondered. What was his profession, then?" - -Beryl gazed at her in silence, and Isobel thought perhaps she did not -understand. - -"His work, I mean. What did he do for a living? Or had he independent -means?" - -"He--I don't know what he did--he went to the City every day," Beryl -ended lamely; her face was ghastly white. "It's so long ago--I can't -remember--I was only very young when he died." - -This seemed to satisfy Isobel for a time, and she began talking of her -brother Gerald and his taste in hosiery, until presently she began to -inquire about the aunt with whom Beryl said she lived at Enfield. But -on this subject Beryl was decidedly reticent, and answered vaguely, and -as often as possible in monosyllables, so that Isobel could gain little -or nothing from her questionings. All she gleaned was that Beryl's -'Aunt Laura' lived at Enfield, and that she was a widow, with one -daughter about eighteen years old, whose name was also 'Laura.' - -Presently the conversation veered round to schools again, and Isobel -asked, - -"By the way, what was the name of your school at Enfield?" - -Beryl hesitated but a moment, then said, "Rotherington House School." - -"Why, I believe that's the very school a friend of mine went to at -Enfield--that's why I asked you the name. How quaint! I must write and -tell her--that is, when we are allowed by these silly old rules to write -to anyone. She'll be frightfully interested to know I know some one who -went to the same school with her. But I expect you know her; her name -is Brent--Kathleen Brent." - -Beryl shook her head. "I don't recall the name," she said. "But what -were you saying at dinner about some one living at the Manor House named -Lady Prior--who is a relation of yours?" asked Beryl all at once, -desperately anxious to change the subject. Her ruse was immediately -successful. Isobel plunged into the trap headlong, leaving behind her, -for the moment, her curiosity concerning Beryl. - -"Of course, I don't know for certain that they are relations, but I know -Pater has a cousin or second cousin named Henry who was knighted some -years ago--but it is a branch of the family that we've somehow lost -touch with--they've lived abroad a lot. But I _must_ find out if these -_are_ the same Priors! It's strange! I've never heard Pater mention -that they had a country seat down here--but, as I said, we lost sight of -them, and besides, they may have only returned to England recently. I -must make inquiries and find out all I can--then, of course, if I find -they _are_ my relations--" Isobel chattered on, but Beryl was scarcely -conscious of what she was saying. - -Beryl's mind was obsessed by the awkward questions she had just -evaded--the questions about her father, her aunt, and her school. Only -about the last subject had she been forced into telling a direct -untruth, she told herself, trying to remember what she _had_ said to -Isobel about all three subjects; and it was only the name of the school -that had been--incorrect. But it was in vain that Beryl tried to ease -her mind. She knew she had never been inside Rotherington House School -in her life; it was the best school in Enfield for the 'Daughters of -Gentlemen,' and Beryl knew it well by sight and had made use of its name -in a weak moment. Beryl sat on the piano-stool, apparently listening to -Isobel, but raging inwardly--hating herself for telling a lie, and -hating Isobel for driving her into a corner and making her say what she -had. She felt perfectly miserable. - -Isobel's flow of conversation was suddenly checked by the entrance of -Caroline. - -"I thought I heard some one in here," said Caroline slowly. - -"Hullo! Have you finished unpacking yet?" asked Isobel, in a laughing, -sarcastic way. - -"Yes, I've practically finished," replied Caroline composedly, seating -herself in a chair by the fire, and bringing some needlework out of a -bag she carried on her arm. - -"Oh, you industrious creature! What _are_ you going to do now?" -exclaimed Isobel despairingly. - -"I'm just working my initials on some new handkerchiefs," said Caroline -solemnly. - -There was no mystery about Caroline, and consequently no incentive to -Isobel's curiosity. She had already found out, while they were waiting -for dinner, where Caroline had been to school, what her father's -occupation was, where she lived, and who made her clothes; and -everything was plain and satisfactory and stolid, and if not exactly -aristocratic, at any rate eminently respectable--like Caroline herself. - -Isobel's glance wandered from Caroline, with her smooth plait of hair, -and her long-sleeved, tidy, unbecoming blouse, to Beryl, with her pale, -sensitive face, and white silk blouse with the elbow sleeves that made -her arms look thin and cold this chilly January day. Why didn't she -wear a more suitable blouse, Isobel wondered--and looked down at her own -sensible dark blue _crepe de Chine_ shirt blouse with a sigh of -satisfaction. - -"What became of those papers Pamela and I bought this morning?" Isobel -yawned. "I quite forgot--I was going to look in the local rag to see -what was going on in this place--and to see if there is any information -about dancing classes----" - -"I think the papers were left in the dining-room," said Beryl. "I'll -get them for you." And she was out of the room before Isobel could say -another word. She felt that if she had sat still on the piano-stool a -minute longer she would have had to do something desperate; pounce on -Isobel and shake her, or snatch the serenely complacent Caroline's -needlework out of her hands and tear it in half. People had no right to -be so complacent; people had no right to be so horribly inquisitive. -Then she shivered at the thought of the scene she might have -created--and dashed out of the room for the newspapers. - -She was quickly back with the papers, for which Isobel yawned her thanks -and then proposed to read out some 'tit-bits' for Caroline's benefit. -"For I really do think your mind must want a little recreation, my dear -Caroline," she remarked, "after the fatiguing work it has had in -deciding whether you shall embroider C.W. upon your handkerchiefs or -just plain C." - -"I am embroidering C.A.W. upon all of them," said Caroline seriously, -and not in the least offended, stopping to look over the top of her -round spectacles for a moment at the crown of Isobel's fluffy head -bending over the newspaper. - -At the first opportunity to slip away unobserved Beryl made her way up -to her bedroom. As soon as she was inside she locked the door, and -throwing herself on the bed she began to cry, her face buried in the -pillow to stifle the sound of her sobs. - - - - - *CHAPTER VIII* - - *WHICH CONCERNS A VISIT TO INCHMOOR - AND A WOMAN WITH A LIMP* - - -The following day was dry, with a hint of sunshine in the air, which -tempted the four girls to plan a four-mile walk over the hills to -Inchmoor, the nearest market town. They each wanted to do some shopping, -and Isobel wanted to make inquiries about a 'Dancing Academy' advertised -in the local paper. - -So, with great enthusiasm, the girls set about their morning tasks -before they started out--each making her own bed and tidying her room. - -Old Martha shook her head and smiled as she crossed the landing, duster -in hand. - -"Too good to last," she thought to herself. - -True, the enthusiasm did not last longer than a week, but the girls -stuck to their plan nevertheless, and whether they felt enthusiastic or -not they made their beds and tidied their rooms each day without fail; -it became, after a time, a matter of habit. - -As Martha crossed the landing and was passing Pamela's bedroom door the -door sprang open and Pamela ran out, almost colliding with Martha, whom -she grasped by the arm. - -"Oh, Martha, I'm so sorry. I didn't hurt you, did I?" she cried. "But -you're the very person I wanted. Do come and look out of my window for -a second, and tell me who this is!" - -She hurried old Martha across to the window, and pointed out to her a -woman dressed in grey, who was walking briskly away along the green. - -"I can't see very well without my glasses," said Martha, peering -intently through the window, while Pamela added a few words of -description of the woman in grey to help Martha to recognize her. -"Oh--_that_ young person," Martha exclaimed suddenly; "well, she isn't -exactly what you might call young--but still-- That's Elizabeth Bagg, -Miss Pamela. Old Tom Bagg's sister." - -"Tom Bagg?" queried Pamela, who had not heard the name yet. - -"The old cabman what brought your luggage up here the other night, Miss -Pamela." - -"Oh! That is whom she reminds me of then," Pamela said. "I knew I'd -seen some one like her recently, but do you know, I couldn't think for -the life of me who it was. But tell me--is she an artist? I saw her -carrying an easel--and she dresses very artistically." - -"Yes, she do go in for painting a bit, Miss Pamela," said Martha. "But, -poor creature, she don't get much time to herself. She keeps house for -her brother--and him a widderer with six little children--so you may -depend she's got her hands full. How she manages to keep the children -and everything so nice, and yet get her painting done and all, is more'n -I can understand. She gives lessons over at a young ladies' school at -Inchmoor too--twice a week." - -"I'd like to get to know her, and see some of her pictures," said -Pamela, watching the figure in grey as it disappeared in the distance. - -"She's rather difficult to get to know--keeps herself _to_ herself, if -you know what I mean, Miss Pamela," said Martha. - -"I know," Pamela replied. "But people who paint always interest me so -much----" - -"I daresay she'd be glad of some one to take an interest in her work--it -isn't much encouragement she gets from her brother, _I_ know--not that -she ever says anything about it; he seems to expect her to be always -cooking and baking and sewing and cleaning for him and the children--and -he don't set any value on her pictures at all. Yet what _is_ nicer, I -always say, than a nice picture to hang on the walls! It makes a place -look furnished at once, don't it?" - -Pamela nodded. "Where does she live?" she inquired. - -"You know the blacksmith's place, Miss Pamela?--well, half-way up that -lane that runs beside the blacksmith's--a little house on the right-hand -side as you go up is Tom Bagg's, called 'Alice Maud Villa'--out of -compliment to old Tom's aunt what they thought was going to leave them -some money--but she didn't." - -"'Alice Maud Villa,'" mused Pamela. "I thought perhaps she lived at -that little white cottage opposite, as I saw her go in there." - -"Oh, no, she don't live there," said Martha. "She was probably only -leaving some new-laid eggs or a plaster for Mrs Gresham's -rheumatics--she do have rheumatics something chronic, poor dear. That's -what it was, most likely, Miss Pamela. Elizabeth Bagg is a very -kind-hearted creature." - -"I shall do my best to get to know her," said Pamela. - -Half an hour later--after a slight delay caused by Caroline being unable -to make up her mind whether she should take her mackintosh as well as -her goloshes and umbrella, and finally deciding to take it in spite of -Isobel's unconcealed mirth--the four girls started off on their walk to -Inchmoor. Beryl and Caroline were introduced to the village by the other -two girls, before they all turned up the lane that led through the -fields, and over the hill, to the market town. - -This was the lane that led past the picturesque old windmill that -Millicent Jackson had told Pamela about in the paper-shop; and knowing -this, Pamela had brought a notebook and pencil with her in case she felt -tempted to stop and make a sketch of it while the others went on to -Inchmoor. There was nothing she wanted to get particularly at the shops -in the little town, and a fine day in January was a thing to seize for -sketching--there were so few fine days; and one could always do shopping -in the rain. - -The lane that ran between the fields was very pretty even in January, -and Pamela found herself wishing that her brother Michael was with her; -he always appreciated the same scenery as she did, and her thoughts were -with him and those at home while she joined in, more or less at random, -the animated conversation that was going on around her. She dared not -let herself think too much about her home, or such a wave of -homesickness would have engulfed her that she would have wanted to go -straight off to the station and take a through ticket to Oldminster at -once. She felt she could not possibly endure six whole months without a -sight of her mother or any of them. - -"But I've got to see this thing through now," she told herself. "I -mustn't be silly. And six months will pass quickly if I've got plenty -to do." - -Pamela had thought over her duties as hostess carefully, and was -convinced that it was necessary to have some kind of work for each of -them to do, day by day, if they were not to become bored or irritable -with each other, and if their six months' stay in Barrowfield was to be -a success. Of course, it was too early to be bored with anything -yet--everything was so fresh; but presently, when they had got used to -each other and Barrowfield, she feared things might not run so -easily--unless there was plenty of interesting work to be done. Cut off -from their home interests, they were left with many blank spaces in -their lives which needed filling--and Pamela meant to see that these -spaces were filled; she was a great believer in keeping busy. - -Enthusiasm is generally catching. And Pamela's enthusiasm had been -communicated to the other three--which explains Isobel's desire to -interview the principal of the Dancing Academy; and Caroline's -determination to inquire about dress-making lessons in Inchmoor, though -unfortunately she had not been able to find anything about the matter in -the local paper. Beryl was in quest of some musical studies which she -meant to buy out of her three pounds. But enthusiasm can keep at white -heat with but few people; and those who are naturally enthusiastic must -keep the others going--as Pamela was to find out. - -The four girls soon began to ascend a steep incline in the lane, with -tall hedges bordering each side now, and separating them from the -fields. Whenever they came to a gate set in a gap between the hedges, -and leading into one or other of the fields, they would stop for a -moment and look over the bars of the gate at the fine view of hills and -woods that unfolded itself before them. They were certainly in the -midst of charming country; even Isobel admitted this involuntarily, and -she rarely if ever expressed any appreciation of scenery. - -At length, as they turned a bend in the lane, the old windmill came in -sight. - -"What a fine picture it makes!" thought Pamela; then she exclaimed -aloud, "Oh, and there's a pond beside it--Millicent Jackson never -mentioned the pond. It's just exactly what it wants to complete the -picture." - -So attracted was Pamela by the windmill, which proved on nearer -inspection to be even more picturesque than it had appeared from a -distance, that she arranged at once to stay behind and make a sketch of -it while the other three went on to Inchmoor. - -"And if I've finished before you return I'll come on to the town and -meet you. But if you don't see me wandering round Inchmoor, look for me -here as you come back. You don't mind me staying behind, do you? But I -feel just in the mood to try sketching this old place to-day," Pamela -said. - -The others said that of course they did not mind, and after refreshing -each other's memory with the reminder, that five o'clock was the hour -they had told Martha they would be home for 'high tea,' they left Pamela -beside the old mill on the hill-top and started to wend their way down -the lane on the other side, toward the distant spires of Inchmoor, two -miles away. - -"Do you know, I've been thinking quite a lot about that locked-up room -next to mine," said Isobel to the other two, as they went along. "Oh, -yes, I know Pamela thinks it wiser not to talk too much about it for -fear of adding 'fuel to the flames' of curiosity! But one can't help -thinking about it! It's so frightfully strange. Now what do you -think--in your own mind, Caroline--what do you think _is_ inside that -room?" - -"Well," replied Caroline slowly, "I shouldn't be surprised if Miss -Crabingway kept all her private papers and possessions that she -treasures, and does not want us to use or spoil, locked up inside the -room. I know that's what I'd have done if I'd been Miss Crabingway." - -"You think it's only _things_ then?" Beryl broke in. "Not--not a -person?" - -"What do you mean?" cried Isobel instantly, turning to Beryl with great -interest. - -Seeing that the other two were waiting eagerly for her reply, Beryl felt -a momentary thrill of importance, and let her imagination run away with -her. - -"I mean," she said nervously, "supposing there was a secret entrance -leading into that room--so that a person could get in and out without us -knowing anything about it. And supposing some one occasionally crept -into the room and--and spied on us through the keyhole--just to see what -we were doing." - -"Oh, Beryl, what an idea!" gasped Isobel in delight. "Whatever made you -think of that?" - -"I don't know--it--it just came into my head," stammered Beryl. - -"I don't think it's at all a likely idea," Caroline deliberated. -"Surely one of us would have heard some little sound coming from the -room if there had been anyone inside there! I haven't heard anything -myself. Besides, who would want to spy on us?" - -"There's only one person, of course--and that's Miss Crabingway," said -Beryl. - -Caroline's eyes grew wide and round with surprise; but Isobel narrowed -hers, and looked at Beryl through the fringe of her eyelashes. - -"You don't mean to say," Isobel said incredulously, "that Miss -Crabingway would spend her time ... well, I never! What an idea!" - -"But Miss Crabingway's in Scotland, isn't she?" asked Caroline in mild -astonishment. She had been told that Miss Crabingway had gone to -Scotland and had never questioned the matter--of course having no reason -to do so. - -"Well--so we're told," said Isobel; then she gave an exaggerated shiver. -"Ugh! I don't like the idea of an eye watching me through the keyhole!" - -"We might ask Martha to hang a curtain in front of the door--say we feel -a draught coming through on to the landing," suggested Beryl. "But -really, please don't take this seriously--I only made it all up--in fun, -you know--it isn't a bit possible. I--p'r'aps we ought not to have -talked about it. Pamela said 'fuel for the flames.' ... And it does make -you more curious when you discuss it, doesn't it?" - -"I don't know," said Isobel. "_I_ certainly shan't be tempted to look -through the keyhole myself--in _case_ there's anything in your idea, and -Miss Crabingway sees me, and I lose my fifty pounds. But I shall -_listen_, and if I hear any sounds coming from the room----" - -Isobel was evidently rather taken with Beryl's suggestion, for she -referred to it more than once before they reached Inchmoor. - -When they at last arrived in the busy little market town they decided -that it would probably be quicker for each of them to go about her own -affairs, and then all to meet in an hour's time at a certain tea-shop in -the High Street, where they would have some hot chocolate and sandwiches -to keep them going until they got home again. - -"P'r'aps Pamela will have joined us by then," said Beryl hopefully. - -Inchmoor was a bustling, cheerful little place, with very broad streets, -plenty of shops, a town hall, and a picture palace. - -Beryl quickly discovered a music shop, and here she spent an enjoyable -half-hour turning over a pile of new and second-hand music, and picking -out several pieces that she had long wanted to buy. When she at length -tore herself reluctantly away from the music-seller's, it occurred to -her that perhaps she might buy a new and warmer blouse if she could see -one in a draper's window; but she was not used to buying clothes for -herself and rather dreaded the ordeal of entering a big drapery -establishment when she was not sure what kind of material she preferred, -nor how much she ought to pay for it. She passed and re-passed one -draper's shop, but catching sight of the Wellington-nosed shop-walker, -and a fashionably dressed lady assistant, eyeing her through the glass -door, her courage failed her and she passed on down the street to -another draper's. Here the exasperated tones of a girl serving at the -blouse counter came to Beryl's ears, and she hesitated, lingered for a -few moments looking in the window, and then decided not to bother about -a blouse to-day--there was not much time left before she would have to -meet the others at the tea-shop. She looked about for a clock, and -spying one, found that there was no time left at all, and, inwardly -relieved, she walked briskly away down the street. - -In the meantime Isobel had found Madame Clarence's Dancing Academy, and -was now occupied in interviewing no less a personage than Madame -Clarence herself. - -The Academy was in a side-street, and was a tall, flat-fronted old house -with a basement and an area; it did not look as if it belonged to -Inchmoor at all, being quite unlike the other houses in its -neighbourhood, which were frankly cottages, or really old-fashioned -country residences. The Academy was an alien; it looked so obviously -the sort of house that is seen in dozens on the outskirts of London. It -gave one the feeling that at some time or other it really must have been -a town house, and that one night it must have stolen away from the -London streets and come down here for a breath of the fresh country air. -And once having reached Inchmoor it had stayed on, lengthening its -holiday indefinitely, until every one had forgotten that it was only to -have been a holiday, and had accepted the Academy as a permanent -resident. - -Madame Clarence, who received Isobel in a drawing-room which seemed to -be mostly blue plush, long lace curtains, and ferns, was a small, -bright-eyed woman, dressed in a black and white striped dress. Madame -walked in a springy, dancing manner, and when she was not talking she -was humming softly to herself. She wore a number of rings on her short -white fingers--fingers which were never for a moment still, but were -either playing an imaginary piano on Madame's knee, drumming on the -table, toying with the large yellow beads round Madame's neck, or doing -appropriate actions to illustrate the words Madame said. Madame had grey -hair, though her skin was soft and unwrinkled, except for a certain -bagginess under the eyes. - -To all appearances Madame must have been inside the house when it came -down from London, for she gave an impression of being town-bred, and, -judging by her conversation, of having conferred a favour on Inchmoor by -consenting to reside in so unimportant a spot. She said she would be -charmed to have Miss Prior as a pupil, and ran over, for Isobel's -benefit, a long list of names of Society people to whom she claimed to -have given dancing lessons. Isobel was duly impressed and inquired her -fees. After ascertaining what kind of dancing Isobel wished to be -instructed in, Madame said the fee would be three guineas a term; and as -Miss Prior had come when the term was already well advanced, Madame said -she would give her extra private lessons until she caught up with the -rest of the class. This seemed so generous of Madame that Isobel closed -with the offer at once, although the appearance of the Academy was not -quite what she had expected; but still, Isobel reminded herself, -Inchmoor was only a little country town, and it was a marvellous and -fortunate thing to find anyone so exclusive as Madame in such a -backwater. And Isobel wondered how the little dancing-mistress had -drifted here. - -Isobel's thoughts were interrupted by Madame rising and offering -personally to conduct her over the dancing-hall, which she proceeded to -do, humming as she led the way into a large room with polished floor, -seats round the walls, and a baby-grand piano; around the piano were -clustered bamboo fern-stands and pedestals, which supported large ferns -growing in pots. - -"This floor is a perfect dweam to dance on," Madame informed Isobel. -"I'm sure you will enjoy it." - -After exchanging one or two polite and complimentary remarks with -Madame, and having arranged to come over to the Academy every Tuesday -morning and every Friday afternoon, Isobel was about to depart when -Madame said: - -"It is a long way for you to come fwom Bawwowfield alone--have you not a -fwiend who would care to come with you and take lessons also?" - -Isobel had not thought of this before, but told Madame Clarence she -would see if she could arrange for a friend to come with her, admitting -that she would certainly prefer it to coming alone. - -On her way to the tea-shop she turned the idea over in her mind, and -speculated on the likelihood of one of the other girls joining her. She -had not much hope of Pamela (whom she would have preferred), because she -did not seem to be interested in dancing and wanted all her spare time -for her sketching and reading. Beryl was a doubtful person--no, Isobel -thought it unlikely that Beryl would join. Caroline--Isobel smiled to -herself at the idea of slow, clumsy Caroline dancing. "It would do her -a world of good though," she thought to herself. "And, anyway, though -I'm not frightfully keen on her company, she'd be better than no one." -She would put the matter to all three, Isobel decided, and see if any of -them seemed inclined to join her. - -She found Caroline and Beryl waiting at the tea-shop for her, and the -three of them went in and ordered hot chocolate and sandwiches. They -chose a table near the window so that they were able to watch all that -went on in the street outside. - -Caroline was rather sulky over the meal because she had failed to find -out anything at all about dressmaking classes in Inchmoor, and was -consequently disappointed. Such classes did not seem to exist, and she -had spent her hour in fruitless inquiries, and in trying to get a -certain kind of embroidery silk to match some that she already had. The -silk had been unobtainable also, and Caroline's time had been wasted on -disappointing quests. This was not the time to talk about dancing; -Isobel had the wisdom to know this, but nevertheless she was dying to -talk about it. She forbore, however, in her own future interests. - -"I suppose nobody's seen Pamela yet?" Isobel observed. "We shall find -her still sketching those few old bricks, I expect--unless she's found -it too cold to sit still! And my goodness! won't she be hungry by this -time!" - -"Could we take a couple of sandwiches along with us, do you think?" -suggested Beryl. "In case she would like to have them." - -"Not a bad idea," said Isobel. - -So that is what they did. The short January day was already well -advanced, and a chilly little breeze had sprung up by the time they -emerged from the tea-shop. Isobel and Caroline fastened their furs -snugly round their throats, and Beryl buttoned up her coat collar. Then -the three girls started briskly off toward Barrowfield. - -Meanwhile, Pamela, when the other three left her, had first of all -explored the mill and then settled down to her work. That the mill was -partly ruined and wholly deserted made matters perfect, according to -Pamela's ideas. She wandered up to the open doorway and looked inside. -Bricks and dust and broken timber within--nothing else. It was quite -light inside, owing to the many holes in the walls. Pamela stepped -cautiously in, picking her way through the dust and dried leaves that -had drifted in, and over the loose bricks and wooden laths, and -clambering on to a small mound of accumulated dust and rubbish she -looked through one of the holes in the wall at the magnificent sweep of -country stretching away downhill to the little cup in the hill-side -where Barrowfield lay. She could see the smoke rising up from the -houses in the village; and beyond this, on the farthest side of the cup, -a range of tree-clad hills closed the view. Barrowfield was not in a -valley, but in a little hollow among the hills. - -On the other hand, Inchmoor, which could be located from a hole in the -other side of the windmill, was certainly down in a valley; the road -leading to the market town was only visible for a short distance beyond -the mill; it twisted and curved and then dived out of sight--to become -visible again far in the distance when about to enter Inchmoor. Pamela, -gazing from the hill-top, could not see anything of the three girls on -their way to Inchmoor, as they were already hidden from her sight by a -bend in the road. - -But when she went back to her former position and took a final look over -Barrowfield way before starting work, her eye caught sight of a figure -coming rapidly up the hill, along the lane which the girls had just -traversed. Being the only living thing in sight at the moment, Pamela -watched the figure until it was hidden from her sight for a few minutes -by the tall hedges that grew at the sides of the lane. She was not -particularly interested in the figure, but had noticed casually that it -was a woman, and that the woman appeared to have a slight limp. When -she lost sight of her Pamela came out of the old windmill, and taking up -the position she had chosen for making her sketch, she got everything -ready and set to, and was soon absorbed in her work. - -How long she had been sketching before she became aware that some one -was standing watching her Pamela did not know. It was probably a -considerable time, but she was so engrossed in what she was doing that -she had not heard footsteps passing in the lane behind her--footsteps -that ceased suddenly, while a woman dressed all in black and wearing a -black hat with a heavy veil over her face, and a thick silk muffler -wound round her neck and shoulders, stopped and stood gazing with a -strange and curiously vindictive look at the unconscious Pamela. - -Suddenly, without any other reason except that queer, sub-conscious -feeling that one is being watched, Pamela shivered and looked quickly -round over her shoulder--and saw the woman in the lane. - -As soon as Pamela stirred the woman turned her head away and moved on, -hastily limping forward up the hill. - -Pamela, in accordance with the usual country custom, called out in a -friendly tone, "Good-day." - -The woman made no reply, but continued her limping walk, and was quickly -out of sight. - -"I suppose she didn't hear. P'r'aps she's deaf," said Pamela to -herself, and thought no more about it. - -Could she have seen the expression on the woman's face as she stood in -the lane a few minutes earlier, watching, Pamela would not have resumed -her work with a mind as free from curiosity as she did. - - - - - *CHAPTER IX* - - *ISOBEL MAKES TROUBLE* - - -Pamela had just finished her sketch, and had begun to be aware that a -chilly breeze was blowing down her neck, and that her hands were cold, -when the sound of voices came floating toward her; she suddenly realized -that it must have been a long time ago when the other girls had left -her. And then she heard Isobel's voice exclaiming: - -"Why, she's still here! Good gracious, Pamela, you don't mean to say -you're still drawing those old bits of wood and bricks! ... Well!" The -voice ended on a note of despair that was meant to signify Isobel's -conviction that Pamela was qualifying for an asylum. "You must be -frightfully hungry," Isobel continued, as the three girls came up to -Pamela. - -Then it was that Pamela woke up to the fact that she was hungry--very -hungry, and very glad of the sandwiches which Beryl now produced and -handed over to her. - -"I say, that was thoughtful of you. Thanks so much," she smiled at -Beryl. - -"Did you finish your sketch? May I see it?" asked Beryl shyly. - -Pamela brought the drawing out. "But I'm not a bit satisfied with it," -she said. - -"Oh, I think it's splendid," said Beryl, gazing admiringly at Pamela's -picture of the old windmill and the pond. - -It was certainly well done; Pamela's style was uncommon, and her -treatment of the subject bold and decided. She had talent, undoubtedly, -but how far this talent would take her, time alone would show. Pamela -was very ambitious, but very critical of her own work, and though full -of enthusiasm over a picture while at work upon it, was rarely satisfied -with it when finished, which was a very good thing, as it always spurred -her on to try to do better. However, Beryl, who was no judge of -pictures, thought Pamela's sketch was perfect. - -Not until they reached home and were sitting round the fire after 'high -tea' did Isobel remember that she had meant to buy a camera in Inchmoor. - -"I must get it when I go over to Madame Clarence's for my first lesson," -she said. "It will be amusing to keep a photographic record of my visit -here." - -She had told them all about Madame during the walk home, and now tried -to persuade one of them to join her in having dancing-lessons. Nothing -definite was settled that night, and Isobel left them to think the -matter over. - -The following day the girls made an attempt to start on their programme -of work. Caroline put in a couple of hours sewing. Beryl practised and -copied out some music. And Pamela got out her sketch-book. But what -was poor Isobel to do without a Madame Clarence, or a camera at hand? -She wandered round the garden for a time, and then she went indoors and -talked to Caroline; but finding this too dull, she roamed round the -house--keeping a safe distance from the locked door--and went in and out -of various rooms, and stood looking out of windows and yawning, until -she was almost bored to tears. It was curious, she thought to herself, -that the very sight of other people working made her restless and -disinclined to settle down to read or write or sew or do anything at -all. - -Unfortunately this seemed to be the case throughout her stay at -Chequertrees; she never wanted to work when other people were working, -and consequently there were frequent interruptions from her. Pamela -found that the only time she could work indoors undisturbed was when -Isobel was over in Inchmoor at her dancing-lessons. Isobel was one of -those unhappy people who cannot entertain themselves, but who always -want somebody else to be entertaining them. - -On this first occasion, when the other three were working and Isobel -yawning, Pamela bore it as long as she could, then, packing her -sketching materials away with a sigh of regret, she invited Isobel to -come out and do a bit of gardening with her. Isobel hated gardening, -but it meant some one to talk to, and so she jumped at the idea eagerly. -Pamela was not over-fond of gardening, she knew very little about it, -but anything was better than hearing Isobel's restless feet wandering -about and listening to her audible sighs and yawns. - -Out of doors it was rather cold, so they wrapped up warmly, and set to -work to 'tidy up a bit' in the garden at the back of the house. - -For a while all went well and Isobel chatted away to her heart's -content, while Pamela tied up some withered-looking plants (whose name -she did not know) with a length of twine she had found in the kitchen. -Martha was upstairs getting dressed for the afternoon when the two girls -started on their new occupation, and Ellen was out shopping in the -village, otherwise Pamela and Isobel might have been warned about old -Silas Sluff. As it was, they continued their gardening, blissfully -unconscious that old Silas was just round the corner of the gravel path, -behind the privet hedge that separated the vegetable garden from the -lawn and flowers. - -"I think," said Pamela, "this old bush ought to be trimmed a bit--I -wonder if there's a pair of shears handy.... Is this the right time of -year to cut it though? ... What do you think?" - -"Oh, I expect so," said Isobel at random, knowing nothing about it. -"Any time would be all right with those sturdy old bushes--I don't know -where the shears are, but here's a pair of old scissors I brought out -from the kitchen--they'd do, wouldn't they? Here, let me do a bit of -trimming. And, do you know, mater had promised me and Gerald that in -any case we should..." She continued a lengthy story that she had -started to recount for Pamela's benefit. - -And then old Silas came round the privet hedge to fetch his wheelbarrow. -He came to an abrupt standstill when he caught sight of the two girls, -and stared, open-mouthed, his hat pushed back on his head and his watery -blue eyes wide with astonishment. He had had no idea that there was -anyone in the garden; he had not heard any talking, as he was afflicted -with deafness. - -"'Ere!" was all he said, when he recovered from his surprise. - -Pamela and Isobel started, and turned round at once. - -They beheld a very wrinkled little old man, with a ruddy complexion and -a tuft of white beard under his chin; he wore a green baize apron, to -protect his clothes from the soil, and had a vivid pink shirt with -sleeves rolled up to the elbow. As the girls returned his gaze -steadily, they saw his face begin to work and twitch with indignation. - -"'Ere!" he said again. - -"I beg your pardon," said Pamela. - -"What do you want, my good man?" inquired Isobel, haughtily. - -"'Ere! Wot yer doin' to that there bush? You leave it be, my gels!" -called Silas. - -Isobel's eyebrows were raised in indignant surprise. - -"Why--we're only doing a little gardening! What is it? Who are you?" -asked Pamela, unaware that old Silas was deaf. - -"'Ere's me--done this gardin--man and boy--for forty year--and I don't -'ave no interference," cried Silas. - -"Oh, I suppose you are Miss Crabingway's gardener?" said Pamela. - -"Leave it be, my gels," was all Silas replied. "If you'd _arxed_ me I'd -a-given you summat to do--but not that bush--you oughter arxed me -first." - -"How dare you speak to us like that--" began Isobel, angrily. - -But Pamela interrupted with, "It's no good, Isobel, I think he's deaf. -He doesn't seem to hear anything we say." - -"I don't care whether he's deaf or not deaf--I won't be spoken to like -that by a servant. Such impertinence!" cried Isobel. - -Silas meanwhile had continued talking without a pause, while he advanced -slowly down the path toward them. - -Pamela moved forward to meet him, and raising her voice tried to make -him understand what they were doing and who they were. - -"I'm sorry if you think we've done any harm to the garden--but I don't -think we have, you know," she cried. "And we didn't know Miss -Crabingway had a gardener." - -Silas caught the last sentence. This indeed was adding insult to -injury, though Pamela had not meant to be in the least insulting. - -"Didn't--know--Miss--Crabingway--had a gardener," repeated Silas, -amazed. "Why--I done this gardin----man and boy--forty year, I 'ave. -Don't it _look_ like it?" he demanded. - -"Yes, it does--of course it does," answered Pamela, trying to appease -him. - -"Well then--" he began, then caught sight of Isobel treading on the side -of the garden bed. "'Ere! Get orf that, my gel," he cried. "You're -crushin' them li'l plants." - -This was too much for Isobel. The gruff, disrespectful tones, the -ordering manner, and the 'my gel,' made her suddenly enraged, and her -temper got beyond her control. - -"How--how dare you!" she flared up. "This is no more your garden than -it is--than it is mine, and _I won't_ be spoken to like this!" - -As her words seemed to be making no impression on Silas, she -deliberately stamped on the little plants; then, her temper being -properly roused, she turned and snatching at a branch of the bush behind -her she twisted and bent it and snapped it off, and flung it on to the -pathway. - -"There!" she panted. "_Now_ perhaps you will understand that _I will -not_ tolerate your insolent manner." - -With her head high in the air, and her cheeks burning, she walked -haughtily away into the house. - -Old Silas was dumbfounded. - -"Oh, how silly!" cried Pamela, ashamed for Isobel. "I'm so sorry she -did that." - -Old Silas's watery blue eyes were still more watery as he stooped down -and tried with gentle hands to remedy the mischief that Isobel had done -to the little plants. Pamela knelt down on the path to help him, and -was bending over the garden bed when all at once she heard the old -gardener give a chuckle. She glanced round in surprise. Silas was -wagging his head from side to side and chuckling to himself. The plants -were not very much damaged, and the bush--well, it would grow again. -But it was not these discoveries that filled old Silas's soul with glee. - -"Who'd a thought it!" he chuckled. "There's a high sperrit for yer! -'Oighty-toighty is it, my gel? Ho! Hall right! We shall see. Ole -Silas Sluff'll learn yer to darnse on 'is gardin. You wait!" - -He took no more notice of Pamela, but seemed absorbed in his own -thoughts, and when Pamela left him and went indoors he was still giving -occasional chuckles and muttering to himself. - -"What made you do it?" Pamela said to Isobel afterward. "It didn't do -any good----" - -"But the man was preposterous!" said Isobel. - -"I know he spoke gruffly, but I don't think he meant to be rude," said -Pamela. "It's just his manner." - -"Then it's time he learnt better," Isobel replied. "I don't know what -the world's coming to, I'm sure, with all these inferior creatures -setting up to teach----" - -"If you count Silas Sluff your inferior, you should be sorry for him and -set to work to show him how to behave, instead of----" - -"If he were my gardener I'd dismiss him on the spot," Isobel said. - -Pamela realized the uselessness of continuing the discussion any further -at present, and so the subject was dropped for the time being. - -"I ought to have warned you, Miss Isobel," said Martha, when she heard -the story. "Old Silas is that touchy-like--but no one takes no notice -of what he says. He's worked about these parts for years as a jobbing -gardener. But no one takes no notice of him. At present he comes and -works two days a week for Miss Crabingway, and the other four days he -gives a extra hand up at the Manor House. He lodges down in the -village--next door but three to the blacksmith--nice little -house--overlooks the stables of the 'Blue Boar' from the back windows." - -But when Martha recounted the incident to Ellen, over supper that night, -Ellen remembered previous occasions when Silas had been put out with -people, and, thinking of his subsequent revenges, her only comment on -the story was, "Oo-er!" - -The first dinner of Pamela's choosing was voted a great success by -Isobel and Beryl. Caroline, who always liked to be as accurate as -possible in her remarks, said she would have liked the pudding to have -been a little more 'substantial'; chocolate _souffle_ was very tasty, -but there was no inside to it. Caroline had a strong preference for -solid puddings--as the other three were to learn when Caroline's turn -for arranging meals came round. Meal-times had been fixed so as to give -everybody at Chequertrees as much freedom as possible. Breakfast was at -8 a.m. and dinner was at 6.30 p.m., and between those hours there was -sometimes lunch at 12.30--and sometimes there was not. If the girls -were going out for the day they would get lunch out, or take some -sandwiches with them. A tea-tray, daintily set for four, with milk, -sugar, tea-pot, spirit kettle, and a plate of cakes, was always to be -found in the drawing-room in the afternoons, so that the girls could -make a cup of tea when they fancied it; and Martha and Ellen were thus -left free in the afternoons. This had been one of Pamela's ideas, and -had astonished Martha, who had protested that it was no trouble for her -to get them a cup of tea; but Pamela had insisted, and when Martha got -used to the arrangement she appreciated it very much. It was good to -know that the whole afternoon was her own, and that she would not be -disturbed. A glass of hot milk just before bedtime was the last meal of -the day. - -By the end of January the four girls had settled down fairly comfortably -in their new surroundings. Isobel had had her first dancing-lessons at -the Academy, which she enjoyed immensely, although she had not been able -to persuade one of the other girls to join her yet. Pamela had started -an ambitious piece of work--a picture of Chequertrees, as seen from the -front garden--which she meant to work on from time to time whenever the -weather did not tempt her to go farther afield than the garden; she -wanted to take a picture of Chequertrees home with her, so that Mother -and Michael could see what the house was like--the house where she had -spent six months away from them. Beryl had kept up her practice each -day, and spent a good deal of time studying books on theory, -composition, and the biographies of great musicians. And Caroline had -finished her handkerchiefs and had started on a linen brush and comb -bag. - -One evening after dinner the four girls were in the drawing-room, Pamela -deeply engrossed in a historical story, Beryl copying some music into a -manuscript music-book, Caroline sewing as usual, and Isobel reclining on -the couch by the crackling fire and dividing her time between yawning -and glancing at the _Barrowfield Observer_; presently she gave an -exclamation of surprise, and sat up, rustling the paper. - -"Listen to this, girls!" she cried. "The local newsrag informs its -readers that Sir Henry and Lady Prior and family return to the Manor -House next week, and that Lady Prior wishes it stated that the annual -bazaar and garden fete (in aid of the Barrowfield Cottage Hospital) will -be held as usual at the end of May, and that those who intend making -gifts for the stalls at the bazaar should send in their names to her -ladyship's secretary, Miss Daleham, as soon as possible. That's where -_I_ come in!" Isobel continued. "That will be the best way to introduce -myself to their notice.... So they'll be coming back to the Manor House -next week, will they? Isn't it ripping?" - -"I love bazaars," said Caroline, slowly and with relish; she saw in her -mind's eye a vista of neatly hemmed handkerchiefs, with initials worked -in the corners; plump pin-cushions, dorothy bags, hair-tidies, cushion -covers with frills, tea-cosies, all worked by hand. Already she could -see these things spread alluringly out on a stall for sale, with neat -little tickets stuck on them. "I'll send in my name to make something," -she added. - -She did not see Isobel frown as she picked up her newspaper again. - -"Bazaars," said Pamela over the top of her book, "I don't like bazaars. -They are places where you get the least value for the greatest amount of -money spent. I'd always rather give my money willingly to any good -cause or fund--rather than buy something I didn't want at a price it -wasn't worth--just so that I could _see_ something for the money I was -giving in this roundabout way to a deserving object." - -Caroline gazed at her in astonishment. - -"I think bazaars are splendid things for helping charities," she said -slowly. "I don't think of them as you do----" - -"Oh, what does it matter about the bazaar," broke in Isobel. "What -really matters to me is that it's a chance to make the acquaintance of -my probable relatives. I wonder if there are any daughters in the -family about my age?" - -But Caroline, who was not attending to Isobel for the moment, threaded -another needle, and went steadily on with her line of argument. - -"People buy much more at a bazaar than they would in the usual way," she -informed Pamela. - -"And they pay much more than they would in the usual way," laughed -Pamela. - -"And so more money is collected for the charity," urged Caroline. - -"I doubt it," said Pamela. "You think of all the time and money spent -in the making of the articles for the stalls--and the arrangements and -correspondence in connection with the bazaar. Now if the cost of all -that were put into one side of the scales, and the amount of money taken -at the bazaar put into the other side of the scales, I think I know -which side would weigh heavier." - -"No," Caroline shook her head; "I don't think you do. Each person who -helps gives a little time and money to the making of the things, which -are afterward sold all together for a substantial sum. It seems to me a -very good way to raise money." - -"But it's such a wasteful system," objected Pamela. "If people gave -what money they could spare straight to the good cause they wished to -benefit, and then spent their time on doing more useful work than -stuffing pin-cushions and writing out tickets for bazaars, I'm sure it -would be more practical." - -"But people won't do things that way," said Beryl, joining in for the -first time. "Though I quite agree with you, Pamela, in disliking -bazaars." - -"Anyway," said Isobel, impatiently, because she had again lost the reins -of the conversation, "although I don't care 'tuppence' about bazaars, -one way or the other, I'm going to this one for reasons I've already -stated. You see I'm quite honest about it--I only want an excuse for -meeting my long-lost, or perhaps I should say new-found, relations." - -Pamela, looking across at Isobel, suddenly realized something, and -marvelled that it had not occurred to her before; maybe it was because -she had not paid much attention to Isobel's chatter about Lady -Prior--had not taken it seriously; but now that she heard the Priors -were returning, and that Isobel was going to take the first opportunity -of meeting them, she cried impulsively, - -"Why, Isobel, you _can't_! Don't you remember that we all had to -promise Miss Crabingway not to visit or invite to this house 'any -relations whatsoever'!" - -A look of dismay flashed across Isobel's face. - -"Oh," her voice dropped in quick disappointment; but the next moment she -recovered. "But perhaps they're not my relatives after all," she said, -hardly knowing whether she wished they were or were not. "Oh, bother -those silly old restrictions!" she cried irritably. "But what can I do? -How can I find out if they are my relatives or not unless I meet them?" - -Pamela thought awhile. "Well--appoint a deputy--some one to go and find -out for you," she suggested, half sorry for Isobel on account of her -obvious disappointment, and half amused at her keenness to claim -relationship with these titled folk of the neighbourhood. Pamela felt -sure that Isobel would not dream of trying to claim kinship with the -village bootmaker, or grocer, if his name happened to be Prior. - -But Pamela's suggestion did not suit Isobel at all; half the excitement -would be lost if some one else had all the introductory moves to do. -"Oh, I don't think Miss Crabingway's silly old rule could possibly apply -to Lady Prior," said Isobel. - -"Why not?" asked Pamela. - -"Well--you see--it's different somehow--you see they are strangers to me -at present, even if they _are_ my relatives. And I can't see how it -would matter if I get to know them. Miss Crabingway must mean relatives -one already knows." - -"Not necessarily, I'm afraid," said Pamela. - -"Well, what shall I do?" asked Isobel, blankly. - -"If you are really anxious to settle the matter, I'm afraid a deputy is -the only course open to you. Of course, if they are your relations you -must simply ignore them; if they're not, you can cultivate their -acquaintance or not, just as you like," Pamela said, trying her best to -be helpful to Isobel, as she could see the problem appeared to be of -great moment to her. - -"Oh, but I couldn't ignore Lady Prior in any case, could I?" said -Isobel. - -"You must settle that matter yourself," replied Pamela, quietly. "But I -think it would be breaking your word to Miss Crabingway if you visit -'any relations whatsoever.'" - -Isobel was quiet for a while, thinking the matter over. - -"Um! Well, I'll have to see," she said presently, and fell silent -again, making plans for the future. - -The other three resumed their occupations, and for a while there were no -sounds in the room but the rustle of paper, the scratching of a pen, and -the little plucking noise of Caroline's needle as it moved in and out of -the stiff linen she was sewing. - -By and by Beryl got up and went out of the room to fetch another sheet -of music from her box upstairs. This interruption caused Isobel to -break silence again by making several remarks to Caroline concerning -Beryl's attire. - -"And why ever she wears such short-sleeved blouses this cold weather, -I'm sure I don't know," she ended. - -"They don't look like new ones. Perhaps she's had them some time," -suggested Caroline. - -"Yes. Certainly the style looks a bit out of date," said Isobel, -laughing. "I wonder her people didn't get her some new ones when they -knew she was coming here, instead of sending her in old-fashioned things -like that." - -Pamela, deep in her book, became suddenly aware of the turn the -conversation had taken, and fearing Beryl might return and overhear -(because Isobel was thoughtlessly talking in her usual clear, -penetrating voice), she clapped her book to, and jumped up, saying: - -"What do you say to a tune--and, oh, I know--a little dance--to tire us -out before we go to bed. May I have the pleasure, mam'selle? Get up, -Isobel, I want to push the couch out of the way to make more room. Come -and show us what you learnt at Madame Clarence's on Friday?" - -Isobel, welcoming any diversion for a change, willingly helped to push -the furniture out of the way, and very soon she was waltzing round the -room to the strains of a haunting melody that Pamela was playing on the -piano. Caroline, although she protested that she could not dance, was -made to join in by Isobel. - -"I'll show you, come on!" Isobel insisted; and to the accompaniment of -Pamela's tune and much laughter and joking from Isobel (all of which -Caroline took very good-temperedly), Caroline was piloted round the -room, moving ponderously and ungracefully in the mazes of a waltz. - -"Of course you're not _obliged_ to dance on my feet, dear child," -groaned Isobel, laughingly. "It would make a little variety for you if -you danced on the carpet just _occasionally_, you know. Take care, -you'll knock that chair over! Look out, Pamela, we're coming past you!" - -It was to this laughing, animated scene that Beryl returned. Pamela, -looking over her shoulder, took a hurried glance at Beryl's face, and -was satisfied. "I'm so glad. She didn't overhear Isobel then," she -thought. But Pamela was wrong. - -However, Beryl, having had time to cool her tell-tale cheeks before she -came in, joined in now as if quite unconscious; and when, presently, -Ellen appeared with four glasses of hot milk on a tray (followed by -Martha, who was curious to see what was going on), Beryl was playing a -lively Irish jig on the piano, and Pamela and Isobel were dancing -furiously in the middle of the room; while Caroline sat gasping on the -couch, fanning herself with the _Barrowfield Observer_, and recovering -from the polka Isobel had just been trying to teach her. - -"I like to see young things dance and enjoy theirselves," observed -Martha, as she and Ellen stood in the doorway for a few minutes, -watching. - -"It's a long time since there was any dancing in this house," said -Ellen. - -"Yet what's nicer!" replied Martha, beaming into the room. - - - - - *CHAPTER X* - - *PAMELA BEFRIENDS BERYL AND MEETS ELIZABETH BAGG* - - -On looking back at the first months' happenings at Barrowfield, there -were two incidents that always stood out clearly from all the rest in -Pamela's mind; they made a deep impression on her at the time, and -afterward influenced her actions considerably. The first of these -incidents was the confession Beryl made to her; and the second, the -beginning of her friendship with Elizabeth Bagg. - -Passing Beryl's door on her way to bed one night Pamela caught the sound -of sobbing. She stood still, listening; the sounds were faint, but -unmistakable. What should she do? She hesitated for a moment, then -tapped on the door; then, as no one answered, and the sobbing continued -without a break, Pamela turned the handle and went in. - -A candle on the dressing-table lighted up the figure of Beryl, still -fully dressed, stretched on the bed, her face buried in the pillows. - -"Why, Beryl! Beryl! What's the matter? Can I help you, dear?" Pamela -closed the door, and, crossing the room, laid her hand on Beryl's -shaking shoulders. - -Beryl sprang up as if she had been shot. - -"Oh! I didn't hear anybody--Oh! Pamela!" and she burst out crying -again--not noisily, but in an intense, quiet way, that frightened -Pamela. - -"Are you ill, Beryl? Shall I go and fetch Martha?" she asked anxiously. - -Beryl shook her head. "No, no," she sobbed. "I--I'll be all right--in -a--in a minute. Wait a minute." - -Pamela waited patiently, sitting on the edge of the bed, her arm round -Beryl's shoulders. "Poor old girl," she said once. - -Presently Beryl became calmer, and began to murmur apologetically, - -"It's so silly of me. I'm so sorry if I gave you a start--I didn't hear -you come in--I thought I'd locked the door--and I couldn't help crying -again when I saw you--I was all worked up so. Please forgive me--being -so silly--only--only I was so miserable." And here the tears began -afresh. - -"Don't, Beryl, you'll make yourself ill if you cry like that. I wish I -could help you-- What is it? Won't you tell me? _Do_ trust me, if -it's anything I can help you in--I would be so glad to help you. Do -tell me what it is," urged Pamela. - -For a moment Beryl felt inclined to prevaricate, and say that she was -merely overtired, or depressed, and so account for the fit of crying; -but the longing to share her troubles with some one--and that some one -the most sympathetic person she knew at present--conquered her usual -reticence. She feared losing Pamela's respect, and yet she felt as if -Pamela would somehow understand her. - -"Is it that you're longing to go home?" asked Pamela kindly, quite -unprepared for the emphasis with which Beryl replied: - -"Oh, _no_." - -"I believe I know," said Pamela, remembering one or two occasions -recently in which Isobel figured as the cause of discomfiture to Beryl. -"Some one has been bothering you about things that don't concern them in -the least.... I shouldn't mind about that if I were you." - -"You must think it silly of me--I wish I didn't care--and I don't -really," Beryl explained in a confused way. "I care much more what you -think about me than I do what Isobel thinks about me. It's what _I_ do, -when she keeps questioning me, that upsets me." Beryl paused, and -rubbed her eyes with her handkerchief, then said suddenly, "When she -bothers me with questions I--it makes me tell _lies_! ... And, oh, -Pamela," she sobbed, "I do _hate_ myself for doing it." She went on to -explain more fully, pausing every now and again to dab her eyes, or blow -her nose, or cry a little bit more; and Pamela, piecing the broken -sentences together, began to understand what had been taking place. - -"She's always asking me about my school--and I haven't told her the -truth about that," said Beryl. "When father and mother died, and left me -in the charge of my aunt, aunt was not able to afford much for me, so -she sent me to a _council_ school. That's where I was educated! And I -haven't the courage to tell Isobel this, because she might despise me, -as she seems to despise all people who have been to such schools. I -know it's stupid of me, and I despise myself for being afraid to tell -her. But having once said I'd been to another sort of school I have to -keep on inventing things about it--about a place I've never been to--and -I feel so horrid all the time.... And then, she ridicules my clothes--I -know she does--and I can't help it--I haven't any others at present; -some that I wear are my cousin's left-off ones--I'd never have chosen -them myself.... Then she's always asking about my--my father and -mother--and the aunt I lived with, after they died.... Aunt Laura keeps -a little shop in Enfield, where her daughter--Cousin Laura--helps her to -serve behind the counter. And I haven't told Isobel this because she -always speaks of 'shop-people' with such contempt.... We lived very -roughly at Enfield, and Aunt Laura was always shouting, and I couldn't -bear the slovenly way we had meals. Oh, I've hated it all, and hated -having it always thrust before my mind by Isobel's questions, and hated -myself for deceiving everybody. I've felt all the time as if I've been -out of place--pretending to be used to a nicely-kept household, when I'm -not.... I've sometimes almost wished that Miss Crabingway had never -invited me here--and yet, I love being here.... Oh, I'm sure you'll -think I'm ridiculous for making such a fuss about these things, but you -can't think what a lot I've _felt_ them--and how I've dreaded Isobel -finding out." - -Beryl paused. "But most of all I've dreaded--" she began, and then -stopped, "I've dreaded--" she was having great difficulty in getting her -words out now, "I've--dreaded--her knowing--about my father. He--he -died--in _prison_." She was not crying now, but gazing with wide, -frightened eyes into Pamela's face. "I _must_ tell you--I _must_ tell -you the rest--it wouldn't be fair not to. Wait a minute." - -Beryl put her hand inside her blouse and drew out a little key attached -to a long black cord; scrambling hurriedly to her feet she went across -to a drawer in the dressing-table and brought out a small black box; she -unlocked this, and quickly found what she wanted. It was a letter, -written in faint, thin writing, which she brought over and placed in -Pamela's hands. - -"Read it," said Beryl, and stood holding the lighted candle just behind -Pamela's shoulder so that she could see to read the following letter: - - -MY DEAR LITTLE DAUGHTER, - -Some day, in the distant future, you may hear cruel things said about -your father--things that may not only be cruel, but false as well, and -which will cause you much suffering. The truth is cruel, but I am going -to tell you the truth now, so that you will know all there is to know, -and will not suffer unnecessarily. I wish for your sake that my life -could be spared until you had grown to years of understanding, but this -I know cannot be. - -As I write this you are playing happily on the rug at my feet--such a -little thing you are--my poor little daughter. And you are laughing.... -It makes my heart ache to think that when you are old enough to read -this letter, and understand, you may be crying--and I shall not be near -to comfort you. - -But we must face things bravely, my dear.... Your father is dead. He -died two months ago in prison. They told me it was pneumonia, but I -know that it was because his heart was broken. (People can die of broken -hearts, you know, Beryl.) When he died he was serving a term of -imprisonment for embezzlement; he stole a large sum of money from his -employers--hoping to be able to pay it back before it was missed, he -said; but he was not able to do this. Never believe that he was a -wicked man, your father; he was tempted--and he could not resist. He -had been with the same firm for many years, and large sums of money -passed through his hands each month. At home there were debts to pay--I -was ill, and you had been ill--and illness uses up so much money; and -your father's salary was not over-high, although his position was a -responsible one. You can see how it happened--how, when an opportunity -occurred when he could easily borrow the money, the temptation was too -much for him.... - -His employers were very hard on him, in spite of his long and honourable -years of service with them--and he died in prison. - -That is all. And if, in the future, you hear additions to this story, -do not believe them, little daughter--they are not true. - -Your father was a good man, in my eyes, in spite of everything. -Remember, he did it for us--so that you and I might live and get well -and strong. For me, it was useless.... I know I am dying now. For -you--I am praying for you.... - - -Pamela read the signature of Beryl's mother through a blur of tears. -She was not a girl who cried easily, and she bit her underlip in an -effort to stop it quivering; but the tears forced their way into her -eyes so that she dared not look up at Beryl for a moment. She stared -instead at the old letter in her hands--the letter written over fourteen -years ago, seeing nothing but the white sheet of paper glimmering -through her tears. She did not realize that Beryl was waiting in an -agony of suspense for her to speak, until she looked up at length and -saw Beryl's face. - -"Oh, Beryl," was all she could say. And the next moment she had flung -her arms round Beryl, and both girls were crying together. - -"You see," said Beryl, after a while, "it isn't that I'm ashamed of my -father--oh, it _isn't_ that, but I couldn't ever explain to Isobel--I -couldn't talk to her about him at all--she'd be all out of sympathy, and -she wouldn't understand a bit.... you understand how I mean, Pamela, -don't you? ... I've never shown this letter to anyone but you. It was -left to me--locked up in an old box with some other things from my -mother, with instructions that I was to open it on my fourteenth -birthday.... I can't tell you how I felt when I first read it--it came -just at a time when I was needing it badly.... But I wouldn't show it -to Isobel for anything--you do understand, Pamela?" - -"I think I understand," said Pamela gently. "But, Beryl, dear, about -your school, and the other things, you've let the thought of Isobel's -opinion gain an unreasonable power over you--and you said just now you -didn't really mind what she thought of you?" - -"Yes, I know," said Beryl, tearfully. "It's all been so silly, and it -seems sillier when it's talked of even than when I only thought about -it.... Pamela, do you--do you despise me?" - -"Of course I don't," replied Pamela promptly. - -"Not for anything?" - -"Not for anything, you old silly," said Pamela. "And now, look here, I -want us to make a plan together. I was just wondering--what would be -the best thing for you to do about Isobel!" - -"How do you mean?" - -"Why, we've all got to go on living under this roof together for five -more months, and you can't go on being worried and miserable and -dreading things all that time! Besides, there's no need. We might just -as well all be comfortable together." - -"What do you think I'd better do?" asked Beryl. "You see, I can't let -Isobel know that I've been telling her stories all the time--I can't -tell her the truth now. Besides," Beryl's voice was indignant, "what -business is it of hers? She shouldn't question me like she does." - -"Of course she shouldn't," agreed Pamela. "But I'm sure it's done -thoughtlessly. She doesn't understand a bit; if she did, she'd be a -deal more kindly. She's not a bad sort really, you know, Beryl. I've -met several girls like her--I think it's the fault of her upbringing." - -"She can make people feel so _small_ sometimes, just by the tone of her -voice," said Beryl. "Oh, it's hateful! I--I couldn't bear it." - -"Look here," said Pamela, "I'll speak to her, if you like--just give her -a hint not to bother you with questions. I won't tell her anything you -don't want me to. Will you leave it to me--and trust me not to say too -much?" - -"Oh, Pamela, it is kind of you. If only you would-- Of course I trust -you-- Just tell her what you think best.... Only I can't help feeling -a coward for not facing things myself...." - -"That's all right. It's easier to do it for another person than it is -for oneself," said Pamela. "And now you must go to sleep--you'll look -all washed out in the morning if you don't. And, remember, we've got to -_enjoy_ our stay in this house--let's get all the fun out of it we can, -shall we? ... Don't worry any more about Isobel--it'll be all right, you -just see! ... Good-night, Beryl. And--Beryl--thank you for showing me -your mother's letter." - -When Pamela had gone Beryl cried a little more, but they were a -different kind of tears this time, because she had found a friend, and -her heart was full of gratitude. - -After this Pamela took the first opportunity that occurred to speak with -Isobel alone. She was not quite sure of the best way to deal with -Isobel, but decided on the whole it would be best to tell her quite -straightforwardly as much as she meant to tell her--arouse her sympathy -and interest, but not her suspicions. - -"I say, Isobel," she began, "I know something that I think you will be -interested to hear--about Beryl." - -Isobel pricked up her ears immediately. - -"What is it?" she asked. - -"You know you were wondering why she wore that short-sleeved silk -blouse?" - -"Yes," replied Isobel, smiling. - -"You remember it amused you because it was unsuitable?" - -"Yes," Isobel assented, and laughed. - -"Well, Beryl only possesses two blouses in the world, at present--that -silk one and another one; she wears them in turn, poor kiddy--and hates -them both.... Her aunt, with whom she lived, chose them for her. She -hasn't got any others, though she's going to buy some with her -pocket-money now. She's very sensitive about her clothes." - -"Oh," said Isobel, looking puzzled; she wondered how Pamela meant her to -take the information. - -"Well," said Pamela, looking straight into Isobel's eyes, so that Isobel -presently began to feel vaguely uncomfortable, "I believe she has an -idea that you laugh at them--and it hurts her. So I thought I'd tell -you, because I know you wouldn't want to purposely hurt her." - -"No, of course not. I didn't know--" began Isobel. - -"She's had rather a rough time on the whole--losing her mother and -father, and being brought up by an aunt with whom she is obviously not -in sympathy----" - -"Why, from what she's told me, I don't think she's had a particularly -rough time," Isobel interrupted. - -"She makes light of it, no doubt," Pamela replied. "But all the same -she's not had a particularly happy time, and I would like her to be -happy while she is here with us, wouldn't you?" - -"Why, of course," agreed Isobel. "Why shouldn't she?" - -"She tries to put her unhappy life behind her, but--well, you know, -Isobel, you keep reminding her of it!" - -"_I_ keep reminding her! What do you mean?" - -"I found her crying last night because you kept worrying her with -questions," said Pamela bluntly. - -Isobel flushed. - -"Good gracious! How ridiculous! But I only ask her ordinary questions. -Why should she mind that?" - -"They're questions about the past unhappy life with her aunt--a time she -wants to forget. You keep reviving it. And if she wants to forget--we -have no right to force her to remember, have we?" - -"Of course not," said Isobel, haughtily. - -"I didn't mean to tell you about her crying, at first--but I guessed if -you knew you wouldn't let it happen again. It was only because you -didn't know. Where she went to school, what she did at her aunt's, -where she bought her clothes--things like that don't really concern any -of us----" - -"Not if there's nothing to hide," said Isobel suddenly. "But it seems -as if there is something in Beryl's case--and so she won't talk about -it." - -"Why on earth should there be anything to hide! If she's been -unhappy--why should she wish to talk about it? Let her forget it. -Come, Isobel, I know you'll be a good sport, and not bother her with any -more questions. Let's give her a happy time while she's here, shan't -we? Shake hands on it." - -Isobel took Pamela's outstretched hand, but her dignity was still a -little ruffled. - -"Beryl seems to have made a lot of fuss--if there's nothing to hide," -she said in a slightly offended tone. - -"Oh, she's only extra sensitive.... Why ever should there be anything -to hide!" repeated Pamela, feeling as if she had not been quite -successful in convincing Isobel. "It's only that she's been -unhappy--and she's been poor. Lack of money makes such a difference in -one's confidence in one's self. It oughtn't to--but it does," she -ruminated. "Anyway, you won't ask her any more questions, will you?" - -"I shouldn't think of doing so--after what you've told me," Isobel -replied coldly. - -"Thanks so much," said Pamela, with genuine warmth. "We'll give her a -real happy time while she's here." - -And if Beryl's happiness had lain in the hands of these two girls, it -would have been assured during the next few months. But, unfortunately, -there was a third person in Barrowfield whose hands were to play an -unexpected part in the future happiness of Beryl. - - -A black kitten was responsible for introducing Pamela to Elizabeth Bagg. -Pamela found the kitten crying in a field--a soft, purry, rather -frightened little kitten, that had lost its way. Pamela picked it up, -and made inquiries about it in the village. No one seemed to own it, -nor recognize it, at first; and then Aggie Jones, who was leaning out of -her door as usual, said she believed it belonged to the Baggs. - -So Pamela went up the little lane by the blacksmith's to inquire. She -soon became aware of the vicinity of 'Alice Maud Villa.' As she walked -along the lane her ears caught the sound of laughter and the shouting of -children's voices, which proceeded from a small house on the right-hand -side; also Pamela's nose informed her that a delicious smell of boiling -toffee came from the same quarter. Then she came to the house, and saw -the name painted over the doorway. It was a very clean-looking little -house, with brightly polished door-knocker and letter-box, and the -curtains were fresh and dainty. - -Pamela knocked several times before anyone heard her, the noise inside -the house being so great. Then the door was flung open and a swarm of -little Baggs and a strong smell of cooked toffee came out to greet her. - -The return of the kitten was hailed with joy, and Pamela, though glad to -find its home, watched anxiously to see that the children did not pull -the kitten about nor tease it. Pamela was very fond of animals, and had -found the absence of a cat or a dog at Chequertrees very strange. She -watched the little black kitten, and saw that it did not seem at all -afraid of the children, and that, on the other hand, the children -handled it very carefully, in the way that only children who have a real -love for animals can handle a kitten. Pamela was relieved to notice -this; she knew too many cases where a kitten had been thoughtlessly kept -"for the children to play with," a practice she thought most bad for the -children, who were not taught to treat animals kindly, and most cruel -for the little teased kittens. However, there was nothing to worry over -in this case, and when, a moment later, Elizabeth Bagg, in a holland -overall, appeared in the doorway, Pamela, glancing at her pale, strong -face, felt she understood why the children behaved gently to the kitten. -There would be no thoughtless cruelty in the house Elizabeth Bagg ruled -over. - -She had a kindly face, with clear grey eyes and a frank expression. It -was strange that with such different features, and with so pale a -complexion, she yet had a strong resemblance to her ruddy-faced brother, -the cabman. Her voice and manners, though, were entirely unlike his. -Her hair, which was jet black, was parted in the centre and brushed -smoothly down each side of her face, and coiled in one thick plait round -her head; it was a quaint style, rather severe, but it suited Elizabeth -Bagg. - -Pamela explained about the kitten, and then introduced herself, -mentioning that she was staying at Chequertrees, and then, as was her -usual way, plunged straight to the point that interested her most. - -"I have been wanting very much to meet you," Pamela said, "because I -hear that you are an artist. I do a little sketching myself, and I'm -awfully interested in anyone who paints. Would you--would you think it -very impertinent on my part if I asked to see some of your pictures. I -should _love_ to, if you don't mind--but only when it suits you, of -course--not now, if you're busy." - -A faint pink had crept into Elizabeth Bagg's cheeks. - -"I should be pleased to show you some of my work," she said courteously. -She spoke in a queer, stiff little way, so that until one knew her it -was hard to understand exactly how she felt about anything. - -Pamela, for instance, was not at all sure whether Elizabeth Bagg was -pleased by her request or resented it. Whereas Elizabeth Bagg was -really more astonished than anything else, though certainly pleased. - -"Would you please come in," Elizabeth continued. "I'm not busy at -present. The children and I have just finished making some toffee. I -promised them last week that we should make some to-day." - -"If they were very good, I suppose?" Pamela smiled down at the six -little Baggs, who were standing round, gazing with open-mouthed interest -at her. - -"No," replied Elizabeth, to Pamela's surprise; "I had promised it them -in any case." - -"It smells delicious, anyway," said Pamela, not knowing quite what to -reply. - -"Would you like some when it's cool?" asked the little Bagg girl, who -was least shy and most generous. - -"If you can spare a little bit--yes, I would," laughed Pamela. - -"The nutty kind--or the un-nutty kind?" anxiously inquired the elder -Bagg boy, in a thick voice. He was rather greedy, and hoped Pamela -would say the un-nutty, as he liked the nutty sort best himself. -Fortunately she did choose the kind he liked least, and he eyed her with -more favour than he had hitherto done. - -The eldest of the children, a girl, was about eleven years old, and the -youngest was about five. There were four girls and two boys, and Pamela -noticed that they were all dressed in sensible linen overalls--things -that were strongly made and easily washed. The children seemed to be a -healthy, noisy, happy-go-lucky little crowd; but although Pamela was -fond of children, she did not pay so much attention to the six little -Baggs on this first visit as she did on subsequent occasions. Her -attention was centred on their aunt, and her pictures. - -While Elizabeth Bagg took Pamela upstairs to her 'studio' the little -Baggs disappeared into the kitchen to watch the toffee cooling, and with -permission to break some of the toffee that had already set into small -pieces; during which operation long and excited arguments seemed to -occur with great frequency--arguments that more often than not ended in -a scream or a howl. Hearing which, Elizabeth Bagg would put down the -picture she was showing Pamela, and with a muttered apology would vanish -downstairs, and restore peace. - -Elizabeth Bagg's 'studio' was really her bedroom, but in the daytime, -when the camp-bedstead was covered with a piece of flowered chintz, and -the rest of the bedroom furniture made as inconspicuous as possible, the -room served very well as a workroom. The walls were whitewashed, making -a good background for Elizabeth's pictures, which were hung thickly all -around. A few had frames--but only a few. Most of them were without. -She seemed to do all kinds of subjects, from landscapes to quaint -studies of children, painted in a bold, unusual style. On an easel by -the window stood Elizabeth's latest study, half finished; Pamela was -surprised to see that it was a painting of the old windmill that she -herself had tried to sketch. As Pamela stood looking at it, she -realized that there was something in Elizabeth Bagg's work that she -herself would never be able to get. "I'm only a dabbler," thought -Pamela to herself. "This is the real thing." - -"It's splendid," said Pamela aloud, gazing at the picture with -admiration. "Do you know"--she turned impulsively to Elizabeth, who was -standing behind her--"it makes me feel as if I want to go home, and tear -up all my drawings and start afresh. Your pictures are so--so alive. If -only I could get that _living_ touch into my work. But I feel I'll -never be able to do it--when I think of my own things--and then look at -this." - -"I am more than double your age," said Elizabeth Bagg steadily, though -her heart was beating rapidly at these, the first words of genuine -praise and encouragement that she had had for a long time. "I have been -working for many years past." - -"That's not it," said Pamela, shaking her head. "There's something in -your pictures, that if you had not got it _in_ you, no amount of -practice would produce. I can't explain any better than that--but you -know what I mean, don't you? I think your work's fine.... Have you -ever exhibited any of your pictures anywhere?" - -Elizabeth Bagg shook her head. - -"No," she replied, and a tinge of colour crept into her cheeks again. - -"Oh, but you _should_," said Pamela, enthusiastically, looking at a -charming study of a little girl in a red tam-o'-shanter. - -Pamela's enthusiasm affected Elizabeth Bagg strangely. She felt -suddenly much younger than she had felt for years past. It was so long -since anyone had noticed her pictures. Her days were spent in household -duties for her brother and the children (just as Martha had told -Pamela), with every spare half hour snatched for her painting. Some -days, when she knew there would be no half hour to spare, Elizabeth -would get up very early in the morning to continue a picture, and would -feel all the fresher to face the work afterward, knowing that her -picture was progressing, surely if slowly. Twice a week she gave -painting lessons at a 'School for the Daughters of Gentlemen' in -Inchmoor, a practice at which her brother had ceased to grumble when he -found it brought her in a few shillings a week. He considered her -'daubing' a fearful waste of time; she had far better be employed in -making a tasty apple-pie or mending the children's stockings, he -thought--work for which Elizabeth received her 'board and lodging.' Old -Tom Bagg flattered himself that he was good-naturedly indulgent to -Elizabeth's little hobby, nevertheless Pamela noticed that there were no -pictures of Elizabeth's anywhere about the house--they were all packed -away in her own room. - -Pamela did not know of the gratitude Elizabeth felt toward her; she only -knew that she admired Elizabeth's pictures immensely, and felt a keen -interest in the painter of them. - -As Elizabeth said she would like very much to see some of Pamela's work, -Pamela arranged to bring some round the following day. - -And so the friendship began. - - -When Pamela reached Chequertrees that evening she wrote a long post-card -home--for the first month was just ended. Surely there was never a card -with so much written on it before--unless it was the card she received -from home the following day, telling her that all was well at -Oldminster. - - - - - *CHAPTER XI* - - *THE WISHING WELL* - - -For a while things settled down into smoothly running order. Now that -the first month had passed the days seemed to slip by in an amazing -fashion--as they generally do after the newness of strange surroundings -has worn off. The four girls got on very well together on the whole; of -course, there were occasional little breezes--which was only natural -considering that four such different temperaments were thrown constantly -into each other's society; but the breezes never gathered into a -tempest, and always, before long, the sun was out again. - -One of the breezes sprang up during the sixth week on account of a -protest Isobel made regarding Caroline's choice of puddings. It was -Caroline's turn again to arrange the week's meals, and it must certainly -be admitted that to choose suet roly-poly on Monday and Thursday, apple -dumplings on Tuesday, and boiled treacle roll on Wednesday and Friday, -was, to say the least of it, asking for trouble. But when on the -Saturday a solidly substantial Christmas pudding appeared, it was too -much for Isobel, and she protested vigorously at the stodginess of -Caroline's puddings. - -Caroline, looking up from the solid slice of pudding on her plate, took -the remarks badly, and after a few sullen replies got decidedly annoyed. -She was making the most of her week, she said, because she knew she -would not get another pudding worth calling a pudding until her turn -came round again. Even the glories of Isobel's elaborate puddings--with -cream and crystallized cherries on top--had failed to rouse any -enthusiasm in Caroline. Those kinds of pudding were all right to look -at, but they had 'no insides' to them, commented Caroline, as she passed -her plate for a third helping of Christmas pudding. - -Martha's patience and willingness in making the various kinds of pudding -chosen were things to be marvelled at; but she seemed to take great -pride and pleasure in showing her skill at cooking whatever the girls -required. To be sure, there was no lack of praise for her from the four -girls, who thoroughly appreciated her efforts to do her best for them. - -"It always does me good to go and have a talk with Martha," Pamela would -say. "She's so cheerful--and so willing and unselfish. Nothing is any -trouble to her." - -Martha never demurred at nor criticized any of the puddings chosen--not -even Caroline's recurring choice of roly-polies, though she looked a -trifle anxious and made them as light as possible. - -"And on Friday we'll have boiled treacle roll," Caroline had informed -her. - -"And what's nicer!" Martha had replied, unaware of the chorus of muffled -groans on the other side of the kitchen door, as three girls, rolling -their eyes in an exaggerated manner, crept stealthily away along the -passage. - -Then on the Saturday had come Isobel's protest. Caroline maintained that -she had a right to choose any puddings she liked during her week, and -while quite agreeing with her as to this point, Pamela mentioned that -she thought it would be more considerate of Caroline if she would make -her choice a little less 'suety.' They discussed the matter thoroughly, -and finally came to an agreement, Caroline undertaking to vary her -choice if the others promised to have the kind of pudding that was -_really_ a pudding on one day in each week. And so matters were -arranged and the breeze blew over. - -In spite of lack of encouragement or interest from the others, Caroline -had sent in her name to Lady Prior's secretary as one who was willing to -make things for the bazaar. And there had followed a day when two -ladies of the organizing committee had called to see Caroline to talk -about the articles that were most needed for the various stalls. It was -a blissfully important day for Caroline, and she had dreams that night -of crocheted cosy-covers, and little pink silk pin-cushions, and -afterward, until the bazaar took place, was scarcely ever seen without -knitting-needles or sewing of some kind or other in her hands. - -The two committee ladies were both very large ladies, and were so well -wrapped up in cloaks and scarves for motoring that they looked even -larger than they really were. They drove up to the front gate in a very -large motor car, and being ushered into the drawing-room by the -respectful Ellen, both sat down on the small couch, which they succeeded -in completely obscuring. They were both exceedingly amiable, and -discussed matters in rather loud and assured voices with the bashful -Caroline, who not only promised to make a number of things for the -bazaar, but was eventually persuaded to preside at one of the stalls. - -"All the stall-holders are to wear Japanese costumes. A charming idea, -don't you think so?" smiled one of the ladies. - -"A very, very sweet idea," said the other. "Of course, there will be no -bother of getting the costumes ready; we are arranging to hire a number -for the day. You'll have to come up and choose which one you like when -the time draws near." - -Caroline smiled, and said she thought it a nice idea. Fortunately, the -fact that the Japanese style, with chrysanthemums in her hair, would not -suit her in the least did not occur to Caroline. She was not a vain girl -with regard to her appearance, though she was rather proud of her -accomplishments in the sewing line. - -But when Isobel heard about the Japanese costume for Caroline she nearly -suffocated herself with laughter at the picture her mind's eye presented -her with of solemn Caroline in a butterfly kimono and chrysanthemums -pinned coquettishly above each ear. However, Caroline was not within -hearing when Isobel learnt the news from Beryl, so no harm was done. - -Isobel would have liked to join in the bazaar herself, but until she -knew for certain about her relationship with the family at the Manor -House, she decided that it was better not to lay herself open to the -chance of meeting Lady Prior. Of course she had questioned Martha about -the Priors, but nothing Martha could tell her shed any light on the -Priors' connexions, as Sir Henry was practically a new-comer to -Barrowfield, having bought the Manor House on the death of the late -owner a few years ago. - -As a rule Martha was a useful mine of information on people and places -in Barrowfield, and many an interesting morsel of gossip had come to the -girls through Martha. - -It was through her, for instance, that they first heard of the Wishing -Well. - -One evening when Pamela was showing Martha a sketch she had made of an -old barn and some pine trees, Martha said: - -"Why, that's near the top of Long Lane, isn't it?--near where the -Wishing Well is! And a very handsome picture it makes, to be sure." - -"The Wishing Well!" said Pamela. "Where's that? It sounds exciting." - -"Well, you know as you gets near the top of Long Lane," said Martha, -busily stoning raisins into a basin that stood on the kitchen table, "on -your right hand, as you're going up, you pass a white gate that leads -into a field and an old disused chalk quarry--there's poppies and long -grass growing all about in the summer--and there's a few trees at the -top of the field, at the head of the scooped-out chalk-pit.... Well, a -few yards inside the gate, on your left, and almost hidden by an -overhanging hedge, is the well. You probably wouldn't notice it if you -wasn't looking for it! But there it is, as sure as I'm sitting here, -stoning these raisins--and Ellen will tell you the same as it's the -truth I'm speaking." - -"And why is it called a Wishing Well?" inquired Pamela. - -"Oh, there's some old story that if you was to write a wish on a piece -of paper and throw it into the well on a moonlight night, whatever you -wished would come true," Martha chuckled. "But I don't know as I -believes it--though I _did_ have a wish that way once--in my young days, -mind you----" - -"And did it come true?" asked Pamela, eagerly. - -"Well, no--I can't say it did," replied Martha, "but then, according to -the story it was my fault. I ought to have kept it secret, and I went -and spoke it out to some one, not thinking like--and so it didn't come -true." - -"Didn't you wish again ever?" - -Martha shook her head. "You can only wish once--according to the story -... but mind you, I don't say there's any truth in it, one way or the -other." - -"But don't you know anyone else who has wished and who has had their -wish granted?" asked Pamela, to whom the idea appealed strongly. - -"I can't truthfully say I do--not for certain," said Martha. "Though I -knows several what have _said_ such and such a thing has happened -because they wished it to--down the well--and it's their wish come -true.... But how do I know they're speaking the truth? Eh? They -mustn't tell what they've wished till it does come true, or else it -won't come true at all. And when a thing happens, it's easy enough to -say you wished it to, isn't it? ... So you see you can't rely on no -one--not knowing how honest they are--but can only try for yourself and -see." - -"I should love to have a wish," said Pamela, gazing thoughtfully into -the glowing kitchen fire. "I like to _believe_ I believe in Wishing -Wells, and goblins and spells and enchantments and things like that, but -I'm not really sure that I _do_.... Anyway, I think we might all go up -Long Lane on a moonlight night, and have a wish--_just in case_ it -really is a Wishing Well.... I'm sure Beryl will love the idea--they -all will, I think. You'll tell us just what to do, won't you, Martha?" - -Martha laughed. "Yes, indeed," she said. "But, mind you, I don't say -there's anything in it." - - -The outcome of this conversation was an excursion up Long Lane a few -nights later when the moon was at the full. All four girls entered into -the spirit of the adventure in high spirits, though Caroline rather -spoilt the romantic glamour that Pamela had conjured up by insisting on -wearing her goloshes in case she got her feet wet in the damp grass. - -"Oh, Caroline, how _can_ you! We ought not to speak of such things as -goloshes--practical, matter-of-fact, everyday goloshes--in the same -breath as Wishing Wells," said Pamela, in a mock tragic voice. "But -still, I suppose it's very sensible of you," she added, laughing. - -The four girls started off up Long Lane, chatting and laughing, each -with a piece of paper and pencil to write her wish when the well was -reached. It would be so much more romantic, Pamela said, to write it -beside the well in the moonlight, rather than beside the dining-room -table in the gaslight. - -"I hope you each know what you're going to wish," said Isobel. "It'll -be too chilly to stand about making up our minds when we get there." - -Long Lane stretched from the blacksmith's forge, that stood on the same -side of Barrowfield Green as Chequertrees, past Tom Bagg's house, and up -the hill to a small inn, and a handful of scattered cottages a mile and -a half away. The lane was set with high hedges on either side, and was -a gradual ascent all the way. - -As the girls drew near the top end, and the gate leading to the chalk -quarry came in sight, they fell silent, each trying to put into shape -the wish she was going to write in a few minutes. - -The well was much as Martha had described, though even more hidden and -overgrown with trails of creeper from a high bank of shrubs above it -than they had expected to find. Pamela was obliged to draw the trails -aside before they could see the dark, still water. - -"Can you see the moon reflected in the water? We must make sure of -that," reminded Beryl. - -Long white clouds were drifting slowly across the face of the moon, but -as they passed, and the moon emerged again, her reflection could be seen -in the well. - -"Yes," said Pamela. "So--now--quick--let's write our wishes and wrap a -stone inside the papers so that they'll sink--and drop them in the water -while the moon's out." She looked up overhead. "It'll be clear for a -few minutes now, but there are more clouds coming slowly--a long way -off--and if they reach her we shall have to wait some minutes for them -to pass." - -A hurried search for convenient-sized stones was made; and then, -silence, while they wrote down their wishes, using the top bar of the -white gate as a writing-desk. - -Pamela was the first to finish. At first Pamela had thought of wishing -something for Michael; then she had thought of wishing that she could -paint as well as Elizabeth Bagg; but "Michael and I are young," she had -told herself, "and we've plenty of years to work in--but Elizabeth Bagg -is getting old, and she's losing heart--I'll wish something for her.... -I'll wish that somebody with influence, who can appreciate Elizabeth -Bagg's artistic talent, may see some of her pictures, and that she may -soon obtain the recognition which she well deserves." This was the gist -of Pamela's wish. Wrapping a stone inside her paper, she threw it into -the well--the moon's reflection scattering into a hundred shimmers and -ripples as the stone splashed into the dark water and sank. - -Isobel was the next ready. "I wish that I may do nothing to forfeit my -fifty pounds," she had written, and her 'wish' followed quickly in the -track of Pamela's. - -For a wonder Caroline was finished third; but she knew when she started -out exactly what she was going to wish. It concerned a little matter -that had been fidgeting her careful soul for the last two days. "I wish -I may find my silver thimble." Such was Caroline's wish, and it -journeyed down after the other two just as Beryl finished writing hers. - -Beryl had taken longer because she had had some difficulty in framing -her wish, although when finished it seemed quite straightforward enough. -"I wish I may never have to go back and live with Aunt Laura again," -Beryl had written. - -"Hurry up, and throw yours in, Beryl--the clouds are coming over," said -Pamela, as she and Caroline and Isobel wandered a few paces away toward -the chalk quarry. They were talking casually together when a slight -scream from Beryl made them turn hastily round. - -Beryl was running swiftly away from the well and toward the gate, which -she pushed open, and ran into the lane. - -The three other girls quickly followed and soon overtook her. - -"Beryl! Wait a minute! Wait for us! What's the matter?" they called -as they ran. - -Beryl stopped running directly she heard their voices, and came to a -standstill. She was looking very pale and scared as they came up to -her. - -"Whatever is the matter, old girl?" asked Pamela, taking hold of Beryl's -arm. - -"Oh, Pamela," she said, "I had just thrown my wish in the well, when the -bush--the big overhanging bush close above--gave a rustle, and I heard -some one laugh--such a horrid laugh--as if some one was hiding there, -watching us. I--it gave me such a turn--I just ran--I didn't notice -where you were--I just ran for the gate, to get away quickly." - -Beryl seemed quite unnerved, and it was in vain that the others tried to -persuade her that it was only her imagination. - -"Shall we all go back together and make sure," suggested Pamela, not -very enthusiastically it must be owned; but the others were certain it -would not be wise to do this. - -"It might be some horrible old tramp asleep in the hedge," said Isobel. -"No. Let's get home--it's getting chilly--and we couldn't do any good -really by going back, could we?" - -So they all linked arms, and made their way home, where Martha was -waiting up for them with a jug of hot milk. - - - - - *CHAPTER XII* - - *IN WHICH ELIZABETH BAGG PAINTS A PICTURE - AND ISOBEL HEARS SOME PLEASANT NEWS* - - -Pamela's friendship with the Bagg family developed rapidly, and she -became a frequent visitor to 'Alice Maud Villa'--much to Isobel's -amazement; Isobel was more than amazed, she was scandalized. - -"I simply can't understand Pamela," confided Isobel to Caroline. "What -can she find in those Baggs? Even if Elizabeth Bagg can sketch a -bit--it's no excuse; they're not the _sort_ of people Pamela should like -to mix with. After all, Tom Bagg is only the village cabman! You can't -get away from the fact, can you now? You know what I mean--they're not -Pamela's sort somehow--I really am surprised at her taste." - -But Isobel never said anything like this to Pamela. There was a certain -air about Pamela at times that even Isobel respected, an air which, in -the present case, made Isobel feel instinctively that Pamela would not -brook any interference with her friendship with Elizabeth Bagg. So -Isobel did not criticize openly Pamela's attitude toward the Baggs; but -she criticized, and wondered, and was amazed in private to Caroline, -whenever she thought fit. - -There were two things that Isobel was trying to avoid. One was meeting -old Silas Sluff in the garden, and the other was, asking any more -questions of Beryl. To avoid old Silas was fairly easy, as he seemed to -be trying to keep out of her sight as much as possible. To refrain from -questioning Beryl was hard at first, but, although at times intensely -curious about some incident or other in connection with Beryl, Isobel -remembered that she must be a sport, and managed to keep her tongue -quiet. It needed a great effort sometimes, but she succeeded, which -must certainly be put down to Isobel's credit. - -As far as Pamela was concerned Isobel's approval or disapproval of her -friendship with the Baggs never worried her in the least. The matter -never even crossed her mind. She spent many happy hours in Elizabeth -Bagg's 'studio' watching Elizabeth paint, or finishing a sketch of her -own, helped on by valuable hints and suggestions from Elizabeth, who -greatly encouraged Pamela in her work; just as Pamela helped Elizabeth -by her interest and genuine admiration for Elizabeth's painting. - -Sometimes, when they were both at work in the studio, Pamela would begin -to argue with Elizabeth over her attitude toward her brother Tom and his -views on her painting. - -"He's no right to call it 'wasting time,'" Pamela would protest. "He -ought to be _made_ to understand what splendid work you are -doing--valuable work, too, if I'm not mistaken." - -"He doesn't care for pictures at all," Elizabeth would reply. "And it's -no good crossing him--he's been very kind to me, you know, and has given -me a roof over my head, and food to eat; I only have to buy my own -clothes and my painting materials out of the money I earn by teaching; -he provides everything else." - -"But look what you do for him in return--cooking, washing, cleaning, and -last, but by no means least, looking after his six children for him. How -you manage to do it all I'm sure I don't know! And yet he doesn't even -recognize that the work you love most is done up here--here in your -studio--at all odd moments of the day. And he calls this 'wasting -time.'" Pamela gave a short laugh. "Oh, it makes me so indignant," she -said. - -But her arguments were always in vain. Elizabeth would never make the -smallest attempt toward making her brother respect her art, but would -continue to go on as usual after Pamela had left, smiling quietly to -herself at Pamela's enthusiasm and indignation. - -"She is very young," Elizabeth would say to herself, and then give a -sigh at the remembrance of when she herself was young and enthusiastic -and indignant, when she had dreamed of doing great things in the world -of art--long before her sister-in-law had died, and she had come to keep -house for her brother. Then, when she was young, it had been an invalid -mother who had claimed all her attention, so that she had never had time -nor opportunities to make friends with young people of her own -age--young people who had interests in common with herself. She had -painted and drawn in her spare time, and had even had a couple of terms -at an art school, in the days before her mother had become a helpless -invalid. Then, when her mother had died, it had been Elizabeth's -intention to take a room in London by herself and set resolutely to work -to earn a living by her painting; but before this plan could be put into -execution news came that her aunt (Alice Maud) had met with an accident, -and Elizabeth was asked to go and nurse her. She went. Elizabeth -planned many things during her life, but other people always seemed to -step in and alter the plans--and Elizabeth allowed them to be altered, -and drifted into the new plans with little or no resistance. That was -Elizabeth's chief failing, her inability to strike out for herself. As -far as art was concerned it was a loss, but her relatives had certainly -gained in having so willing and conscientious a worker to look after -them in their illnesses. For it was always somebody who was ill that -sent for Elizabeth. First, her mother, then her aunt, and finally, just -when her thoughts were once again free to turn toward the room in -London, her sister-in-law had begged her to come and look after her -house and the children as she was taken dangerously ill. So Elizabeth -came. And when her sister-in-law died she could not find it in her -heart to refuse her brother Tom's request to stay with him and look -after his six little motherless children. - -Elizabeth used sometimes to dream about the wonderful room she had meant -to have in London--the room where she liked to imagine that she would -have painted pictures that would have brought her fame and wealth. As -she grew older she began to doubt whether she ever would have painted -pictures good enough or marketable enough even to pay for the rent of -the room. She began to regret her want of initiative--after she had met -Pamela. She regretted that she had all along allowed her own affairs to -drift. Why had she always allowed others to rule her life, she -wondered. She had worked hard at her pictures--and then done nothing -with them when they were finished. There were scores of them packed one -on top of the other on the shelves of a big cupboard in her studio. - -Having got permission to look through this pile of pictures one day, -Pamela discovered that Elizabeth was decidedly clever at portrait -painting; the likenesses of one or two of the village folk, whom Pamela -knew by sight, and of Tom Bagg, and of several of the little Baggs, were -very well done indeed; and she asked Elizabeth why she did not do more -of this kind of work. - -"I haven't done any portraits for a long time," was all that Elizabeth -replied. "I don't know why." - -The discovery of this branch of Elizabeth's skill set Pamela thinking. -Apart from his annoying indifference to his sister's talent Tom Bagg was -a genial, good-natured, and quite likeable man, Pamela thought. She -liked him more particularly after discovering him one evening sitting by -the fire in his living-room, smoking, and telling a long fairy story to -his children, who were gathered around him listening, enthralled. It -was only occasionally that Daddy could be got to tell them a story; but -when he chose he could tell a very good story indeed. Perhaps that was -one of the reasons why he was so popular at the 'Blue Boar.' Ensconced -in a chimney-corner seat in the old-fashioned parlour of the 'Blue -Boar,' he would puff away at his pipe, and yarn to a few bosom friends -and occasional strangers for an hour at a stretch, much to the amusement -of his audience. At home he was just as popular as a story-teller, and -the children would listen enchanted to his tales of adventure, of -fairies, and of pirates--and when he came to the humorous parts, where -he always stopped to chuckle and shake before he told them the joke, the -children could hardly contain their impatience, and while he paused -aggravatingly to take a pull at his pipe and chuckle again, they would -shower eager questions upon him, giving him no peace until he resumed -the tale. - -Elizabeth Bagg, when she was not upstairs in her studio, would sit in a -corner by the fire on these occasions, mending stockings by firelight, -and listening to the story, glancing up now and then at the cheerful, -ruddy face of the teller, and at the children sitting on the hearth-rug, -on the arms of his chair, and on his knees, all listening intently. The -story-telling was always done by firelight; directly the gas was lit, it -was supper and bedtime. - -Pamela was present at more than one of these story-telling evenings. -Old Tom Bagg was used to talking before strangers and new-comers, and -her presence made no difference to him. He was always polite, and -pleased to see Pamela, and never seemed outwardly surprised at her -friendship with Elizabeth, though sometimes he would scratch the bald -spot on his head and wonder to himself. - -The first time Pamela saw the group in the firelit room listening to the -story-telling she was struck with an idea, which she afterward -communicated to Elizabeth. - -"It would make a simply ripping picture--and you're so good at -likenesses--I wonder you don't do it," she urged. - -And, after a while, Elizabeth Bagg did do it. She set to work up in her -studio, and began on a picture of Tom Bagg sitting in a firelit room -telling a story to the children around him. - -"Get the expression on his face when he's chuckling," said Pamela. - -So Elizabeth watched him and caught the chuckling expression and -transmitted it to her picture. - -"_Absolutely_," was the delighted Pamela's verdict when she saw it; and -her enthusiasm roused Elizabeth to put her best work into the painting, -although she had no future plans for it when it was finished. Possibly -it would have drifted finally into the cupboard in her studio. -Elizabeth, with her tiresome lack of initiative, would have taken no -further trouble with the picture after it was done. - -But Pamela had a plan for the firelight picture which she did not -mention to Elizabeth Bagg, but waited eagerly for the completion of the -painting. - - -Meanwhile Isobel, unable to get Pamela or Beryl to join in having -dancing-lessons with her, had at length, much to her own surprise, -prevailed on Caroline to come to Madame Clarence's with her twice a -week. As Caroline sat over her sewing so much, and had very little -exercise, these visits to the Dancing Academy probably did her a great -deal of good. Not that she enjoyed dancing; but being persuaded that it -was good for her health, she took her lessons regularly and solemnly, -just as she would have taken medicine twice daily after meals had she -thought she should do so. Although Isobel (to use her own expression) -was not 'frightfully keen' on Caroline, yet she found her useful in yet -another way besides being a companion to travel with to and from -Inchmoor. - -When Isobel heard that Sir Henry and Lady Prior and family had returned -to the Manor House, she lived for a few days in a state of pleasurable -expectation, from which state she was presently transported into one of -intense joy. For she discovered that the Manor House Priors actually -were connected with her--though very distantly, it must be confessed. - -And Caroline was the medium through whom she learnt this eventful piece -of news. - -Finding that Caroline was the only one of the girls likely to get into -immediate touch with Lady Prior, through the bazaar work-party meetings -which Caroline had begun to attend, Isobel asked her if she would take -the first opportunity of speaking to Lady Prior, and informing her that -Isobel Prior, who was staying at Chequertrees, would have liked beyond -anything to help at the bazaar only she was afraid she was restricted -from doing so by the instructions of Miss Crabingway, who had said that -none of the girls staying at Chequertrees were to visit or be visited by -any relations whatsoever; and Isobel thought it possible that she might -be a relation of Lady Prior's. Of course, Isobel impressed upon Caroline -that she was to be sure to say that Miss Crabingway did not know that -this restriction of hers might apply in any way to Lady Prior, or she -would assuredly not have made such a rule. Then Isobel asked Caroline -to explain all about Miss Crabingway's whim, and to make matters quite -clear to her ladyship. She also wrote down for Caroline all the facts -about the Prior family-tree that she knew, giving her father's full -name, and age, and profession, and the names of his various brothers, -cousins, uncles, and so on. - -All this Caroline faithfully related to Lady Prior in due course, and -came back from her first interview with the news that Lady Prior was -going to consult Sir Henry about it, and would tell Caroline what he -said at the next meeting, as she did not know any of the Christian names -of the gentlemen Caroline had mentioned, but was quite amused at Miss -Crabingway's queer instructions. - -Isobel was somewhat chilled by this news, and wondered to herself -whether the 'dowdy-looking' Caroline had prejudiced her case in Lady -Prior's eyes. - -"Of course, never having seen me she may think I'm something of the same -class as the friend I choose to act as my deputy," thought Isobel to -herself, and eyed the unconscious Caroline with secret disfavour. - -However, Caroline returned from the next bazaar meeting with better -news. Sir Henry had informed Lady Prior that Mr Gerald Prior of -Lancaster Gate and Ibstone House, Lower Marling, was a third cousin of -his, whom he had never seen, though he had heard of him. This put fresh -heart into Isobel, and she went to church the following Sunday to see -what the Priors looked like--though she took care to keep a safe -distance in case any unforeseen accident should happen, and she should -meet them. She wondered what the mater would do under the -circumstances. But, contemplating that when the six months elapsed she -would be free to go and visit these new-found relatives, and be fifty -pounds the richer for the waiting, she decided that it was wiser to -wait, especially as Lady Prior now knew the circumstances and would -understand. - -So she gazed on the Prior pew from a distance, and noted with pride the -rich and fashionable clothes its occupants wore, and the respect the -family seemed to awaken in the other members of the congregation. - -Though Isobel did not want to own it, even to herself, she was somewhat -disappointed in the facial appearance of her father's third cousin and -his family. Sir Henry himself was small and pompous, with sandy hair -and moustache, and his broad, pinkish face was plentifully besprinkled -with freckles; he wore glasses which were rather troublesome to keep on -the flat bridge of his wide, short nose. His eyebrows were invisible -from a distance, but his gold watch-chain and the diamond in the gold -ring on the little finger of his right hand sparkled and glistened in -the sunshine that streamed through the stained-glass windows. - -Lady Prior was well preserved and had evidently been pretty in her -youth, but now she was inclined to be plump, and had developed a -double-chin, and a florid complexion; her mouth was too small for the -rest of her features, making her nose look too prominent; her eyes were -large and good. The two daughters of the house next claimed Isobel's -attention; they were upright, pleasant-looking girls with their mother's -features, but their father's colouring--freckles included. Nevertheless -there was a certain air about them which Isobel could find no more -fitting term for than 'distinguished.' She had learnt from Caroline -that there was also a son of the house, but he was not present that -morning in church. - -Isobel gazed from afar, and then went home to Chequertrees feeling -rather out of humour with everything and everybody because of the 'silly -whim' of Miss Crabingway's which had cut her off from these desirable -relations. - - -When the girls had almost completed the third month of their stay at -Chequertrees Martha reminded them that they would possibly receive a -communication from Mr Joseph Sigglesthorne shortly, with whom Miss -Crabingway had left instructions concerning the replenishing of the -funds of the household. Supplies were running out, Martha said, and she -hoped they would hear promptly. - -But several days went by and no word came from Mr Sigglesthorne (for the -very good reason that he had forgotten all about them). - -Then one morning a letter posted in Scotland arrived from Miss Emily -Crabingway. It was very brief, and merely instructed Pamela, Beryl, -Isobel, and Caroline to go up to London with Martha on the day following -the receipt of letter, and deliver the envelope which was enclosed to Mr -Joseph Sigglesthorne at his rooms in Fig Tree Court, Temple, E.C. - -"What can this mean?" said Pamela, after she had read the letter to -Martha. - -Martha smiled and shook her head. "Unless it is that Miss Crabingway -knows what a forgetful gentleman Mr Sigglesthorne is, and wants to give -him a shock by sending you all to remind him," she suggested. - -It may as well be stated here that this was not Martha's own idea, but -one communicated to her in a recent note from Miss Crabingway. - -As this would be the first journey to town that the girls had made since -they came to Barrowfield, they were rather excited and pleased, and set -about making plans for the morrow's journey in high good spirits; they -recalled for each other's benefit their previous meeting with Mr -Sigglesthorne. It was decided to lock up the house, as Ellen said -rather than stay at home alone all day she would go and visit some -friends in the village, who had been begging her to come and see them -for a long time, and would meet their train at the station on their -return. This matter being satisfactorily arranged, and time-tables -consulted, clothes overlooked and holes in gloves mended, the four girls -ended the day with another dance in the drawing-room to celebrate their -'one day's release' from Barrowfield, as Isobel put it. - -The next day was fine and warm, though a few mackerel clouds high in the -sky made it difficult to dissuade Caroline from putting on her goloshes -and taking an umbrella. Poor Caroline, her little fads were always -being laughed at by the other three! But she took all their remarks -very good-naturedly as a rule. Her umbrella she did eventually abandon, -reluctantly, but she took a small canvas bag with her, which she said -contained her purse and handkerchief, and some knitting to do in the -train. But there was more in it than these things; the bulge at the -side of the bag was a very tightly-rolled, light-weight mackintosh, and -the bulge at the bottom was the much-ridiculed goloshes. Caroline did -not explain the bulges, and the girls were too busy with their own -affairs by the time she came downstairs with her bag to bother to tease -her any more. - -And so the four girls and Martha set out to visit Mr Joseph -Sigglesthorne. - - - - - *CHAPTER XIII* - - *MR JOSEPH SIGGLESTHORNE FORGETS THE DATE* - - -The journey to town was accomplished swiftly and comfortably, and was -enlivened every now and then by Martha's remarks on the changes that had -come over the country they passed through in the train since she was a -girl. She made a quaint little figure in her black bonnet, trimmed with -jet beads, and her best black cape with the silk fringe round it, and -her black serge skirt. Her kindly grey eyes and wrinkled face were -alight with interest as she sat beaming and chatting with Beryl and -Pamela, while Caroline steadily knitted, and Isobel in the farther -corner gazed out of the window. Although she liked Martha well enough, -she rather wished that Miss Crabingway had sent the four of them to town -alone. - -When they arrived at Marylebone station the girls learnt to their -surprise that Martha had never been in the tube railway in her life, and -was somewhat chary and suspicious of this mode of travelling; however, -encouraged by Pamela and Beryl, who each linked hold of one of her arms, -she was persuaded to enter the lift, which she mistook at first for the -train, until matters were explained to her. - -They changed at Charing Cross on to the District Railway and were soon -at the Temple Station, and after one or two inquiries at length found -themselves walking up Middle Temple Lane _en route_ for Fig Tree Court. - -It is not one of the prettiest courts, Fig Tree Court, although it has -such a picturesque name. There is no fig-tree growing there now, though -if there had been one Mr Sigglesthorne would not have been able to see -it, as his windows were so begrimed with dust and dirt that nothing was -clearly visible through them. The window-cleaners, if ever he employed -them, must surely have charged him three times the usual amount to get -his windows clean again. As for Martha, directly she set eyes on them -her hands itched to get hold of a wash-leather. - -Mr Sigglesthorne lived on the first floor, and they were soon outside -the door with his name printed on it in large black letters. Pamela -knocked with a double rat-tat. All was silent within for a few moments, -then the creak of an inner door and a shuffling step could be heard. -The latch clicked and the front door was opened just enough for a hand -and arm to be thrust out. - -The five visitors stood gazing in silent surprise at the open hand--a -hand obviously waiting for something to be placed in its grasp. They -stood thus, looking first at the hand and then at each other, and Isobel -was just about to laugh outright when a voice behind the door exclaimed -impatiently: - -"Hurry up, milkman! Half-pint, as usual." - -At this Isobel could control herself no longer, but burst out laughing, -and the others, unable to resist, joined in as well. - -This caused the door to be opened wider, and a very shocked and -surprised Mr Joseph Sigglesthorne was revealed, who stared open-mouthed -in pained astonishment at the laughing group outside. - -Pamela was the first to recover herself. "Oh, Mr Sigglesthorne," she -said, "I'm so sorry--please excuse us, but Miss Crabingway told us to -come and give you this letter." - -"Well, to be sure! But please excuse me--I was so--if I may say -so--taken aback for the moment--" stammered Mr Sigglesthorne. "But -please to step inside--step inside." He held the door open wide. - -The five visitors stepped inside as requested, almost filling up the -narrow little passage from which the two rooms of Mr Sigglesthorne's -flat opened. Mr Sigglesthorne closed the front door, and led the way to -his living-room, begging them all to come in and be seated. He was -still rather bewildered by the suddenness of his visitors' appearance, -and was thrown into confusion on finding that there was only one chair -in the room that was not too rickety to be used. He handed this with -great politeness to Pamela, who promptly passed it on to Martha, who was -too respectful to think of sitting down till all the others had found -seats. - -"It's quite all right," said Pamela. "May I sit on this box? Thanks. -It'll do splendidly. You sit down, Martha--you'll be tired." - -Finally, an old oak chest being cleared of numberless papers and books -and brought forward for Isobel and Caroline, and a pile of six big -Encyclopaedias placed one on top of the other serving as a seat for -Beryl, Mr Sigglesthorne sat down on the corner of the coal-scuttle, -comforting himself with the thought that things might have been -worse--although he wished he had not left his bunch of collars on the -mantelshelf. Strange that this should have worried him, for on the -whole the mantelshelf was the least untidy part of the room. - -Martha's neat and tidy soul positively ached when she looked round Mr -Sigglesthorne's living-room. One of the first things she noticed was a -big round table in the centre of the room on which were stacked books -and papers in a litter of untidiness and confusion; there were several -bundles of newspapers, and cardboard boot-boxes without lids, containing -a variety of interesting articles from press-cuttings and collar-studs -to india-rubber and knots of string. On the top of the highest pile of -papers reposed Mr Sigglesthorne's top-hat. The table was so littered -that it was impossible to think of it ever being used for any other -purpose than that of a home of refuge for old papers. Underneath the -table, partly obscured by the faded green table-cloth that hung all -aslant, was a Tate sugar-box containing--what? Coal, probably--but -Martha could not be quite sure of that. Bookshelves lined the walls, -and here again confusion reigned. Hardly a single book stood upright; a -few, here and there, made a faint appearance of doing so, but for the -most part they had given up the struggle long ago and just sprawled -across the shelves anyhow--some upside down, some back to -front--separated every few yards by some useful kitchen utensil, such as -a toasting-fork, a small hand-brush, a pepper-box, a shovel, a couple of -saucepan lids, and so on. There were no books at all on one of the -shelves, but a mass of letters and envelopes filled the space. A broken -rocking-chair beneath one of the two windows that lighted the room held -a box of tools and Mr Sigglesthorne's topcoat, and the desk under the -other window supported a tray with the remnants of a chop on a plate, a -cup half full of cold coffee, and a tin of condensed milk with a spoon -sticking out of it; two inkpots and a blotting-pad, and numerous pens, -pencils, notebooks, and stacks of papers occupied the rest of the desk. -In the hearth were a pair of old boots, a teapot, and three bundles of -firewood. - -It looked as if Mr Sigglesthorne was in the habit of placing things down -just wherever he happened to be at the moment--which was handy at the -time, but caused much confusion and delay in the long run; though it may -have added a little variety to his life to find his belongings where he -least expected them. - -Mr Sigglesthorne, with his Shakespearean forehead shining in a -distinguished manner, sat on the coal-scuttle polishing his glasses and -gazing nervously round at his guests. His black velvet jacket, minus a -button, wanted brushing, and his dark grey trousers were creased and -baggy; altogether he looked shabby and unimposing--except for his -forehead, which just, as it were, kept his head above water. - -"Now, if I may be permitted to see Miss Crabingway's note?" he said. -"You must excuse my room being slightly untidy--a bachelor's misfortune, -you know, Miss Pamela." - -"What a lot of books you have," said Pamela. - -"Are you a lawyer?" asked Isobel. - -"Heaven forbid!" said Mr Sigglesthorne. "No, miss. But I am rather -a--bookworm. Ha! Ha! Yes, that's what I am--a bookworm." - -This idea seemed to afford him much private amusement, until putting on -his glasses and opening Miss Crabingway's note his eyes fell on the -contents, and he at once became grave. It was just as if Miss -Crabingway were standing before him, speaking. - -"Well, Joseph Sigglesthorne," the note ran, "so you have forgotten, as I -knew you would. There is no excuse--I gave you three calendars, which -you have not hung on the wall, by the by, but have stowed away out of -sight--you've forgotten where." - -(This was quite true, as Mr Sigglesthorne realized, as he stroked the -back of his head and tried to recall what he had done with the -calendars.) - -"The money I trusted you with is overdue. Kindly hand the deal box and -key to Miss Pamela there, and ask her to take out the notes." - -"Ah, yes," said Mr Sigglesthorne aloud, as if Miss Crabingway were -indeed in the room waiting for him to apologize. "Very thoughtless of -me, I'm sure." - -It may be thought remarkable that Mr Sigglesthorne should have -remembered where the deal box was. But Mr Sigglesthorne always -remembered where he had put money--a peculiarity of his that Miss -Crabingway knew well. - -And now he was full of remorse at having failed Miss Crabingway in -regard to the date--for she had paid him well to remember. Mr -Sigglesthorne's clothes and surroundings might have led one to think -that he was none too well off, but this idea would have been wrong--with -regard to the present, at any rate. Besides Miss Crabingway's money -payments, he had lately got some 'research' work--this latter fact he -mentioned to his visitors with some pride, and partly to account for the -piles of papers abounding everywhere. He left them to think this piece -of news over while he retired to another room to fetch the deal box. - -While he was gone Martha rolled her eyes upward, and raised her hands in -despair. - -"How I _should_ like to set to and tidy up a bit for him, poor -gentleman," she sighed. - -"It's more than I'd like to do," said Isobel. "_What_ a muddle!" - -"He'd probably be annoyed if anyone upset his research papers," said -Pamela. "But, good gracious! I don't know how he can ever find -anything again--once he puts it down." - -"He probably doesn't find it again," said Isobel, laughing. - -As for Caroline, with whom neatness was almost a passion, she was fairly -numbed by the scene before her, and could only sigh deeply and shake her -head. Beryl was always shy in strange places, and, whatever her -thoughts, she kept silent. - -Mr Sigglesthorne shortly returned, and with renewed apologies for -forgetting to bring the box down to Barrowfield presented a small deal -box and key to Pamela, requesting her to open it. Inside were a number -of bank-notes, which she was told to take out and distribute--so much to -Martha for housekeeping expenses and so much to herself and each of the -other girls for 'pocket money.' Having done this, she signed a receipt -and placed it in the box, which Mr Sigglesthorne locked and took away -again. - -Finding that they did not know the Temple well, Mr Sigglesthorne -insisted on putting on his coat and top-hat and coming out with them. -Pamela protested that they did not wish to take him away from his -research work, but he vowed he would have plenty of time if he returned -within half an hour. So he trotted beside them, talking and waving his -hand, first on one side and then the other, giving them a very confused -idea of the plan of the Temple and its history. But, at any rate, Mr -Sigglesthorne enjoyed himself. And when he finally left them in the -Strand, with more apologies, Pamela saw him disappear toward the Temple -again with a smile on her face that had more of regret in it than -amusement; but her regret was evidently not shared by Isobel, who said: - -"Well, thank goodness! Now we can get on, and enjoy ourselves." - -They did a round of sight-seeing to make the most of the day in town, -and had dinner at a restaurant, where Martha, though very nervous, was -nevertheless very critical, in her own mind, about the dishes served. -She guessed she could make better white sauce than was served at this -place, though she was curious to know how the cream pudding was made. - -The girls wished they had arranged to end up the day at a theatre, but -they had not thought of this in time to let Ellen know, and she would be -at Barrowfield station waiting at nine o'clock. So they were obliged to -relinquish this idea, with much regret. - -As they turned away from the restaurant Pamela suddenly gave a -start--stood stock still for a moment, then, bending her head, hurried -on. She had caught a glimpse of her father just getting into a bus. -The sight of him caused a great wave of longing and home-sickness to -rush over her, so that it was all she could do to restrain herself from -running back toward him. To her embarrassment she found that her eyes -were full of tears. He looked just the same dear old father. She had -not realized till now how badly she had wanted to see them all at home -again; she knew she had wanted them, but had stifled the longing as much -as possible. She wondered how her mother looked--and Michael--and the -others. The post-card she received from home each month was crammed -full of news--but even so, post-cards are very unsatisfying things. - -As her agitation became obvious to her companions, and they inquired -what was the matter she was obliged to explain a little. - -"I didn't realize how _badly_ I wanted to see my people again--till I -saw him," she concluded. - -"Well, half the time is up now," said Isobel. "I think it was a very -silly restriction of Miss Crabingway's-- But there you are! And fifty -pounds is not to be sneezed at, is it?" - -Much to every one's dismay, except Caroline's, it now began to -rain--suddenly and heavily--and a rush was made for the nearest tube -station. Caroline hastily donned her mackintosh, and stopping in a -doorway slipped on her goloshes, before she ran through the rain to the -tube. Her triumph was short-lived, however, because once inside the -tube they were under cover all the way until they arrived at Barrowfield -station, very sleepy and chilly with sitting still so long in the train. - -Ellen was at the station, and she had actually brought umbrellas for -them. Secretly, although not an ill-natured girl, Caroline had -half-hoped they would have had to tramp home through the rain--then -perhaps they wouldn't have teased her another time, she thought. - -However, under the umbrellas they walked--the village fly being engaged -elsewhere that evening, otherwise Thomas Bagg would have been hired to -take them home. - -And then Beryl would not have bumped into some one--also under an -umbrella--who was coming from the village toward the station. - -As a rather high wind was blowing it was necessary to hold an umbrella -down close over the top of your head, and so Beryl did not notice anyone -coming toward her till her umbrella caught against another umbrella; -both umbrellas were lifted for a moment--and in that moment Beryl saw a -woman looking at her from under the other umbrella, a woman who frowned -and put her forefinger to her lips as if enjoining silence. - -[Illustration: A WOMAN WHO FROWNED AND PUT HER FOREFINGER TO HER LIPS] - -Beryl stifled a scream and ran quickly forward and joined the others, -keeping as close to Pamela as she could till they reached home. - -While the woman, with a quick backward glance at the receding group, -continued on her way, limping hurriedly up the hill. - - - - - *CHAPTER XIV* - - *CAROLINE MAKES A DISCOVERY* - - -Pamela was just dropping off to sleep that night when some one tapped on -her bedroom door. She roused herself, and called out: - -"Who's there?" - -"May I come in a minute? It's only I--Caroline," the answer came in a -loud whisper. - -"Oh--yes--yes--come in," she said, sitting up, only half awake as yet. - -Caroline came in, a lighted candle in her hand. She was fully dressed, -and had not even untied her hair. She looked a bit scared and puzzled. -Closing the door softly behind her she crossed to the side of Pamela's -bed. - -"I'm sorry to disturb you," she said solemnly, "but I didn't think you'd -be in bed yet--I haven't even started to get undressed--I--I don't like -the look of my room!" - -"Don't like the look of your room! Whatever do you mean, Caroline?" -Pamela rubbed her eyes. - -"Well, some one's been moving things. There are several things out of -their usual places. I--I believe somebody has been in the room while -we've been out to-day!" - -Pamela was wide awake now. - -"Oh, Caroline,--you don't mean burglars? There's nothing missing, is -there? Has anything been taken?" - -"No. Not so far as I can see," replied Caroline. "But things have been -disturbed." - -"I'll come in with you and have a look," said Pamela, springing up and -hastily donning dressing-gown and slippers. "H'sh. We mustn't wake the -others unless it's necessary. They're all so tired." - -"I didn't notice anything just at first," said Caroline, as they entered -her room. - -"I don't notice anything now," remarked Pamela, looking round at the -neat and orderly chamber. - -"Wait a minute," said Caroline. "Look here--" and she pulled open one -of the drawers in her dressing-table. - -"Well?" said Pamela, who could see nothing amiss with the contents of -the drawer. - -"Well!" echoed Caroline rather indignantly, "I never leave my drawers -like this. See--these gloves were folded together in that corner--and -these ribbons here--and I always keep my handkerchiefs on top of each -other at this side--These handkerchiefs are all arranged anyhow. I -_know_ I didn't leave them like this! ... And look here--on the -mantelpiece--these photo frames have been shifted--and on this chair by -the window my brown scarf which I left folded on the seat was on the -floor!" - -"Oh, come," said Pamela. "That might easily have slid off. The main -point is--is there anything missing?" - -"Nothing so far," replied Caroline. "But some one _has_ been in here -moving my things--I'm certain of it. I know just the way I always leave -my belongings. I always put them in the same places and in the same -positions." - -She seemed so positive that Pamela was silenced. Anyone else but -Caroline would probably not have noticed that anything had been -disturbed in their room. - -"Well--what shall we do?" said Pamela, who really thought that Caroline -was under a delusion. She couldn't see anything wrong with the room. -"If we wake everybody up we shall only scare them--it isn't as if you'd -missed anything. That would be a different matter. I suppose you've -searched all over the room? Of course, you've made sure there's no one -hiding here now?" - -"Oh, yes," said Caroline; but to make doubly sure she and Pamela -searched again thoroughly. They looked in the wardrobe, behind the -wardrobe, under the bed, behind the chest of drawers, and in and under -every likely and unlikely place in the room. - -"Have you looked in the soap-dish?" said Pamela, jokingly. - -But Caroline did not laugh; she continued her search solemnly. Suddenly -an exclamation from her made Pamela wheel round. - -"Just fancy that!" said Caroline, still on her knees, after an attempt -to look under the chest of drawers--a space of about six inches from the -ground. "Look here, Pamela! Here's my silver thimble! The one I -couldn't find--under the edge of the carpet beneath this chest of -drawers. And I've looked everywhere for it--but here. It must have -rolled off the back of the chest, and got wedged under the carpet." - -"What luck! The search hasn't been wasted after all then," remarked -Pamela, stifling a yawn. - -"And it is my wish come true," said Caroline slowly. - -"What! About the thimble! Is that what you wished?" cried Pamela. - -"Yes," said Caroline. "I didn't know what else to wish--and I couldn't -find my silver thimble that my grandmother gave me--so I thought I'd -wish about that." - -"I see," said Pamela, trying hard not to smile. "Well, your wish has -come true. You lucky girl! I only hope the rest of us are as -fortunate." - -After this Caroline reluctantly agreed to go to bed, and not to bother -any further about the things in her room being disturbed until the -morning, when Pamela promised to make full inquiries and sift the matter -thoroughly. Pamela felt fairly certain in her own mind that no one had -been in Caroline's room or she would not have let the matter drop so -easily. Both girls being now very tired after their long day in town -they soon dropped into their beds and went off to sleep. - -Caroline referred to the matter over breakfast in the morning, thereby -incurring a great deal of attention and questioning from the -others--which made her feel quite important for once in a way. Caroline -was one of those people who could not usually attract much attention -from others, as she was unable to talk interestingly about things. But -this morning she found she was actually being interesting; she liked the -sensation, and meant to make the most of it. - -While Pamela and Isobel discussed the matter with Caroline, Beryl, who -had turned very white, sat silent, her half-finished breakfast pushed on -one side; she sat stirring her tea mechanically round and round--only -breaking her silence once to ask Caroline if she had missed anything, -and seemed relieved on hearing that Caroline had not. - -"I suppose nobody else's room was disturbed in any way?" said Pamela, -adding, "Mine was all right." - -"So was mine," said Isobel. - -"And mine," echoed Beryl, quickly. - -"Well, we'll just go and ask Ellen if she can throw any light on the -matter, shall we?" said Pamela. "She was the only inmate of this house -who was not up in London yesterday." - -Ellen was very interested, but it did not seem as if she could help to -solve the question. She had certainly not been in the room herself; she -had left the house at the same time as they did yesterday, and when she -and Millicent Jackson--the friend with whom she had spent the day--had -come in to fetch the umbrellas to bring to the station in the evening, -they had not been upstairs at all. They had let themselves in at the -back door, gone straight through to the hall, taken the umbrellas out of -the stand, and gone out of the front door. They weren't in the house -five minutes, as they were in a hurry to get to the station in time. - -"There, Caroline!" said Isobel. "You see nobody could have been in your -room. You must have moved the things yourself." - -But Caroline shook her head. - -"Could anyone have slipped in the back door after you--without you -noticing?" she asked Ellen. - -"Oh, miss! Well--I never thought of that!" said Ellen, then hesitated. -"Of course, they could have, Miss Caroline--but it's most unlikely. If -anyone had troubled to do that they would have taken something while -they were about it, wouldn't they?" - -Caroline shrugged her shoulders. - -"All I know is--the things in my room were disturbed," she insisted -doggedly. "And I don't like it." - -"How could anyone have slipped in without you seeing, Ellen?" inquired -Pamela. - -"Well, Miss Pamela, to be exact," explained Ellen, "me an' Millicent -unlocked the back door and came in, shut the door, and went into the -kitchen, where I struck a match and lit the candle that we keep on the -dresser here. We didn't bother to light the gas as we was going -straight through, and out the front way. Me an' Millicent was talking, -interested-like, as we went into the hall, when Millicent says, 'Oh, did -you lock the back door again?' And I says, 'Oh, no.' And I went back -and locked it.... Then we got the umbrellas and went straight out the -front way.... Now, _do_ you think anyone would have got in just in that -minute before I locked the back door, Miss Pamela? Now _do_ you, Miss -Caroline?" - -"It's just possible, of course, but not at all likely," said Pamela. -"Thanks very much, Ellen--as nothing has been missed, I really don't see -any use in pursuing the matter further, Caroline, do you? ... And it's -such a grand morning, let's all go for a good tramp over the hills." - -So Pamela dismissed the incident from her mind; and Isobel, putting it -down to "one of the bees in old Caroline's bonnet," soon followed suit. -Ellen and Martha discussed the matter together, and Ellen repeated her -story to Martha several times--each time with more emphasis than the -last; and when she next saw Millicent Jackson she mentioned it to her, -and they talked of it until the subject was exhausted--then as nothing -further happened to make them remember it, they too forgot it. Caroline -remembered it as a grievance for a considerable time, then the -excitement of the coming bazaar caused it to fade into the background. -The only one who did not forget the incident was Beryl, and she had good -reason to remember it--as we shall presently see. - -After the visit to London a marked change seemed to come over Beryl; -always pale and nervous, she appeared to grow even paler and more -nervous as the days went by. At times she would emerge from the cloud -of depression which seemed so often to envelop her now and join -light-heartedly in whatever was going on, but these occasions grew more -and more rare. - -When Pamela remarked on her paleness one day Beryl put it down to the -weather, saying it made her feel tired. Pamela believed her; had she -not been so absorbed in Elizabeth Bagg and her work she might have -noticed things that would have aroused her suspicions; but she was not -suspicious in any way until one evening Beryl, very awkward and -hesitating, asked Pamela if she would lend her a sovereign. Pamela did -not voice the surprise she showed in her face--surprise because the -pocket-money handed over to each of them by Mr Sigglesthorne had been -quite generous and sufficient for the few expenses the girls would be -likely to incur in Barrowfield during the remainder of their stay. -However, she lent the money at once, and willingly, and asked no -questions--for which Beryl seemed very grateful. - -Feeling a little uneasy about the matter, and wishing to help her if -possible, Pamela made several opportunities for Beryl to confide in her -if she had wished to do so. But Beryl did not seem to wish to do so. - - - - - *CHAPTER XV* - - *ABOUT A BAZAAR AND A MEETING IN THE RUINED WINDMILL* - - -The bazaar, for which Caroline had been sewing so perseveringly, was -held in the grounds of the Manor House on a beautiful sunny day at the -end of May. Caroline spent a blissful afternoon, dressed in a Japanese -kimono with chrysanthemums in her hair, surrounded by tea-cosies and -cushion-covers and hand-embroidered scarves; and she had quite a brisk -sale at her stall, in spite of exorbitant prices. - -The spacious lawn below the terraced flower-garden was a delightful -picture; the soft, velvety grass and the cool shade under the trees that -bordered it making a pleasing background for the dainty kimonoed figures -that tripped to and fro among the bamboo stalls with their white -umbrella-shaped awnings. As the general public began to make its -appearance, the colours in the summer dresses that moved across the lawn -became as variegated as the flower-garden itself. - -Lady Prior stood on the terrace and looked down with a pleased smile at -the animated scene beneath her. - -"The village looks forward so eagerly to this each year," she remarked -to a friend. "You see, there is absolutely nowhere for them to go as a -rule, poor creatures. This is quite an event for them." And she raised -her eyebrows and gave a little rippling laugh. - -Meanwhile the poor creatures were spending their money as they were -able, and the local reporter, who was wandering among the stalls, was -mentally calculating how big a sum of money he would be able to announce -in next week's _Observer_ as the result of Lady Prior's Annual Bazaar. -Most of the village seemed out to enjoy itself at all costs; but now and -again one would come across a gloomy individual who looked like an -unwilling victim of this annual institution. In some cases, as one -little old woman grumbled to Caroline, people came because they had been -badgered and worried into promising to attend by one of the industrious -members of the committee. - -"And there's so much questioning, and reproachful looks, an' cold stares -afterward--if you don't come," she grumbled, fingering the various -articles on Caroline's stall, "that you come for peace sake.... Though -I'd much rather be sittin' at 'ome an' 'aving a cup of tea in peace and -quietness and restin' my old bones--it's all very well for young folk to -come gallivantin' and spendin' their savings--but when you're old--! ... -'Ow much is this? What is it? Eh? An egg-cosy! ... Oh, give me one of -them six-penny 'air-tidies--it'll do for my daughter in London. I ain't -got no 'air to speak of myself. But my daughter--her 'air comes out in -'andfulls--you ought to see it! ... You've got nothing else for -six-pence, I suppose? No? ... I won't 'ave anything else then." - -And the little old woman took the hair-tidy and made her way straight to -the gates, apparently making a bee-line for home, having fulfilled her -duty. - -Caroline was not critical--she took things very much as a matter of -course, and did not feel ashamed for the handsomely dressed lady from a -neighbouring village who inquired in a loud voice for the stall where -the 'pore clothes' were for sale. Caroline did not quite understand at -first, until another stall-holder explained that Mrs Lester always -purchased a number of garments to distribute among the deserving poor of -her parish. The garments Mrs Lester bought looked a bit clumsy, and -were made all alike, of rather coarse material, but "she's awfully good -to the poor, you know," Caroline was told; and there the matter ended, -until she recounted the incident to the others when she got home, and -provoked a stormy protest from Pamela against the _way_ in which rich -people were 'good to the poor.' - -"Why can't they be more tactful," asked Pamela. "Of course I know lots -of them are--but I mean people like this Mrs Lester." - -"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Pamela," said Isobel, laughing. "What do poor -people want with tact? Give them a good meal or a bundle of clothes and -they'll pretend to be grateful and satisfied and all that, and directly -your back is turned they'll grumble because you haven't given them -_more_. They always want more--they don't want tact!" - -Pamela stared for a moment at Isobel, who was reclining gracefully on -the sofa, amusement in every line of her face at Pamela's ideas. - -"Good gracious, Isobel! I can see a perfectly horrible future in store -for you," Pamela said quietly. "You are going to be another Mrs -Lester." - -"What of it?" laughed Isobel. "As long as I am as rich as she is, there -are no horrors for me." - -"Anyway, I'm sorry for you," said Pamela earnestly. - -"What on earth for?" asked Isobel, slightly nettled. - -"Because you'll miss some of the best things in life," replied Pamela. - -"Not if I'm rich, I shan't," said Isobel. - -Caroline had listened in mild surprise at all this. It had never struck -her that there could be anything to object to in Mrs Lester's attitude. - -"Do you know," she said, changing the conversation, "I had to pay for -the hire of my kimono. I hadn't expected to have to pay after giving my -services free, and making so many things for the bazaar. But it all -goes to a good cause, I suppose." - -Caroline had rather regretted that none of the other three girls had -been present at the bazaar in the afternoon, to see how rapidly her -tea-cosies had sold; but each of the three had had a different excuse -for not coming. Isobel's absence, of course, was a foregone -conclusion--she would have loved to go, but could not on account of Miss -Crabingway's instructions. - -Pamela, as we know, hated bazaars. "Don't ask me to come, Caroline," -she had said kindly. "But will you take this donation for 'the cause' -and put it in one of the boxes or whatever they have to collect the -money in." - -Caroline had had hopes that Beryl, at any rate, would not like to refuse -to come. But lack of money to spend made Beryl desperate, and, although -she was quite resolved in her own mind not to go, she half promised -Caroline she would go, if she felt up to it. She even made a feint of -preparing to go. Then a sudden imaginary attack of neuralgia made it -impossible, and she sent word by Pamela to tell Caroline not to wait, -and went and lay down in her bedroom and pulled down the blind. There -in her cool and darkened room she listened to Caroline departing, and -felt very much ashamed of herself for the story she had made up about -neuralgia. - -"But I couldn't explain that I had no money--and why," she made excuses -to herself. "Oh, it isn't fair!" - - -About a week after the bazaar Isobel went over to Inchmoor alone one day -to Madame Clarence's, a bad toothache compelling Caroline to miss a -lesson for the first time. When her dancing-lesson was over Isobel did -a little shopping, and then went and had tea in a smart and popular -confectioner's, where she could watch all the fashion of the town go by -from her seat near the window. Finding that she had missed her usual -train back to Barrowfield and that there was a long wait before the next -train, she finished her tea leisurely and then started out to walk back -home. - -She had got about half-way back when a thunderstorm broke suddenly. And -there was Isobel in a light cotton dress, and a hat that would be -'absolutely ruined' if it got wet, in the middle of a country lane--a -couple of miles from anywhere. She had not paid much attention to the -warning clouds overhead, and when the first growl of thunder was heard -she looked up startled and hastened her footsteps. - -A few minutes later the rain started--great slow thunder-spots at first, -and then it came down in torrents. Isobel, casting her eyes hastily -around for some place of shelter, saw on the hill-top the ruined -windmill. She made for this, and dashed in wet and gasping, and found -that although the wind and rain lashed in through the many holes in the -ruin, yet it afforded a considerable amount of protection if she chose -the right corner to stand in. It was fortunate that she did not -remember how Caroline, in spite of her toothache, had come out to the -front door to advise her to take an umbrella with her, or she would have -felt even more out of temper with the world than she did. - -The corner she was crouching in was partly hidden from the doorway by a -couple of thick beams of wood which were leaning, like props, from the -walls to the ground. The beams and a pile of dust and bricks formed a -partial screen, but not sufficient to hide her white frock, if anyone -had been present in that deserted spot. - -Isobel had been there about five minutes, and the storm showed no signs -of abating, when she heard voices and hurrying feet, and the next -instant two people dashed in at the doorway. - -"Here you are, mother, stand this side--and hold the rug round you this -way--it'll protect us a bit," said a deep voice. - -"It really _is_ most annoying--the car breaking down like that," said a -woman's voice. "Don't go outside, Harry.... Oh, mind!" She gave a -little shriek at a flash of lightning. - -It was not the lightning nor the crash of thunder that followed that -made Isobel's heart thump so madly. The two new-comers--who had not -caught sight of her yet, as they were standing with their backs to -her--were no others than Lady Prior and her son! - -Whatever should she do, thought poor Isobel. She was caught in a trap. -If they turned and saw her, as they undoubtedly would do sooner or -later, they would probably speak--and then what was she to do? Of -course they wouldn't know who she was. Surely Miss Crabingway wouldn't -mean her not to speak, under the circumstances. It was so perfectly -silly! ... But old ladies were queer creatures sometimes. And only a -few weeks more--and then the fifty pounds was hers, and she could do -what she liked. Isobel did not want to lose the money just by making -some stupid little mistake a week or so before it was due. She thought -of her Wishing Well wish.... Of course, she could explain just how this -meeting came about, to Miss Crabingway--but would Miss Crabingway -understand?--or was she hoping that most of the girls would break one or -other of the rules, and so lose the money? - -All this flashed through Isobel's mind during the few minutes she waited -for the two by the doorway to turn round and discover her. How she -wished--wished most fervently--that they would _not_ turn round. For, -besides the chief reason, Isobel felt she did not wish them to see her -because she must look such 'a sight'--dripping wet, and crumpled, and -blown about, and her hat flopping limply. - -She gathered from the disjointed conversation that was going on that -Lady Prior and her son had been driving home in the motor when the car -had broken down in one of the by-lanes about a hundred yards from the -mill. The storm had come on while the son was trying to mend matters, -and Lady Prior being rather nervous of lightning had been unwilling to -stay in the car covered with rugs, and had insisted on getting under a -roof of some sort where she felt more protected. She had also insisted -on Harry coming with her, and so, covering the motor over, they had -brought a rug and taken shelter inside the windmill. Although Harry had -thought that they would be just as safe if they had remained in the car, -Lady Prior thought otherwise. And so here they were. - -Isobel glanced round about to see if there were any possible way of -escape; but there appeared to be none. "Now what shall I do when they -turn round?" she kept asking herself. Had Beryl been in the same -predicament as Isobel all sorts of wild ideas would have been rushing -through her brain. Beryl would have thought of things like this: Should -she pretend she was a foreigner, and could not understand English? Or, -better still, should she pretend she was deaf and dumb? Should she -pretend to have fainted--and so escape from having to speak; but this -might have had awkward consequences if they insisted on taking her home -or to a doctor. Should she pretend to go mad, and tear past them and -out of the door? - -But these sorts of ideas did not occur to Isobel, who was not used to -practising deceptions as Beryl was. What Isobel did do was, after all, -the most natural thing. When Lady Prior and Harry turned and caught -sight of her, and Lady Prior gave a little shriek (because the lightning -had unnerved her), and then broke into exclamations and questions, -Isobel, quite unable to control herself, began to cry, her face buried -in her hands. ("And now, I simply can't let them see my face," she -thought to herself. "My nose always goes so red when I cry.... I must -look such an awful fright.... I must keep my face hidden somehow.") - -She became aware that Lady Prior was speaking to her in a slightly -condescending voice, forbidding her to cry, and telling her not be -alarmed at the lightning. - -"These country creatures are sometimes so frightfully hysterical during -thunderstorms," Isobel heard Lady Prior remark in an undertone to her -son. "I suppose she's a girl from one of the villages around here.... -There, there, my good girl, don't cry like that--the storm's almost over -now." - -Lady Prior asked her a few more questions--Where did she come from? Had -she far to go home? But receiving no reply she turned to her son, -smiled faintly, and shrugged her shoulders. - -Isobel sobbed on. Her feelings beggar description. To be talked to in -such a tone by Lady Prior! To be mistaken for a dowdy, hysterical -village girl by Lady Prior! (But, of course, her wet clothes and -flopping hat and streaky hair must look so positively awful that no -wonder Lady Prior could not tell what she was nor what she looked like.) -Nevertheless, it was the last drop in Isobel's cup of humiliation. Not -for anything on earth would she let them see her face now! - -Stealthily she watched for her opportunity. Lady Prior and her son had -moved away from the door because the rain was lashing in too furiously, -and their backs were turned to her again. She edged quietly round the -wall, climbed swiftly over the pile of bricks and dust, and made a -sudden dash for the door. - -Lady Prior gave another little shriek and clutched hold of Harry's arm. - -Isobel's action had been so sudden and unexpected that before anyone -could stop her she had gained the door and was rushing blindly down the -hill in the pouring rain. - -Whether Harry was sent after her she did not know. Probably not, as it -was still raining, and Lady Prior would think the girl was hysterical -beyond control and that it was the best thing to let her run home as -quickly as possible. - -Isobel reached home just as the storm was over. Do what she would to -avoid seeing the other girls she could not escape them. They all three -came out into the hall to exclaim over her drenched state and offer -their help, but she kept her head down as much as possible so that they -should not see she had been crying, and hurried off to her room to -change her clothes at once. - -She would not look in the glass until she was warm and dry again. She -felt she could not stand this last blow to her self-respect. When she -did see her reflection she was almost her old self again, and the -feeling of humiliation was considerably lightened. She began to feel -somewhat virtuous for not breaking Miss Crabingway's rule, and pleased -with herself for having got out of the predicament without Lady Prior -and Harry suspecting her identity. - - - - - *CHAPTER XVI* - - *PAMELA'S WISH COMES TRUE* - - -It would be pleasant to be able to record, now that the visit to -Chequertrees draws to a close, that the four girls had made considerable -progress in the work that they had set themselves to do. But this was -not quite the case. - -Caroline had certainly done an immense amount of needlework, but she had -learnt no dressmaking nor 'cutting out'; her needlework was simply a -repetition of work she could already do. And the dancing-lessons she -had attended had scarcely improved her ability, or rather inability, for -dancing; but they were good exercise for her, and had improved her -health. It seemed to Caroline as if she would never be able to learn -some of the dances Madame Clarence taught, not even if she attended the -Academy for twenty years; she did not know why--simply, she could not -grasp them. Sometimes it seemed to Caroline as if her feet were in -league against her; her right foot would come forward and point the toe -when it ought to have remained stationary and let the left foot point -the toe; and her left foot would raise itself up while the right foot -gave a hop, just when they both ought to have been gliding gracefully -along the polished floor.... But in spite of these annoyances Caroline -kept doggedly on with the lessons, and the improvement in her health was -more than compensation for her lack of success as a dancer. - -Beryl had advanced a great deal in her musical studies. She had had -time and opportunity to practise and study her theory; time and -opportunity had never been so liberally offered to her before, and now -that they were offered she seized them eagerly--and made the most of -them. She had even tried to compose a few pieces--a waltz, and a march, -and a melody in E flat, a haunting melody which always made her feel -'exaltedly sad' whenever she played it. Beryl thought privately that it -was a beautiful tune, but Isobel, who heard it through the door one day, -told Caroline that she thought it ought to be called 'Green Apples,' -because the treble "sounded like the face one pulls on tasting something -sharp and sour." Caroline was puzzled, and pondered over this for a -long time, and then went to listen outside the door herself. She heard -the tune, and liked it--liked it so much that she went in and asked -Beryl to play it again, much to Beryl's confusion and delight. After -that it became a regular institution; Caroline would take her needlework -into the drawing-room and sit and listen whenever Beryl started to play -her melody in E flat. For some reason or other this particular tune -appealed to Caroline; it made her feel pleasantly melancholy, and she -enjoyed the feeling, and would sit sewing and heaving long sighs at -intervals. If Isobel were anywhere within hearing on these occasions -she was rendered nearly helpless with stifled laughter. "There's poor -old Caroline going in to have some more 'Green Apples,'" she would -giggle, and as the tune proceeded would stuff her handkerchief in her -mouth and fly up to her room and shut herself in. Although this was -only an early attempt at composing, it marked a chapter in Beryl's -musical career, and as she advanced her compositions became more -numerous and were better finished. - -Isobel, who had not taken the question of work seriously, had -nevertheless made good progress in her dancing. Naturally a graceful -dancer, she had rapidly picked up the new dances at Madame Clarence's, -and was now one of Madame's 'show pupils'--to the mutual satisfaction of -both of them. It may have been noticed that up to the present time no -mention has been made of Isobel taking any photographs with the camera -she talked of buying; this was because she did not buy a camera until a -fortnight before her stay at Barrowfield came to an end; and then she -went and bought one with a definite purpose in view--the purpose of -giving a gift of some photographs to Miss Crabingway on her return. - -Pamela, though she had given most of her spare time to her sketching, -had got through a good deal of reading as well, but not as much as she -had meant to. The best of her sketches she intended to take home with -her in order to show Michael what she had been doing, and what sort of -places she had been seeing, and what she had learnt from Elizabeth Bagg. - -There was one thing that all four girls had managed to do, and that was -to keep on good terms with each other with rarely an open disagreement. -"It'll be so much more comfortable for us all if we can manage to put up -with each other--and, after all, it is only for a short time, not for -life," Pamela had remarked on one occasion. And so this sensible -attitude was adopted by all of them. Whenever the smoothly running -wheels of the household got stuck, as they were bound to occasionally, a -little lubricating oil from Martha or Ellen, or one or other of the -girls, soon set them running easily again. The stay at Chequertrees and -the contact of the various temperaments was bound to leave some -impression on each of the girls afterward; it was not to be expected -that it could radically change them, except in small ways. They had all -more or less enjoyed their visit, and it had done them all good, in more -ways than one. Martha and Ellen owned to each other in the kitchen one -evening that they would certainly miss the young life about the place -when the girls had gone. - -About a fortnight before the six months came to an end the girls were -sitting in the garden one afternoon having tea under the mulberry tree -at the end of the lawn, when Beryl made a suggestion. - -"I was just wondering," she began hesitatingly, "whether we couldn't do -something for Miss Crabingway, as a sort of--well, to show we've had a -nice time here in her house." - -"What sort of thing?" asked Caroline, her mind running at once to gifts -of hand-made tea-cosies and cushions. - -"A jolly good idea, Beryl," said Pamela. "It would be nice to show her -we'd appreciated the stay here. I know that I, for one, have had a good -time. What could we do, now, for Miss Crabingway?" - -"When you say 'do something,' do you mean club together and buy her a -present?--or do you suggest we decorate the house with evergreens and -hang WELCOME HOME in white cotton-wool letters on a red flannel -background?" said Isobel, laughing. "Or does 'do something' mean -getting up an entertainment for her pleasure, in which case you can put -me down for a skirt dance--I've learnt a heavenly new step at Madame -Clarence's--you'll see it when you come to Madame's reception next -week." - -"I suppose you end the lessons the week after next?" said Pamela. - -"Yes, last time on Tuesday week," replied Isobel. "Of course it's very -unusual to hold dancing-classes all through the summer, as Madame does, -but some of the pupils are awfully keen--and she finds that it pays, I -suppose. But it's the last time I shall be there--Tuesday week." - -"Oh, don't let us talk about _last_ and _end_," said Beryl. "I wish it -needn't end--our stay here." - -"Do you really?" said Isobel. "Oh, it hasn't been a bad time on the -whole, but I shan't be sorry to get back to town, and the shops and -theatres, and, of course, mater and all the rest of it." - -"I shan't mind being home again, though I've had a pleasant stay here," -remarked Caroline. "I'm sure Pamela is longing to be among her people -again." - -"Oh, I am," said Pamela fervently. "I can't tell you how much I'm -looking forward to seeing them. I've had an awfully jolly time here, -though.... And that brings us back to Beryl's suggestion--what can we do -for Miss Crabingway? ... I don't know what you all think about it, but I -should suggest that we each give her something original--give her -something she couldn't buy in a shop in the ordinary way." - -"Like--what?" asked Isobel. - -"Well, for instance, Caroline could give her a piece of her -hand-embroidered needlework." - -"I wish we had thought of this earlier," observed Caroline, "I could -have been working at something, in odd moments, all these weeks." - -"You've still got a whole fortnight left, dear child," said Isobel. -"But what can _I_ do for Miss Crabingway? Suggest something, somebody, -please! I can't do embroidery, like Caroline; nor draw pictures, like -Pamela; nor compose music, like Beryl.... By the way, Beryl, you ought -to compose a waltz, and call it 'The Emily Valse,' and dedicate it to -Miss Emily Crabingway, you know. She would be _charmed_, I'm sure." - -Beryl flushed quickly, not because she resented Isobel's joke, but -because some such idea as Isobel suggested had flitted for a moment -through her mind (barring the title of the composition). - -"And I'll invent a dance which shall be called 'The Crabingway Glide,' -and I'll dance it to your music. There! What do you think of that for -an idea?" Isobel laughed. - -"Very good indeed," said Pamela. - -And then the four girls began to laugh at each other, and with each -other, and make all sorts of wild and facetious suggestions, until -Martha came to the kitchen window and looked out, wondering what all the -laughter was about. But, in spite of all the joking about it, the idea -was seriously considered, and arrangements made for each to do her best -to give Miss Crabingway something of her own work in appreciation of the -visit to Chequertrees. - -It was on this occasion that Isobel finally decided to buy her camera -without delay and get some really interesting snap-shots of the girls -and the house, and have the best photographs enlarged and framed for -Miss Crabingway. - -"While we're on the subject," said Pamela, "I should like to give -something or other to Martha and Ellen, wouldn't you? They've looked -after us awfully well--what can we do for them, I wonder?" - -They discussed presents for Martha and Ellen, and decided each to make -or buy something suitable within the next fortnight. - -Pamela went round to see the Baggs after tea. She knew that it was one -of the days Elizabeth went over to Inchmoor and that she would not be -back home again until seven o'clock, because it was the evening she -stayed later to do her housekeeping shopping. But Pamela did not want -to see Elizabeth herself. She wanted to see her firelight picture, -which she knew was just finished. - -The eldest little Bagg girl was setting the table for her father's tea -when Pamela arrived at 'Alice Maud Villa.' - -"I'm just going up to Elizabeth's room for something," said Pamela, -after she had helped to lay the table. Tom Bagg was not in yet, but -expected in every minute. - -Upstairs in the studio Pamela found Elizabeth's picture--finished. She -stood before it for some minutes, regarding it earnestly. - -"Yes, it's the best thing she's ever done," she said to herself. "I'm -sure it is." - -To Pamela's eyes the likenesses were excellent; Tom Bagg, with his -ruddy, genial face, sitting in his big arm-chair by the fire, chuckling, -and pointing with the stem of his pipe at his absorbed audience of -children, a habit of his when emphasizing any particular point in the -story. The expressions on the children's faces were delightful. Pamela -laughed softly to herself as she looked at them. - -Then she went to the door, opened it, and listened. Tom Bagg had just -come in, and was inquiring when his tea would be ready. - -"I'll wait till he's had it," thought Pamela. "He'll be in an extra good -mood then." - -She went downstairs and chatted with him while he had his tea, and did -her best to put him in as pleasant a mood as possible. She laughed at -his jokes longer than they deserved, and encouraged him to talk; he was -always happy when talking; and she kept an eye on the children so that -they did nothing to annoy him. Frequently she would glance up at the -clock, anxious to assure herself that Elizabeth was not due home yet. - -At length, when Tom Bagg had finished his tea and had got out his pipe -and tobacco pouch, she felt that her opportunity had arrived. She rose, -and with rapidly beating heart went upstairs to the studio and fetched -the firelight picture down. Without a word she placed it on a chair -before the old cabman, who watched her movements with curious surprise. -The little Baggs pressed forward and clustered round the picture, gazing -in astonishment. For a second or two there was dead silence in the room. - -"It's Daddy," said one of the children. - -"An' us!" cried another shrilly. - -"Your sister painted it," said Pamela to Tom Bagg. - -Then they all began to talk at once--all, that is, except old Tom Bagg. -Throughout the noisy interlude that followed he remained silent, staring -at the picture. Pamela watched his face anxiously. - -Presently he scratched the bald spot on the top of his head, and said -quietly: - -"Well, I'm blowed!" - -He had never seen any of Elizabeth's portrait studies before, and was -filled with astonishment. - -"But it's like me!" he said in surprise, as if that were the last thing -to be expected. - -"Of course it is," replied Pamela. "It's meant to be." Then she went -on to explain how Elizabeth had sat and watched him and the children and -then gone away and painted the picture up in her own room. She was -longing to talk about Elizabeth's work with all the enthusiasm she felt -for it, but she purposely kept her voice as quiet as she could, because -she guessed it would be wiser and more effective to let Tom Bagg think -he had discovered for himself how clever his sister really was. - -Which is precisely what Tom Bagg came to think he had done. He was much -taken by his own portrait. - -"It's not a bad bit of work, eh?" he asked Pamela. - -"It's a decidedly good bit of work--it's splendid," she replied. - -The more Tom Bagg looked at the picture the more pleased he became with -it. - -"No," he said, "it's not at all a bad bit of work." - -He stood with his head a little on one side regarding the picture. - -And then the front-door latch clicked and Elizabeth Bagg stepped in. -She caught sight of the picture immediately, and looked round the room -astonished, and annoyed. - -"Oh, please forgive me," said Pamela, moving toward her. "I--I simply -couldn't help bringing it down..." - -"Lizzie," said Tom Bagg, who felt wholeheartedly generous once he was -convinced of anything, "this is not at all a bad bit of work. Why -didn't you tell me you could paint likenesses?" - -He was evidently greatly struck with the painting, and seemed to admire -it so genuinely, that any annoyance Elizabeth may have felt faded -immediately, and she laughed a little nervously and said she was glad he -liked it. - -When Pamela had decided to bring the picture down to show to Tom Bagg -she had not expected her action to do more than make Tom Bagg realize -the talent of his sister, and so make it easier for her to have more -time for her painting. Tom Bagg certainly did realize his sister's -talent at last; but the matter did not end there; he became so pleased -with the picture that the following evening he carried it (without -Elizabeth's permission) down to the 'Blue Boar,' where he proudly -displayed it to his bosom friends, and any strangers who happened to -drop in while he was there, and was much elated by the unanimous praise -it received. - -Whether you believe the Wishing Well had anything to do with the sequel -depends on whether you believe in Wishing Wells or not. Pamela -undoubtedly puts it down to the Wishing Well. She had wished that -Elizabeth Bagg's work would gain recognition. And it did. It happened -that a Mr Alfred Knowles, an influential art connoisseur from London, -came into the 'Blue Boar' that evening just when Tom Bagg was showing -the picture to a group of men in the bar-parlour. Mr Knowles listened -with great interest to Tom Bagg's explanations and remarks, and getting -into conversation with the old cabman, questioned him closely about his -sister's work. An introduction to Elizabeth Bagg followed, and Mr -Knowles was so delighted with her pictures that he purchased several and -took them back to town with him; he would have liked to buy the -firelight picture, but Tom Bagg seemed so anxious to keep it that -Elizabeth decided not to part with it, but promised Mr Knowles that she -would have a reproduction made for him as quickly as possible. And so -the original picture of Tom Bagg telling stories to his children was -hung up over the mantel-piece in the living-room of the little cottage -in Long Lane. - -Pamela was delighted by the turn events had taken. Had she been able to -see into Elizabeth's future she would have been more delighted still. -For Elizabeth's pictures were to be seen and admired by Mr Knowles' -artistic friends, and she was to get commissions from them for numerous -paintings, so that as time went on she was obliged to give up her -classes at Inchmoor in order to give all her spare time to her painting -at home. And with the money she earned Elizabeth was eventually able to -pay for some one to come and do the housework for her brother, and -washing and mending, and to help look after the children. For, though -Elizabeth achieved in time a small amount of fame, it never altered her -decision to stay and look after her brother and his children. - -"I couldn't be happy if I left them now," she would say, when tempted -with the thought of that wonderful room in London. Instead, she rented -a room in Barrowfield, which she turned into a studio, and divided her -days between the studio and her brother's house. - -As for Tom Bagg, he was bewildered yet gratified with the state of -affairs; his respect for Elizabeth increased by leaps and bounds as he -saw how highly valued her work became. Gradually he came to wonder if -he and the children were a drag on Elizabeth's career, and once he -offered her her freedom, and was deeply touched by her decision to stay -with him.... - -And there was to come a day in the future when Pamela and Michael and -Elizabeth Bagg were to pay a visit to the Royal Academy to see -Elizabeth's latest picture hung.... - -But all this was to happen some years after Pamela's first visit to -Barrowfield was over. Up to the present time Elizabeth's pictures had -just been bought by Mr Knowles--which was sufficient for Pamela to be -able to announce to three interested girls at Chequertrees that her -Wishing Well wish had come true. - - - - - *CHAPTER XVII* - - *IN WHICH OLD SILAS LAUGHS AND ISOBEL DANCES* - - -Madame Clarence's reception took place a week before the girls' visit to -Chequertrees came to an end. As one of Madame's 'show' pupils Isobel -was to do a special dance by herself on this occasion; she had been -looking forward to this, and had bought a special dress for the dance, -made of white silk. She had practised the steps and movements of the -dance over and over again before a long mirror in her bedroom, until she -could do the dance to her complete satisfaction. Madame was -enthusiastic over it, and told Isobel privately that she thought she -would be the success of the evening--which pleased Isobel greatly, and -made her determine that she would do her best to make Madame's words -come true. - -In her white silk frock, her pretty fluffy hair dressed becomingly and -tied with a soft blue ribbon, she looked very dainty and graceful as she -ran down the stairs to the dining-room for Pamela and Beryl to inspect -her before she put her cloak on. - -Caroline, who, of course, was to dance at Madame's reception also (but -not by herself), was "not quite ready yet," she called out to Isobel as -the latter passed the bedroom door on her way down. Caroline was to wear -a white frock too; but white did not suit Caroline's complexion, and the -style of her dress rather emphasized her heavy build and plump arms. -However, as Caroline surveyed herself in the mirror she was not so -concerned about her frock or complexion as she was with the intricacies -of one of the dances she was to take part in that evening. She felt -sure she would never remember a certain twist at one point, and a bow, -and a turn at another, and she felt very glad that she was not going to -dance alone, like Isobel, but only with a crowd of other girls. - -Pamela, Beryl, Martha, and Ellen had been invited by Isobel and Caroline -to come as their guests to the reception. Each pupil of Madame's could -bring two friends with them, and Isobel claiming Pamela and Beryl for -her two, Caroline suddenly had the nice idea of inviting Martha and -Ellen. - -It was arranged that Isobel and Caroline were to go on ahead of their -guests, as Madame had expressed a wish that all her pupils would arrive -at least half an hour before the visitors were expected, so that -everything and every one would be ready to start promptly to time. It -was just beginning to get dusk when the two girls were actually ready -and waiting for Tom Bagg's cab to arrive so that they could start off. -Pamela, Beryl, Martha, and Ellen were to follow on to Inchmoor by the -seven o'clock train. - -The evening was very warm, and as Tom Bagg drove up to the gate, Isobel, -suddenly declaring that she was too hot to put on her cloak, decided to -carry it over her arm and wrap it round her in the cab if she felt -chilly. Caroline did not care how hot she felt; she put on her cloak -and buttoned it up to the neck, telling Isobel she thought she was -foolish and that she might not only catch a cold but would get her dress -soiled in brushing against the cab door, and so on. But Isobel laughed -and asked Caroline if she was going to take her goloshes and umbrella in -case it rained between the front door and the cab at the gate. And so, -with Pamela and Beryl wishing them both good luck, Isobel and Caroline -passed out of the front door and down the garden. - -And then a catastrophe happened. - -Isobel, who was some way in front of Caroline, was passing a low thick -bush half-way along the path to the gate, and had turned to make some -laughing remark, and wave her hand to Pamela at the front door, when -suddenly a pailful of garden rubbish--mostly weeds with black, wet soil -clinging to their roots--came shooting over the bush, and descended in a -shower all over Isobel and her pretty white silk frock. - -[Illustration: A PAILFUL OF GARDEN RUBBISH DESCENDED IN A SHOWER] - -Isobel gave a scream, ran a few steps, and then stood stock-still, and -gazed down at her frock and the coat on her arm. - -"Oh, it's spoilt--it's absolutely spoilt!" she gasped, whipping out her -handkerchief and trying in vain to rub off the dirty, smeary marks on -her sleeves and skirt. "Oh, Pamela, whatever shall I do? ... But who -_did_ it? Who _did_ it?" she cried, lifting her head angrily, and she -made a dart round the side of the bush. - -But there was no one immediately on the other side. About a dozen yards -off, with his back to her, digging methodically away at one of the -flowerbeds was old Silas Sluff. - -"Oh!" cried Isobel. "It was you, then, was it? How--how dare-- Oh, -you perfectly horrible creature!" - -Silas, being deaf, took no notice, and so she ran forward, stepping -recklessly on his flowerbeds, and confronted him, her eyes blazing with -anger. - -By this time the others had come on the scene. Pamela, Beryl, followed -by the dumbfounded Caroline, and presently Martha and Ellen, came -running to learn what had happened and what had caused the delay. Poor -Isobel certainly looked a woebegone sight, with great smears down her -dress and on one cheek, and soil and weeds in her hair. Who would have -believed that the soil would have been so sticky and wet--unless old -Silas had recently been watering the garden, which he didn't appear to -have been doing. - -"Look what you've done!" cried Isobel excitedly, pointing to her dress; -but as Silas did not look up, but still went on digging, she suddenly -seized his spade, jerked it out of his hands, and flung it down on the -ground. "Look what you've done!" she repeated. - -Old Silas straightened his bent back and looked at the dress in silence. - -"You'll have to pay for this, my man!" Isobel raised her voice and spoke -loudly and distinctly. - -"Eh?" said old Silas, whose deafness appeared to be worse than usual -to-day. Then he added, "Who will?" - -"You," cried Isobel. "You'll have to pay for a new dress in place of -this one you've spoilt." - -Here Pamela joined in. After a great deal of difficulty, for the old -gardener seemed extraordinarily deaf and stupid, he was made to -understand that he was being accused of throwing a pailful of rubbish -over Isobel. - -"And you did it _purposely_," added Isobel. - -"Oh, Isobel, wait a minute," said Pamela. "Perhaps he didn't know you -were passing--perhaps he didn't hear you." - -Old Silas was apparently not so deaf after all, for he caught this -remark, and looking at Isobel's dress and seeing that his handiwork was -even better than he had expected it to be, he decided in his own mind to -retire now from this awkward scene in the manner most to his advantage; -after all, he thought, there were four, five, six of them as witnesses -against him here, and if they complained to Miss Crabingway he might be -dismissed--which would not suit him at all. - -"'Ere," he said at length, "what's that you sez I done? Eh? Well, I -_did_ throw a pail of rubbidge over the 'edge jus' now--I'm not a-goin' -to say as 'ow I didn't--but I thrown it on to the rubbidge 'eap.... -Where I alwus throw it--all on to the path in a 'eap and then sweep it -up afterwuds.... I never 'eard no one comin' along the path--I'm that -'ard of 'earing, yer know.... I never 'eard no one..." - -"But it's not usual for you to throw the rubbish over like that without -looking, is it?" asked Pamela. - -But Silas stoutly maintained that it was, though nobody in the little -group around him had seen him do such a thing before to-day. Ellen, in -the background, squeezed Martha's arm and winked, whispering in her ear, - -"Of _course_ he done it for the purpose. I told you he'd have his -revenge on Miss Isobel for saucing him in the garden when she first came -here, didn't I now?" - -Meanwhile Silas stubbornly held to his point that he thought he was -throwing the weeds on the rubbish heap, and that he had not heard Isobel -coming past. - -"Well, Isobel," said Pamela, "it won't do any good to prolong this -argument--and time's flying past. Let's hurry in and see what we can do -to the dress--or you must wear one of mine. And, Beryl, will you explain -to Tom Bagg and ask him in to wait for twenty minutes--we mustn't be -longer than that." Then she turned to Silas. "I think," she said, "that -at any rate you might apologize----" - -"Apologize! What good will that do! I don't want an apology from -_him_," cried Isobel. "I'm too disgusted with him--besides, I _know_ he -did it purposely. He's just telling lies, because he is frightened now -at what he's done.... But if the dress is ruined beyond repair he shall -pay for it--I don't care what he says.... I'll make him pay, if--if I -have to go to law about it." And without waiting for anything further -Isobel turned on her heel and marched away into the house, followed by -Pamela, who was secretly longing to laugh at old Silas's expression and -Isobel's theatrical outburst. In a few moments the group round Silas -dispersed. - -Silas stood for a while scratching the top of his head and looking at -the ground where Isobel had stood, then he picked up his spade and -resumed his digging. - -Presently he began to chuckle. "I said I'd learn 'er," he told himself. -"An' I _did_ learn 'er. Nice and slimy and wet them weeds were--an', -after all, I _did_ only throw 'em on a rubbidge 'eap. That's what she -is." - -Why old Silas had not taken his revenge on Isobel before this it is -impossible to say. He had not thought out any clear plan for a long -time, but had waited for an idea, and when he had got one he had turned -it over in his mind with relish for some time, and then begun to look -around for an opportunity--and, at length, to-day he had found one. - -While Tom Bagg waited in the hall, and Caroline wandered about asking if -she could be of any use, Pamela and Beryl, finding that Isobel's dress -could not be remedied unless it was thoroughly washed and ironed, -quickly got out a white muslin frock of Pamela's and set to work to make -it fit Isobel. Pamela was more Isobel's build than either of the other -two girls, and so her dress was not such a bad fit, and with the aid of -a needle and cotton, and some safety pins and a pair of scissors, it -soon began to look presentable on Isobel. Of course it did not look as -pretty on Isobel as her own white silk had done--but it was fortunate -that Pamela had even a white muslin frock ready to lend Isobel in this -emergency. Martha and Ellen lent a hand, hurrying to and fro, looking -for pins and scissors, and helping Isobel to brush the soil out of her -hair and re-do it. For although they all knew that Isobel's conduct -toward old Silas had been very rude and trying, to say the least of it, -yet they all felt sorry for her that he had chosen just this occasion to -punish her for her treatment of him so many months ago. - -There was no time to talk much--they all worked hard, and within half an -hour Isobel and Caroline were safely packed away inside Tom Bagg's cab -and were jogging briskly along the road to Inchmoor. - -Of course Pamela, Beryl, Martha, and Ellen had missed the seven o'clock -train, and when they arrived at the Dancing Academy, and were shown into -the big dancing-hall, a great number of people were already assembled, -and the first part of the programme had begun. Madame, who had received -all her guests in the doorway and had shaken hands with each one, had -now disappeared behind the door at the back of the raised platform at -the end of the hall. The four late arrivals managed to squeeze through -the crowd that filled the lower half of the hall, and at length found -seats where they could obtain a good view of the evening's proceedings. - -A glance round the hall conveyed the impression that Madame's receptions -must be very popular affairs; there was scarcely a vacant seat to be -seen. Most of the audience were relatives of the pupils or friends, or -prospective pupils, but there were a number of people who were -outsiders--people who had received a pressing and urgent invitation from -Madame at the last minute; for always before her receptions Madame would -be suddenly seized with an unreasonable fear that the hall would be -empty of onlookers, or only half filled, and so she would send out a -score or so of these pressing and flattering invitations at random, and -in a frantic hurry, a couple of days before the reception took place. -And generally a few of these last-minute visitors would turn up. - -The upper half of the hall, including the raised platform at the end, -was reserved for the dancers, the baby-grand piano being well concealed -by bamboo fern-stands and pots of flowering shrubs, so that the music -arose, apparently, from a bank of greenery and flowers. Prettily shaded -lights were suspended at intervals from the ceiling. - -Pamela and Beryl gathered from the conversation going on around them -that they had missed Madame's opening speech and the first dance, and -now the second dance was just about to start. A tall, thin lady in a -black evening dress, with lace frills at her elbows, and wearing -pince-nez and a rather bored expression, appeared from the door at the -back of the platform, and descending behind the ferns and bamboo stands, -began to play a lively barn-dance on the piano. It was a good piano, -all except one note in the bass which was out of tune, and made a -curious burring noise whenever it was played on; and this particular -note seemed to recur again and again in the barn-dance, so that Beryl -always associated the music of that evening with this particular bass -note, and could hear it, in her head, whenever Madame's name was -mentioned. - -Twelve girls all dressed in white, and twelve youths in regulation -evening-dress, took part in the barn-dance, which was enthusiastically -applauded by the audience. This was followed by a graceful, -old-fashioned minuet and several solo dances, each of which Martha said -was nicer than the one before. But of all the dances, there were just -three that the onlookers from Chequertrees remembered best. The first -was Isobel's dance, the second a flower-dance in which Caroline took -part, and the third a weird dance done by Madame Clarence herself. - -Isobel's dance was a great success, as Madame had prophesied. Almost up -to the moment when she first appeared on the platform Isobel had been -feeling out of humour and disappointed on account of her white silk -dress; but directly she started to dance she forgot all her troubles, -and, smiling happily, she floated lightly across the platform, swaying, -turning, tapping with her small white shoes, and daintily holding the -skirt of Pamela's white muslin frock. It was sheer pleasure to watch -Isobel's graceful movements, and she seemed to be enjoying the dance so -thoroughly, that every one else felt they were enjoying it too. Could -old Silas have seen her smiling light-heartedly as she danced across the -hall he would never have recognized her as the same girl who had stood -before him a few hours previously, savagely angry. Pamela and Beryl -were astonished at the change in Isobel; they had not expected her to be -able to throw her annoyance off so completely. - -At the end of the dance a storm of applause broke out, and Isobel was -encored again and again. Back she came, blushing and smiling and -bowing--a transformed Isobel, her eyes bright with excitement. The -success of the evening! That's what she had hoped to be--and that was -what she was. As she bowed her acknowledgments after her encore dance, -her smiling gaze, wandering round the faces of the audience, lighted on -the faces of two girls, whom she recognized as Lady Prior's daughters; -they were applauding her enthusiastically, Isobel saw to her delight. - -On the other side of the platform door Caroline waited, listening to the -applause that was greeting Isobel, and she couldn't help thinking that -it was rather a shame that no applause like this was ever given to the -most choice piece of needlework imaginable. She tried to conjure up -visions of rapturously applauding audiences encoring an embroidered -tea-cosy, but it was impossible to picture it, and she sighed heavily. -"And yet the tea-cosy is much more useful than a dance," she thought. -Isobel might have argued that a dance, in giving a hundred people a few -minutes' genuine pleasure and happiness was of more use than a tea-cosy, -but Caroline would never have agreed with her. Thinking of the many -hours she had sat over her needlework, and the delicate stitchery she -had done, for which she had received nothing more than an occasional -word of praise, Caroline felt all at once aggrieved, realizing the -unfairness of things in general. She couldn't remember feeling like -this before, and marvelled at herself. Why had she got this sudden -desire for praise? Perhaps it was the knowledge that the dance in which -she was to appear came next on the programme, and she knew that she was -no good at dancing. She wondered why Madame had insisted on her taking -part in this dance; Madame liked every one of her pupils to appear on -the occasions when she gave a reception, providing, of course, that they -were passable dancers. She thought Caroline a passable dancer, and so -she was until she forgot her steps. And Caroline felt convinced she was -going to forget them on this occasion; she wished she had, on the -present occasion, that sense of capability she would have felt if she -had been going on the platform with a needle and thread in her hand. - -Caroline felt so sure she would forget a certain part of the -flower-dance that, of course, she did forget it. With twenty other -girls, each carrying a trail of artificial roses, she danced on to the -platform and down the upper part of the hall. All went well for a time. -Every time she danced past the place where Martha was sitting she was -conscious that Martha nodded and beamed encouragingly at her, and felt -somewhat cheered by this attention on Martha's part. And then, when the -critical part of the dance arrived--whether it was that Caroline was -giddy with whirling round and round, or whether it was because she had -thought to herself, "Now, this is where I shall go wrong," will never be -known--but after a brief but vivid impression that she was dancing up -the side of the wall, and that the audience were spinning round and -round her like a gigantic top, Caroline found herself alone in the -middle of the hall, with her feet tangled in a trail of artificial roses -and her hair tumbling about her face. - -The audience was clapping and laughing. Caroline was overcome with -confusion and, flushing painfully, tried to disentangle herself from the -roses. The other girls were grouped together in a final tableau at the -other end of the hall, beside the platform. They were all tittering -with laughter too. Caroline made a desperate effort, and, disentangling -herself, dashed across to them and tried to obscure herself among the -twenty. And in another minute the dance was over and they were all -'behind the scenes' again. - -Madame received her with honeyed words, but the tone of her voice was -acid. She had thought that Caroline's dancing would pass at least -unnoticed, and now it had been noticed in a very unenviable way. - -Poor Caroline! She felt both ashamed and sorry for herself. "I knew I -should never remember that part," was all she could say--and thereafter -remained quiet and sulky, brooding over the 'ridiculous sketch' she must -have looked before all that laughing audience. "I never did like -dancing," she said to herself later, "and now I hate it." - -Fortunately Madame Clarence's own dance followed soon after Caroline's -blunder, and the impression made by Madame was such as to sweep -everything else into the background for the time being. - -It certainly was a remarkable dance, and one that Madame had invented -herself. Madame was dressed in a startling black frock embroidered with -gold, and wore yellow earrings and a long chain of yellow beads, and -bright yellow shoes and stockings. Madame's expressive hands played a -great part in the dance, which, as previously mentioned, was -remarkable--far more remarkable than beautiful. It seemed to Ellen, who -gazed spellbound, as if Madame must surely end by breaking her neck, or -one of her legs, so full of twists and curves was the dance; indeed, at -times it was all Ellen could do to keep herself from giving little -shrieks or crying 'oo-er' aloud. However, she enjoyed it immensely, and -so did the rest of the audience, judging by the applause Madame received -and the huge bouquets which suddenly appeared and were handed up to her -as she came to bow her thanks, smiling delightedly and kissing her hand -to the audience. - -During the evening there was an interval in which coffee and cakes were -handed round, and everybody became very chatty, and Madame wandered -about among her guests conversing and receiving compliments. Ellen -seemed to be fascinated by Madame, and followed her movements around the -hall admiringly. - -Beryl watched the evening's proceedings with sad, preoccupied eyes. She -smiled and talked brightly enough when anyone spoke to her, but her face -in repose wore an anxious, worried look. During the previous week her -moods of depression had been very frequent, and worse than usual, for -even her music had been neglected and the piano had been closed and -silent. She was enjoying the evening at Madame Clarence's, but she was -not by any means at ease. Pamela had noticed this and was a little -puzzled. That Beryl was far from anxious for their six months' stay at -Chequertrees to come to an end Pamela was aware; and she did not doubt -that Beryl dreaded Miss Crabingway's return, because it meant Enfield -and Aunt Laura for Beryl; but she felt that there was something more -than the coming parting to account for Beryl's preoccupied manner and -avoidance of any confidential talk with her. - -Madame Clarence's successful evening coming at length to a close, Madame -stood at the door again and shook hands effusively with her guests as -they passed out, receiving more compliments, and herself telling every -one how "vewy, vewy kind it was of them to come." - -During the journey home Caroline was wrapped in gloom, but Isobel was in -high good spirits and chatted and laughed excitedly, all thoughts of old -Silas having been driven from her head--until the following morning when -she returned the muslin dress to Pamela. - -Finding, on examination, that her own silk dress was not irretrievably -spoiled, but would come up as good as new when washed, Isobel decided to -take no further steps to show her displeasure toward Silas. - -"He's not worth taking any more bother about," Isobel decided, partly -because she really felt that, and partly because she did not know -exactly what to do to punish him--beyond reporting him to Miss -Crabingway, which might lead to awkward questions about her own conduct, -she realized. - -And so Silas Sluff heard no more about the rubbish heap. - - - - - *CHAPTER XVIII* - - *THE DOOR IS UNLOCKED* - - -A couple of days before Miss Crabingway was due to return Beryl made an -opportunity to speak to Pamela about the money she had borrowed. - -"I haven't got it on me at present, Pamela," said Beryl. "But I'll be -sure to let you have it back. I'll send it to you by post, without -fail. It was awfully good of you.... I have got your address, haven't -I? Oh, yes, I wrote it down in my note book." - -"That's all right. Don't worry about that--any time will do," said -Pamela. "If I could help you in any way----" - -But Beryl thanked her and assured her that everything was all right, and -hurriedly changed the subject. - -Miss Crabingway was expected home on the Friday morning, so the girls -made all their final preparations on the Thursday evening, and Pamela -and Beryl and Isobel (Caroline was busy packing) spent an hour after tea -in picking flowers and arranging them in every room in the house. - -"Why, it's like as if the garden 'as come inside the house," cried -Martha, passing through the hall as Pamela was arranging a big bowl of -roses on a small table by the front door. - -"Aren't they lovely?" said Pamela, burying her nose in them. "And we -don't seem to have robbed the garden a bit--there are heaps more.... I -always think flowers give one such a welcome, don't you, Martha? ... And -these are going to stand on the mat, as it were, and be the first to -shake hands with Miss Crabingway to-morrow, to welcome her home." - -But, after all, it was not the bowl of roses that welcomed Miss -Crabingway home; it was a pot of shaggy yellow chrysanthemums that stood -inside the french windows of the drawing-room that night. Pamela did not -know this, though, until the following morning, after breakfast. - -Pamela noticed, when she put her head inside the kitchen door on her way -to breakfast that Martha and Ellen were whispering together in a -subdued, excited way, and that they stopped at once on catching sight of -her and went hastily on with their work. - -"I'm just bringing the coffee in, Miss Pamela," said Ellen. - -While Martha took the boiled eggs out of the saucepan with a -self-conscious expression on her face, and in her efforts to appear -unconcerned dropped one, and it broke on the kitchen floor. In the -unnecessary energy she put into the work of clearing it up she was able -to hide her embarrassment and regain her composure. - -This was not lost on Pamela, who felt that there was a certain -atmosphere of mystery in the kitchen--which was entirely foreign to the -light, sunny room, with its shining brass and purring kettle, and -delicious smell of baking bread. - -"Is anything the matter, Martha?" she could not help asking, when calm -was restored and the broken egg replaced. "There's nothing wrong, is -there?" - -Martha and Ellen exchanged quick glances, and then Martha laughed. - -"Why, bless my heart, why should there be?" she replied. "Of course -there's nothing wrong." And she laughed again. - -But Pamela felt vaguely uneasy--why, she did not know. She ate her -breakfast thoughtfully, and did not talk half so much as she usually did -at breakfast-time. All the girls were more silent than usual, as if the -coming events of the day were already casting their shadows over them. - -As soon as breakfast was finished Martha appeared suddenly in the -dining-room doorway and said, - -"I was to ask you all if you would please step up and see Miss -Crabingway now.... She is in her own room...." - -The girls looked at each other in astonishment. Miss Crabingway here! -In her own room! The locked-up room? When did she arrive? None of -them had heard her come. - -They turned to Martha with a dozen questions, but Martha only smiled -mysteriously and shook her head. - -"Miss Crabingway arrived late last night," she said when there was a -pause in the questioning; "so late that she did not knock at the front -door, in case she woke you all up ..." - -"Then how--?" Isobel began. - -"I heard some one tap on the french windows in the drawing-room, just as -I was going to lock up for the night.... It was Miss Crabingway," said -Martha. - -"But why--" said Isobel. - -Martha moved out of the doorway. "Miss Crabingway is waiting for you," -she said. - -The girls had all risen, and were standing round the table. - -"Yes, we'd better go," said Pamela. - -But none of them moved for a moment. They were gradually readjusting -their plans to meet the present occasion--their plans for welcoming Miss -Crabingway, which were all spoilt now. Instead of being able to catch a -glimpse of her before she saw them--being able to watch her enter the -garden gate, and come up the path to the front door--here she was in -their midst, ready to welcome _them_.... And they had meant to put on -their pretty summer dresses--and here they were with only their morning -blouses and skirts on.... However, there was no time to change -now--Miss Crabingway was waiting to see them. It was useless to try to -remember all the things they had meant to say and do before meeting Miss -Crabingway--there was no time for regrets. Before they realized what was -happening they were mounting the stairs in solemn, single file, Pamela -leading the way and Caroline bringing up the rear--while Martha stood at -the foot of the staircase, an enigmatical smile on her face. - -Outside the room door which had been locked to them for so long the -girls stopped. All was silent within. Each of the girls felt as if the -loud beating of her heart must be heard by the other three. They were -all rather nervous. What would they see on the other side of the -door?--the door which they had so religiously avoided going near, until -now. What would Miss Crabingway be like?--Miss Crabingway, who had made -such queer rules for them during their stay in her house. - -Pamela knocked gently on the door with her knuckles. - -The sound of a chair leg scraping on the floor inside could be heard, -and then a voice said "Come in." So Pamela turned the door handle and -the four girls went in. - -Each of the girls, at some time or other during the last six months, had -imagined the meeting with Miss Crabingway at the end of their visit; the -imagined meetings had been dramatic or comfortable, according to the -girls' moods or temperaments; but none of them had imagined anything -like the meeting that actually occurred. To begin with, no one had -thought of it taking place in the locked-up room, curiously enough. - -Miss Crabingway, who had been sitting at the farther end of the room in -a low wicker chair beside a table littered with papers, rose as they -entered and stood gazing toward them intently. For the space of half a -minute she stood quite silent, taking stock of her four visitors--and -they stood gazing at her. - -Quite unlike Pamela's imagined picture of her, Miss Crabingway was small -and thin, about fifty years of age, with exceedingly bright eyes and -bushy white hair. Her nose was large and aquiline, of the variety -generally termed roman. It is supposed that people with large noses -have strength of will and character; it may have been Miss Crabingway's -nose that indicated her character, but it was certainly her eyes that -appeared to be the most compelling _force_ about her; they were eager, -restless, keenly-alive-looking brown eyes. After the girls had noticed -her eyes and nose and hair, and her thin-lipped wide mouth, they became -aware that Miss Crabingway was dressed in a coat and skirt of some soft -dark brown material. It was odd to see Miss Crabingway dressed, with -the exception of a hat, as if to go out of doors at this time in the -morning; at least, it seemed odd to the girls, who had expected to find -her having breakfast in bed, perhaps, or, at any rate, sitting in a -flannel dressing-gown. - -There was no time at present to take in the details of the 'locked-up -room,' but the first impression was one of sombreness with regard to the -furnishings, and although it was an airy room, with a very high ceiling -and four windows, yet it seemed a dark room on account of the ivy which -grew round the windows, and even across the panes in some parts. Then -it was gradually borne in upon the girls that nearly everything in the -room was duplicated! - -There were two four-poster beds with exactly the same coloured hangings -and draperies, two chests of drawers, two ottomans (gay and modern and -chintz-covered), two wicker-chairs, two small round tables, two -fire-places--one at each end of the long room--and two carpets which met -in the centre of the floor, two high wardrobes, and so on--so that -whenever one caught sight of something fresh, one immediately looked -round for its double--and was sure to find it. The ornaments on the two -mantelpieces were exactly the same.... All this fascinated one so -strangely that Pamela even found herself about to look round for two -Miss Crabingways. - -But there was only one Miss Crabingway, and her keen eyes travelled from -one to another of the girls, and then quickly returning to look again at -Beryl, remained staring at her critically. - -Then all of a sudden she began to talk as if continuing a conversation -with the girls which had already been in progress for some time. The -girls hardly took in what she said--they were so surprised--but -afterward, when they tried to remember, it seemed to have been something -about red serge and water-cress, and the difficulty of living in rooms -up six pairs of stairs, if you were a plumber and suffered from -rheumatism.... When they thought this over seriously, it seemed too -silly; but, nevertheless, it was certainly the impression the girls got -of Miss Crabingway's torrent of conversation. The manner in which Miss -Crabingway appeared to be continuing some discussion with them puzzled -the four girls greatly at first; afterward, they learnt that this was -one of Miss Crabingway's little peculiarities--she never publicly -recognized the existence of introductions and farewells, but on seeing a -fresh arrival would continue a conversation as if the new-comer had been -there all the time. She would greet some one who had been absent for -years as if he or she had just walked down the garden to see how the -lettuces were growing and had then wandered back into the house again. -It was an odd trick of Miss Crabingway's, and an inconvenient one -sometimes, besides being bewildering. Yet it gave a curious impression -that Miss Crabingway was with you all the time, and that she had been -watching you throughout the years with those eager eyes of hens. In the -same manner she declined to say good-bye, always giving the impression -that she was coming along with you--in fact, would catch you up in a few -minutes, before you reached the station. It was only when you had been -talking with her for some time that you discovered that she did realize -there were such things as absence, time, and space. - -"However," Miss Crabingway continued, "I want to have a short talk with -you all.... But why stand by the door, my dear girls? There are plenty -of chairs, and an ottoman here by the window." - -At this invitation the girls crossed the room and seated themselves in -chairs and on the ottoman, which held two--Beryl and Caroline. - -"We are very pleased to meet you, Miss Crabingway, and we want to -thank--" Pamela began, when Miss Crabingway broke in suddenly. - -"What was the date yesterday?" she asked. - -Pamela, taken aback for a moment, replied, "Oh--the 27th, I think." - -"Ah," said Miss Crabingway. "Yes, I'm glad I sent Joseph Sigglesthorne -that telegram. He never can remember dates--especially after the 8th of -each month. They always send him in two rashers of bacon every morning -for his breakfast during the first week in each month--after that they -give him boiled eggs every day until the end of the month, and it -becomes so monotonous that he can't distinguish one day from another. -It's certainly rather confusing, isn't it? I've told him I'd change the -restaurant or coffee-house, or whatever it is that supplies him with -breakfast; but he's used to it, and he doesn't like change--so it's no -good my talking or giving him calendars--I just send him a telegram." - -Miss Crabingway seated herself and began rustling and sorting the papers -on the little table in front of her. - -"And now," she continued in her decisive voice, flashing a glance round -her puzzled audience, and once again looking last and longest at Beryl, -"I didn't ask you to come up here in order to discuss Joseph -Sigglesthorne's breakfast--as you will doubtless guess. I asked you -here to tell you a true story, and, if you please, don't speak to me -until I've finished." - -Without more ado Miss Crabingway gave a dry little cough and began -hurriedly: - -"There was an elderly person who was rich, and lonely--" she paused for -a second, then added with emphasis, "and crotchety! Yes, that's what -she was, though most of her acquaintances called her eccentric, and -quaint--out of politeness.... As she grew older she grew more and more -lonely; and realizing one day (when she was feeling ill and depressed) -that she couldn't take her money with her when she died, she determined -that she would make use of it now and give some benefit and enjoyment to -herself, and, if possible, to others.... She--she had taken a great -fancy to a young girl she had come across recently--the daughter of a -very old and valued friend who died some years back.... And what made -her particularly--crotchety, was that she had wanted to adopt this girl, -and the girl's relatives had refused. For what reason, it is impossible -to say! For the relatives were not over-rich, nor over-fond of the -girl.... Probably it was because the relatives were not offered enough -money.... Anyway, the elderly person had a quarrel with the relatives, -and the elderly person went off in a huff, which she afterward -regretted--and would have gone back and said so, only about this time -some urgent business affairs called her away from home. Before she went -she thought of a plan whereby she could give the young girl she liked a -rest from her relatives, and at the same time help her to develop her -character. For the elderly person had long cherished a belief that most -young girls in their early teens would do better in after life if they -had a chance to develop their characters, for a time, away from the -influence of their parents or guardians.... Having heard of three other -young girls whom she thought it would be interesting to try the -experiment on, the elderly person sent out invitations to all four, -adding a little inducement, in the shape of a sum of money, to each." - -Miss Crabingway, having now touched on a subject in which she was -evidently greatly interested, went on to express her ideas about -character development at some length, adding that when she was a girl -herself she had suffered from character-suppression, and had been -cramped and moulded by her own parents so that she had not an idea nor -opinion of her own all the years she lived under their influence. - -"I was merely an echo," she said, "and all my thoughts and opinions were -second-hand." - -Miss Crabingway's roman nose seemed to be contradicting these words even -as they were uttered, but her keen, earnest eyes assured one that she -was speaking the truth. - -"I think there comes a time," she went on, "when it is best for every -girl to think and act for herself--to get used to relying on herself, -and not on others. This does not mean being rebellious, you know--it -means just clear thinking, and acting self-reliantly." - -So absorbed did Miss Crabingway become in her theory that she forgot all -about the 'elderly person' and slipped unconsciously into the first -person, mentioning the little girl she had wanted to adopt by name. -Even before she mentioned the name the other three girls had guessed who -it was, and several quiet and curious glances had been cast in the -direction of Beryl as she sat, silent and pale, her eyes on the ground. -The girls had expected that Miss Crabingway was going to say something -special about Beryl by the way her glance kept wandering to Beryl's -face, studying it affectionately, yet anxiously. - -"You see, I was anxious to try the experiment, but most of all I was -anxious to obtain congenial companions for--for Beryl," Miss Crabingway -continued. "I induced Beryl's relatives to allow her to come and stop -at the house while I was away--it doesn't matter how I induced them.... -And then I made a few rules; one for the purpose of keeping these -relatives from worrying Beryl--of course it was a little hard on you -other girls, perhaps..." - -("I should think it was," thought Isobel to herself.) - -"... But it was only for a short while, and it would help to develop -character--and, after all, elderly people _will_ have their little fads -and whims--especially if they're eccentric," she said the last word a -little bitterly, as if recalling some one's opinion of her. "Well, the -plan has worked out fairly successfully, I hope.... Whether your visit -here has strengthened your characters--only the future can show. I -shall never know--because I did not know you before--but you will each -be able to judge for yourself.... I hope very much that it has helped -you all, and done you all good.... Of one thing I feel sure--it has done -this old house good to have fresh young people about the rooms and up -and down the stairs. The place had grown old and grave and silent -through long association with old and silent people. It needed some -laughter and young voices..." Miss Crabingway paused. "I have had -constant news of you all, from Martha ... and Martha says everything has -gone along all right?" - -There was a questioning note in Miss Crabingway's voice as she paused -again and scanned the intent young faces before her; so that presently -Pamela, catching the inquiring gaze directed on herself, said: - -"I--I think it has--I hope it has--anyway, I have enjoyed being here -very much, and it has done me good--in many ways. Though being cut off -from home was awfully hard to get used to...." - -She had scarcely realized yet that her feelings, or in fact the feelings -of any of them excepting Beryl, were a matter of secondary importance to -Miss Crabingway. Beryl was the chief reason for the invitation to stay -at Chequertrees, for the rules drawn up for them to observe during their -stay, for the offer of fifty pounds each. It was all done for Beryl's -sake, for Beryl's happiness. It was difficult at first to readjust -one's outlook and see things from this new point of view.... But why -had Miss Crabingway chosen Pamela to act as hostess? Possibly because -when she saw Beryl and 'took a fancy to her' she recognized that Beryl -was not the sort of girl to like the position, and so had relieved her -of the responsibility and left her free to devote herself to whatever -work she preferred and to develop her character unfettered. To Pamela, -Isobel, and Caroline it seemed an elaborate yet simple explanation of -their invitation to Chequertrees. In order to achieve her ends Miss -Crabingway seemed to have taken unnecessary trouble, the three girls -thought; but, of course, they were not acquainted with Miss Crabingway's -'eccentric' ways, neither did they know the nature of one of the -relatives of the little girl Miss Crabingway had wished to adopt. - -There were still some questions that the girls wanted answered. What -had the locked door got to do with the story? And how did Miss -Crabingway know that they would prove 'congenial' companions for -Beryl?--as a matter of fact all of them had not. It was surely rather -risky to invite them without seeing them? - -"I should like to say that I think Pamela has been a splendid hostess," -remarked Caroline, suddenly and unexpectedly. - -This was echoed at once by Isobel and Beryl. - -"I'm glad to hear you say that," said Miss Crabingway, smiling. "I knew -Pamela's mother, and I knew her grandmother--and I felt sure I was safe -in choosing Pamela. Of course there was a risk--a great risk; you might -have turned out a dreadful set of girls! ... But Martha would have told -me if anything had been going wrong--and I should have managed to come -down from Scotland for a week-end to see for myself.... I--I want to -hear now what you think of my plan?" - -She looked across at Beryl; but Beryl's eyes were on the ground and she -was silent. - -Isobel and Caroline both said they considered it a great success; they -had enjoyed themselves immensely. And then Isobel went on to tell Miss -Crabingway about Sir Henry and Lady Prior, and how the rule about -relatives had placed her in an awkward predicament--at which Miss -Crabingway seemed much amused, to Isobel's concealed annoyance. - -"Ah, well, never mind," said Miss Crabingway, "you can soon put matters -right. Lady Prior is coming here this afternoon." - -"This afternoon!" echoed Isobel. - -"Yes. I have sent out invitations to a few friends I thought you might -all like to meet to-day--that's why I thought we would have this little -'business' talk this morning.... And so you--you have had a happy time -here--have you, Beryl?" Miss Crabingway put the direct question looking -earnestly across at Beryl, who was still sitting motionless, her face -very pale. - -"I--I think you planned everything very well," stammered Beryl. She -said no more, but sat gazing miserably before her at the opposite wall. -A tremendous struggle was going on in Beryl's mind; she was working -herself up to do a thing she shrank from with all her might. "I must do -it _now--now_. I owe it to her," the thought pricked her conscience. -"Why not tell Pamela, and get her to explain to Miss Crabingway--or ask -to speak to Miss Crabingway alone," urged another thought. "But the -other girls are sure to hear in the end--and get the story a roundabout -way--probably exaggerated," she argued to herself. "Oh, but it is so -hateful--telling it before them all--and it will hurt _her_ to hear that -I am the only one of the four of us who has failed her... Much better -speak out now--it'll be much the best in the end.... Oh, but I -can't.... I haven't got the courage...." And so the struggle went on. - -"And now we come to the real business of the day," said Miss Crabingway. -"I must just ask you each a question or so about the rules I drew up, -and then we shall know what to do when Mr Sigglesthorne arrives this -afternoon." - -She then went on to ask each girl if she had tried to find out what was -in the locked-up room. And one after the other each gave her word of -honour that she had not. - -A smile flickered across Miss Crabingway's face. "Then Joseph -Sigglesthorne has lost," she said. "And I'm very glad. You can see what -the room contains--only my personal belongings and papers. When I locked -them up I had a small wager with Joseph Sigglesthorne regarding the -curiosity of girls. He said one or more of you _would_ look through the -keyhole, in spite of everything--I said you would _not_ ... and I have -won. He now owes me a photograph of himself," Miss Crabingway laughed -to herself. "He has never been taken before, and hates the idea--but -the loser pays, and go to the photographer he must. I'm sure it will be -a dreadful likeness--and I shall frame it and hang it on the wall as his -punishment.... I suppose you wonder why I chose Joseph Sigglesthorne as -my deputy--to bring my invitation to each of you. Eh?" - -"Well, we did rather wonder," admitted Pamela. - -"I couldn't come myself, being so rushed for time, and so I chose the -shrewdest person I knew. I knew I could trust him to see what kind of -girls you were--but had I known for certain how wrong he would be about -'girls' curiosity' I don't think I should have trusted him.... I knew -he would appear a bit singular, but I didn't mind that.... What did it -matter? The whole idea was just an eccentric old woman's whim--and your -parents allowed you to humour me, as I hoped they would." And here Miss -Crabingway began to chuckle, and she went on chuckling until she was -obliged to get out her handkerchief and dry her eyes. The girls -meanwhile sat looking on, uncomfortable, and not knowing whether it -would be more polite to laugh also or keep serious. Miss Crabingway -puzzled them; one minute she was quite business-like and sensible, and -the next she was talking in an apparently inconsequent way. When she -had dried her eyes and become serious again, Miss Crabingway went on to -question them about the other rule she had made, and said she supposed -that none of them had seen, spoken, or written more than post-cards to -their various relatives. - -"I have seen Lady Prior--but not spoken; I've told you all about that, -haven't I?" said Isobel. - -"Yes--yes--oh, that's all right," replied Miss Crabingway. - -And Isobel knew that her Wishing Well wish had come true, and that she -had not done anything to forfeit her fifty pounds. - -Both Pamela and Caroline said they had strictly observed the rule, -Pamela mentioning, at the same time, how she had caught sight of her -father in London. - -"Oh, of course, that's all right. Quite unavoidable--quite. That's -good then, so far...." She turned to Beryl, but before she could speak, -Beryl, who looked ghastly white, stood up suddenly. - -"There's something I want to tell you all," she said. - - - - - *CHAPTER XIX* - - *BERYL CONFESSES* - - -Beryl looked down at the surprised and inquiring faces gazing up at her, -and her new-found courage flickered for a moment--and she had thought -the struggle for courage was over; but only for a moment did she pause -and twist her fingers nervously together. Now she had burnt her boats -she must go through with it. - -"I--I--oh, Miss Crabingway--I didn't know--I never guessed you wanted -me--but I can see things clearly now. You thought out such a kind plan -to help me a bit and give me happiness--and I have been happy here--in -spite of everything. But--oh, how can I tell you--I have failed you, the -only one of the four of us who has failed you. Instead of growing -stronger in character I have grown weaker--I know I have.... I have -been so afraid to tell the truth. I thought--I thought Isobel would -despise me if she knew I'd been to a Council school..." - -Isobel started. - -"... if she knew my Aunt Laura kept a small and shabby shop and served -behind the counter; if she knew," her voice dropped, "where my father -died.... I felt out of place in this house at first among these others -who had nice clothes and manners--my clothes were all wrong.... -Pamela--Pamela has been a brick--I told her something about all this, -and she helped me not to mind. But I've said so many things that were -not true since I've been here--I'm telling the truth now, though, I am -indeed. And, oh, I'm so sorry--I couldn't help it--but I--I have seen -and spoken to my Aunt Laura several times since I've been here." - -"What!" exclaimed Miss Crabingway. Had, then, the thing that she had -taken such trouble to avoid happened after all? - -"Yes," said Beryl. "A few weeks ago I came suddenly face to face with -her one dark night--the night we returned from London, in the rain--you -remember?" She half turned toward Pamela, then went on quickly: "I -didn't speak to her then. I was frightened, and ran on quickly to join -the others who were a little way ahead. When I got home I discovered -that while we had all been out my Aunt Laura must have got into the -house and made her way to my bedroom, where she had left a note for me." - -Caroline leant forward at this point. - -"You were quite right in thinking some one had been in your room that -night, Caroline. She mistook it for mine, and in rummaging about to see -if she could find any indication to show that it was my room she -disarranged some of your things. I'm so thankful she didn't take -anything from your room--she might have done, you know, but luckily you -hadn't left any money lying about. It was money she wanted. In the note -which she was afraid to send through the post, but left in my room -instead, she told me that I must let her have five pounds immediately, -or she would be summoned--and might have to go to prison. And then what -would people think of me, she said, living in luxury and letting my -aunt, who had brought me up like her own daughter, go to prison! The -money was very urgently needed, she said, and she told me where and when -I could meet her outside the village and hand her the money.... So I met -her," Beryl went on in a dreary voice, "and handed her the money I had -recently received as pocket-money--but it wasn't enough.... Afterward -she wanted more money--and at last I had to borrow a pound from -Pamela--who was good enough to trust me and ask no questions--and I lent -this to my aunt as well. She made me promise, on my honour, never to -tell a soul about this money-lending, or about her speaking to me, as if -I did I should lose the fifty pounds, and it was very important that I -should not do this, she said; no one would ever know about her coming to -see me--for, of course, no one knew her in the village. When she came -down to Barrowfield she would generally stop the night, sometimes two -nights, at that little cottage opposite--so that she could watch me, and -wait her opportunity to get money. She knew she could frighten me into -doing what she wanted--and she did frighten me--shadowed me--followed me -about.... It was she who was up at the Wishing Well that night, -Pamela--do you remember? Aunt Laura only came down here -occasionally--whenever she wanted more money. For a long time after I -was here I never dreamt she was anywhere near the village.... I--I -think, from what she has said to me, that she thought it very unfair for -me to have anything that Cousin Laura couldn't share--and was awfully -angry because I couldn't give her more money; she had got it into her -head that there was a lot of money to be had here, and she hated the -idea of Pamela, Isobel, and Caroline having any money that might have -come to me--and so to her, and Cousin Laura.... Oh, Miss Crabingway, I -never knew the truth about you wanting to adopt me." Beryl had hard -work to keep her voice steady. "She never told me you had wanted to -adopt me.... But it's a good job you didn't--now that you know what I -am.... Oh, I hate myself," she burst out passionately, and the tears -which she had kept back for so long sprang to her eyes and began -rolling, unheeded, down her cheeks. "It's all been such a muddle of -little deceitful things--and all for a few wretched sovereigns.... I've -broken my word to you, and I've broken my promise to my aunt, and told -you everything now--and may this be the last promise I shall ever -break." - -Poor Beryl had been so long in fear of her Aunt Laura and what she might -do, and had brooded on the whole matter so much, that she had -exaggerated everything in her own mind until it had assumed giant -proportions; she felt she had forfeited all right to respect from the -others, and had spoilt the great chance of her life--the chance of being -adopted by Miss Crabingway. Beryl had certainly been weak, and had told -stories, and had broken her word to Miss Crabingway and to her -aunt--still, that was the extent of her misdoings. - -Miss Crabingway, looking at her, thought that things had been made too -hard for Beryl. If only there had been somebody to stand by her and -help her--Miss Crabingway pulled herself up sharply. Had she made a -mistake in thinking that all girls need to develop their character -without any outside help and control? It might answer in three cases -out of four; but there was always the fourth case--the girl who had not -had the advantages of a happy, fearless childhood. It was fear, fear of -some one or something, that made people deceitful and made them tell -untruths. Miss Crabingway felt a rush of keen disappointment that her -plans had been spoilt, that the one girl for whom she had taken so much -trouble had failed her. And yet Miss Crabingway felt that she herself -was more to blame than Beryl. She might have known that Beryl's aunt -would try to obtain money from the child, if she thought she had any. -She might have known that Beryl would not have had an upbringing that -would have taught her to be frank and fearless if it came to keeping her -word to Miss Crabingway and facing the consequences of her aunt's wrath, -had Beryl refused to answer her request for money.... Beryl had been -outspoken enough now that the end had come ... and the consequences...? - -Meanwhile the silence which had followed her last words had become -unbearable to Beryl. Burying her face in her hands--she was crying in -earnest now--she passed quickly out of the room, and the door clicked -sharply behind her. - -Pamela half rose, as if to follow her. - -"Yes, do," said Miss Crabingway huskily, and stood up herself. "Tell -her--everything will be all right. Poor child! She's not to -blame--it's I--I might have known her Aunt Laura wouldn't leave her -alone.... Where did she say the woman stayed? ... I wonder if she's -there now by any chance? ... I'm going to see." - -And while Pamela went in search of Beryl Miss Crabingway strode hatless -across the green in search of the woman with the limp, leaving Caroline -and Isobel to discuss the whole affair in detail. - - -What Miss Crabingway said to Beryl's aunt, whom she found on the verge -of departure from the little white cottage with the green shutters, it -is not necessary to record. It is sufficient that she gave Aunt Laura -so stern a dressing-down that at the end of half an hour Aunt Laura was -reduced to a meek acceptance of Miss Crabingway's terms. The aunt -confessed to Miss Crabingway how, when Beryl had come to Barrowfield, -she had followed her down by the next train, and by good fortune had -discovered the little house opposite Chequertrees where apartments were -to be had. And so she had put up there from time to time while her -daughter Laura looked after the shop at Enfield, so that she could watch -what Beryl was doing 'playing the lady' while her poor Cousin Laura -served bacon and rice and currants in the stuffy little shop. On Cousin -Laura's account, "poor, dear, good girl," she seemed to resent greatly -Miss Crabingway's choice of Beryl, and thought she was justified in -getting all she could from Beryl, considering that she had brought her -up like her own daughter ever since Beryl's mother had died. - -"And now she's spoilt all her chances--and mine as well," said Aunt -Laura. "Tell her to pack up her things and come home with me in half an -hour. I was just about to start off myself, not knowing----" - -"That I would be back sooner than you expected--you didn't wish to meet -me, I presume?" said Miss Crabingway. - -"You bet," said Aunt Laura, inelegantly. "My poor little Laura's worked -to death in the shop, so you go and tell that haughty miss to pack up -quick and come along home with me." - -But nothing was further from Miss Crabingway's mind. She was determined -to give Beryl another chance. And so she told Aunt Laura, much to the -latter's surprise. They talked the matter over again, and after much -haggling on Aunt Laura's part, and threats on Miss Crabingway's part, -and arguments on both sides, they at length came to a hard and fast -agreement. - -The result of which was that Miss Crabingway returned to Chequertrees to -greet Beryl as her newly-adopted niece, while Aunt Laura limped away to -the station with her purse a little heavier than when she came, and took -the train back to Enfield and Cousin Laura. She limped away out of -Beryl's life and out of this story once and for all. - -And so Beryl's Wishing Well wish came true. - - - - - *CHAPTER XX* - - *A NEW BEGINNING* - - -That same day, in the afternoon, a group of happy people were gathered -on the lawn chatting together in Miss Crabingway's garden--for the -guests she had invited were no others than Pamela's mother and Michael -and Doris; Isobel's mater and brother Gerald, and Lady Prior and her two -daughters; and Caroline's mother--a plump, placid little soul, -remarkably like her daughter in appearance. Miss Crabingway had thought -this little surprise would please the girls--and it would be nicer for -them to travel home with their own people. - -Miss Crabingway admitted to herself that she would have liked all the -girls to stay a few days longer, so that she could get to know them -better, but all arrangements had been made and she could not upset them -at the last moment. - -The only person, of course, who had no relatives to meet her at the -garden party was Beryl. But to judge from her happy, smiling face as -she helped to hand round the tea she did not regret this fact. Her -gratitude to Miss Crabingway was deep and sincere, and she meant to do -all in her power to live up to the best that was in her. She and Miss -Crabingway had had a long and serious talk together in the early -afternoon, which ended in mutual expectations of a happier future for -both of them. Though Beryl had lost her fifty pounds, she had gained far -more in Miss Crabingway's friendship; and, although she did not know -this at present, Miss Crabingway had made up her mind to give Beryl a -fairly substantial pocket-money allowance now that she was her properly -adopted niece. Beryl was to continue her musical studies--that had -already been arranged. - -Freed from the shadow of Aunt Laura, and the bullying and the secret -threats, Beryl felt a different girl--and looked it too. Her only tinge -of sorrow was the parting with Pamela--but even that was to be only for -a time. Later on Pamela was to come and stop with her for a holiday, -and she and Miss Crabingway were to visit Pamela's home. - -As for Pamela, she was in a real 'beamy' mood this afternoon at having -mother and Michael and Doris with her again. She showed them all over -the place, pointing out her favourite spots. She even found an -opportunity of introducing them to Elizabeth Bagg. - -"I'm so glad you've seen everything and everybody," she said. "Now you -will be able to see things in your mind's eye when I talk about them." - -During the afternoon Michael tried to get into conversation with -Isobel's brother Gerald, who was about his age, but found it difficult -work, as Gerald was far more interested in his own immaculate clothes, -and smooth hair, his cigarette, and the various girls present, than he -was in Michael or anything Michael had to say. - -Isobel and her mater hung delightedly on Lady Prior's words, and as they -sat in the shade of the trees at the end of the lawn, an invitation to -come and stay at the Manor House sometime in the near future was given -to Isobel, and accepted eagerly. - -Caroline methodically piloted her mother round the house and garden, and -presently left her talking to Mrs Heath while she went indoors at a -signal from Pamela, who whispered, "Miss Crabingway wants us a minute." - -In the drawing-room Pamela, Caroline, and Isobel found awaiting them -Miss Crabingway and Mr Joseph Sigglesthorne (who had just arrived). -With due solemnity the girls were each presented with a cheque for fifty -pounds, and the news was broken to Mr Sigglesthorne that he was to go -and have his photograph taken, at which he looked very crestfallen. - -There was just one other little incident that took place before the -afternoon came to a close--it had been crowded out of the morning's -events. - -The girls gave Miss Crabingway the small gifts they had made for her: -Pamela, a sketch of Chequertrees; Caroline, a hand-embroidered -tray-cloth; Beryl, a waltz which she had composed herself, and had -copied out in a manuscript music-book. She offered it to Miss -Crabingway very shyly and with much diffidence. "It's the only thing I -could do myself," she said apologetically. Isobel presented her -photographs, enlarged and handsomely framed; they were photographs of -the other three girls in the garden. Miss Crabingway was immensely -pleased and touched by the girls' thought for her. Something of their -own work; she could not have wished for anything better, she said, and -thanked them warmly. - -To Martha and Ellen each of the girls gave a little gift, such as a pair -of gloves, and handkerchiefs, and bottles of eau-de-Cologne, and in -addition each gave a photograph of herself (having overheard Martha -express a wish for the photographs). - -"Just in case you forget what I look like and don't recognize me next -time I knock at the front door," said Pamela laughingly to Martha. - -"Oh, Miss Pamela, just as if I'd forget you," said Martha. "But you -couldn't have thought of a better present, or one that would please me -more, and I thank you and I shall value it greatly. What _is_ nicer than -a nice photograph, I always say." - - -And now dusk has fallen and all is silent in Miss Crabingway's garden. -The laughter and voices have died away, and far away through the night -rushes a train bearing Pamela, her mother, and Michael and Doris, -homeward. Mr Heath is waiting at Marylebone Station to meet them, and -Olive and John have been allowed to stay up an hour later than usual in -order to welcome home their long-absent sister. - -In another train Caroline and her mother journey back to the busy little -provincial town where they live. While Isobel, seated beside her mater, -with a cosy coat wrapped round her, whirls along the country lanes in -the motor which brother Gerald is driving. - -An old gentleman climbs into a crowded bus at Charing Cross; he has a -remarkably high, bald forehead, which becomes visible when he removes -his hat; he stands holding on to a strap in the bus, his thoughts far -away. He is thinking of a little country village, and in the midst of -all the bustle and life of London he feels suddenly lonely. The bus -rattles on toward the Temple--and he thinks of his deserted, -paper-strewn room in Fig Tree Court, and he is overcome by a great wave -of pity for himself; he begins to feel exceedingly sorry for himself. -Suddenly his expression changes to one of dismay and exasperation--he -has remembered that he must visit a photographer to-morrow. - -At the same moment, far away down at Barrowfield, there is a light in -the drawing-room of Chequertrees, and some one is playing softly on the -piano. Miss Crabingway sits on the couch by the fire, a book in her -hands--but she is not reading. She is looking across at the girl who is -playing the piano and her eyes are full of dreams. - -The red blind in the dining-room, where supper is being laid for two, -shines warmly out from among the rustling leaves that are whispering -round the house--just as it did six months ago. But to-night the window -of the little white cottage opposite is dark, and there is no one -watching the red blind. - - - - - * * * * * * * * - - - - - _Uniform with this Volume_ - - -*ROCK BOTTOM* - -By QUEENIE SCOTT-HOPPER. Illustrated in Colour by A. A. NASH. - - -*ANGEL UNAWARES* - -By QUEENIE SCOTT-HOPPER. Illustrated in Colour and Half-tone by PERCY -TARRANT. - - -*THE MYSTERY OF BARWOOD HALL* - -By OLIVIA FOWELL. Illustrated in Colour by SAVILE LUMLEY. - - -*WINIFRED AVON* - -By MABEL MARLOWE. Illustrated in Colour by SAVILE LUMLEY. - - -*THE TAMING OF TAMZIN* - -By ESME STUART. Illustrated in Colour by HELEN JACOBS. - - -*A COTTAGE ROSE* - -By MABEL QUILLER-COUCH. Illustrated in Colour by PERCY TARRANT. - - -*LITTLE MOTHER* - -By RUTH MACARTHUR. Illustrated in Colour and Half-tone. - - - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GIRLS OF CHEQUERTREES *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/47471 - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so -the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. -Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this -license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg(tm) -electronic works to protect the Project Gutenberg(tm) concept and -trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be -used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific -permission. 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