CHAPTER XXIX WHITE LAWN AND WHITE ROSES

The great green campus between Glenwood Hall and the road looked to be scattered² over with snowdrifts. That is the

way it must have looked to an aviator³ had one sailed over the old school and looked down upon the campus on this

beautiful June day.

But the snow drifts were of lawn and roses. Every girl in the school was dressed in white, and every girl wore, or

carried, white roses. They were grouped by classes, or in little cliques⁴, while a photographer from the city with a

great camera arranged to take a picture of the scene.

“Hope he’ll hurry up,” groaned⁶ Cologne, sitting with Dorothy and Tavia and some of the other girls. “My foot’s

asleep.”

“Hush-a-by! don’t wake it up,” drawled Tavia. “You know, Cologne, you haven’t really had a good sleep this

half.”

“Especially this last month or six weeks,” groaned Ned Ebony. “Hasn’t old Olaine just kept us on the hop⁵?”

“Why,” said Nita Brent, thoughtfully, “I had241 been thinking Olaine was a whole lot nicer than she used to be.”

“Certain sure she’s done better by us since Easter,” said Molly Richards, earnestly.

“You’re famous for seeing the best side of a thing, Dicky,” laughed Ned. “I tell you she’s pushed me hard.”

“And me!” “And us-uns!”

The wail⁷ became general. Dorothy’s mellow⁸ laugh brought them to time.

“Where does the giggle⁹ come in, Miss Dale?” demanded Edna Black.

“Sh! don’t disturb your pose,” begged one of the others. “That photographer is getting ready.”

“Well, what does Doro mean by laughing?” complained Rose-Mary, otherwise Cologne.

“I mean to say,” said Doro, quietly, “that you girls all amuse me. Of course we’ve been pushed this half—and

especially this last month.”

“And Olaine has done it!” declared Edna.

“Quite so. It was her business to. Do you realize that is what Mrs. Pangborn hired her for? And it’s too bad she

isn’t going to stay.”

“Not going to stay?” cried one.

“Olaine just delighted in pushing us,” observed another.

“Of course she did,” Tavia said to the last speaker. “Doesn’t Doro point out the fact that that was her job

here?”

242 “And isn’t it going to be her job after this term?” demanded Edna Black.

“Oh!” cried another girl. “This combination of Doro Dale and Tavia Travers knows everything!”

“If that is so, they might scatter¹ some of their intelligence among the faithful,” drawled Cologne.

“First, why should we accept Olaine as a slave driver, and thank her for it?” demanded Edna.

“Because this graduating class has higher marks and ‘does Mrs. Pangborn proud’ more than any class ever graduated

from Glenwood. Didn’t you know that?” replied Dorothy.

“And I guess we can thank Olaine,” said Tavia, nodding. “I know I can.”

“And I! And I!” chorused others.

“She was awful crusty about it,” said Molly, “but she did know how to make us climb.”

“We’re some climbers,” remarked Tavia, airily. “I’ve got so high myself that I feel dizzy.”

“But say! about Olaine. Is she really going to leave?” impatiently demanded one miss who could not keep her mind

on the main point.

“Wait!” commanded Dorothy. “The man is going to take the pictures. Do be still now.”

“Steady, my hearties,” drawled Tavia; but her lips hardly moved.

There was silence all over the great lawn. It was then that the aviator—had he flown over the243 spot suddenly—

might have thought the white of lawn and roses heaps of unsullied snow, for the girls were just as still as they

could be.

“Thank you, young ladies. That is all!” shouted a little, fat man in tall hat and frock-coat. “We will not

trouble you longer.”

And in a minute the groups were broken up, and the girls in white were flitting here and there over the green. So

much was going on before the bell rang for the graduation class to march to the hall that the question about Miss

Olaine was not just then answered.

But Dorothy showed Tavia two letters she had received that morning from Dalton. The outside envelope was addressed

to her in the large, rather stiff lettering of Tom Moran; but inside there was a little pink note enclosed with the

red-headed young man’s letter.

“Dear little Celia!” exclaimed Tavia. “Let me read it, Doro.”

And the difficult little scrawl¹⁰ from “jes’ the cutest little thing” brought both laughter and tears to the eyes

of tender-hearted Tavia:

    “‘My loverly, dere miss Doroty Dale:

    ‘My teacher says she will look ove this letter for mistaks; but she says to ime larnin fast as can be. I wuz

goin to kep hous for Tom Moran but he says no not yet sometime praps. I gotter go to244 schol fust. But Tom Moran is

got a big, big house and hes got furnchure an pitchers¹¹ an things an he says he is goin to let a lady come and kep

hous for us till i git bigger. Her name is Olain and he says she is goin to be lik aunty was to me, only better. So

no more now from one that lovs you lots you no your little Celia.’”

“Then it’s going to be—really?” demanded Tavia, of her chum.

“About Miss Olaine?”

“Yes.”

“Open the other note,” commanded Dorothy.

And that frank letter from Tom Moran delighted Tavia quite as much as did the mis-spelled one from Celia. Tom had

stopped at the school when he had brought Celia away from Mrs. Hogan’s. And he had asked to see, and had been

closeted in the office for an hour with, no other than Miss Rebecca Olaine!

“And I saw that ring on her finger when she went in,” Tavia had whispered to Dorothy, on that now long past

occasion. “And it was still on her finger when she came out.”

But the interested schoolmates did not know for sure “that it was all fixed” until this day when Tom Moran’s

letter had come to Dorothy.

Miss Olaine had never shown the chums any particular friendliness¹²; that was not her way. But,245 as they were

strolling up to Number Nineteen for a last “prinking” before the exercises in the chapel¹³, the teacher passed them

in the corridor.

“Come and have tea this afternoon in my room, young ladies,” she said, quite as though she were giving a command

instead of an invitation.

“Of course we will, dear Miss Olaine,” cried Dorothy, brightly. “We will be delighted to.”

The grim teacher flushed. When she flushed her eyes twinkled and she looked happier than the girls had ever seen her

look before.

“Do you really mean that, Dorothy Dale?” she asked, quickly.

“Mean what?” questioned Dorothy, in surprise.

“That you will take pleasure in drinking tea with me?”

“Why, Miss Olaine, no invitation could have given me so much pleasure to-day—and I am sure Tavia feels the same.”

“I—I am afraid I did not understand you girls very well when first I came here to Glenwood,” said Miss Olaine,

gravely.

“Oh, dear Miss Olaine! we did not understand you either!” cried Dorothy.

“And I was real mean to you,” said Tavia, brokenly. “But now——”

The impulsive¹⁴ girl threw her arms about Miss Olaine’s neck and whispered in her ear: “We’re so, so happy about

you and Tom Moran! For246 you’ll love Celia, too, and you all will have such a fine time together!”

Miss Olaine blushed more deeply at that, and looked very much confused. “You—you’ll really come, girls?” she

repeated, and then fairly ran into her room and closed the door.

A little later the bell began to peal¹⁵. The graduating class gathered in the porch. Dorothy and Tavia were at the

head of the line. The others took their places. Dear little Miss Mingle¹⁶ began to play the march on the piano.

“Hay foot, straw foot!” whispered Tavia, bound to joke even on so serious an occasion.

They led the procession down the steps. As they approached the chapel the organ broke forth¹⁷ in the same march Miss

Mingle had begun. The audience room was already crowded, save for the seats reserved for the graduating class.

“Oh! my father!” whispered Tavia.

“And my father, and Aunt Winnie,” whispered Dorothy, in return.

With sparkling eyes the girls took their seats upon the platform. There was singing, and announcements, and

speaking, and the girls filled in their own part of the program—Dorothy with the valedictory¹⁸, Cologne with quite a

serious paper, Nita, as class poet, and Tavia as class historian.

It was almost like a dream to Dorothy Dale—the speaking, the music, the applause which followed247 the reading of

her own paper, and all that was said and done. Mrs. Pangborn finally came forward and two of the smallest girls in

the school held the basket of blue-ribboned diplomas.

“My prize class,” said the principal, rather brokenly, “is leaving me and leaving Glenwood forever. You fathers

and mothers must see your children go out into the world one at a time. But you seldom know the wrench¹⁹ of parting

with so many bright faces at once.

“And this happens to me year after year. Just as I get to know them all, to understand their different

dispositions²⁰, to learn all their lovable traits, they leave me. And, perhaps, just as they begin to see that I am

their friend and loving helper instead of their taskmistress, they graduate. Ah, if they carry from Glenwood

something that shall make their future lives sweeter, nobler——”

Dorothy could not hear what else she said for she could not see Mrs. Pangborn through her falling tears and without

sight hearing seemed to leave her, too. Pictures of the past, of her many achievements here at Glenwood, and fun and

frolic as well, passed before her eyes. And then——

“Miss Dorothy Dale!”

Mrs. Pangborn’s voice was steady again. Tavia gave her friend a slight push.

Dorothy Dale went forward to receive her diploma.
 

1 scatter   

vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散

参考例句：

• You pile everything up and scatter things around.你把东西乱堆乱放。
• Small villages scatter at the foot of the mountain.村庄零零落落地散布在山脚下。

2 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

3 aviator   

n.飞行家，飞行员

参考例句：

• The young aviator bragged of his exploits in the sky.那名年轻的飞行员吹嘘他在空中飞行的英勇事迹。
• Hundreds of admirers besieged the famous aviator.数百名爱慕者围困那个著名飞行员。

4 cliques   

n.小集团，小圈子，派系( clique的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All traitorous persons and cliques came to no good end. 所有的叛徒及叛徒集团都没好下场。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They formed cliques and carried arms expansion and war preparations. 他们拉帮结派，扩军备战。 来自互联网

5 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

6 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 wail   

vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸

参考例句：

• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。
• One of the small children began to wail with terror.小孩中的一个吓得大哭起来。

8 mellow   

adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟

参考例句：

• These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节，苹果就熟透了。
• The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时，色彩变得柔和了。

9 giggle   

n.痴笑，咯咯地笑；v.咯咯地笑着说

参考例句：

• Both girls began to giggle.两个女孩都咯咯地笑了起来。
• All that giggle and whisper is too much for me.我受不了那些咯咯的笑声和交头接耳的样子。

10 scrawl   

vt.潦草地书写；n.潦草的笔记，涂写

参考例句：

• His signature was an illegible scrawl.他的签名潦草难以辨认。
• Your beautiful handwriting puts my untidy scrawl to shame.你漂亮的字体把我的潦草字迹比得见不得人。

11 pitchers   

大水罐( pitcher的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Over the next five years, he became one of the greatest pitchers in baseball. 在接下来的5年时间里，他成为了最了不起的棒球投手之一。
• Why he probably won't: Pitchers on also-rans can win the award. 为什麽不是他得奖：投手在失败的球队可以赢得赛扬奖。

12 friendliness   

n.友谊，亲切，亲密

参考例句：

• Behind the mask of friendliness,I know he really dislikes me.在友善的面具后面，我知道他其实并不喜欢我。
• His manner was a blend of friendliness and respect.他的态度友善且毕恭毕敬。

13 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

14 impulsive   

adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的

参考例句：

• She is impulsive in her actions.她的行为常出于冲动。
• He was neither an impulsive nor an emotional man,but a very honest and sincere one.他不是个一冲动就鲁莽行事的人，也不多愁善感.他为人十分正直、诚恳。

15 peal   

n.钟声；v.鸣响

参考例句：

• The bells of the cathedral rang out their loud peal.大教堂响起了响亮的钟声。
• A sudden peal of thunder leaves no time to cover the ears.迅雷不及掩耳。

16 mingle   

vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往

参考例句：

• If we mingle with the crowd,we should not be noticed.如果我们混在人群中，就不会被注意到。
• Oil will not mingle with water.油和水不相融。

17 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

18 valedictory   

adj.告别的；n.告别演说

参考例句：

• He made a valedictory address after two years as chairman.在担任主席职务两年后他发表了告别演说。
• This valedictory dispatch was written as he retired from the foreign service a few weeks ago.这份告别报告是他几周前从外交界退休时所写的。

19 wrench   

v.猛拧；挣脱；使扭伤；n.扳手；痛苦，难受

参考例句：

• He gave a wrench to his ankle when he jumped down.他跳下去的时候扭伤了足踝。
• It was a wrench to leave the old home.离开这个老家非常痛苦。

20 dispositions   

安排( disposition的名词复数 )； 倾向； （财产、金钱的）处置； 气质

参考例句：

• We got out some information about the enemy's dispositions from the captured enemy officer. 我们从捕获的敌军官那里问出一些有关敌军部署的情况。
• Elasticity, solubility, inflammability are paradigm cases of dispositions in natural objects. 伸缩性、可缩性、易燃性是天然物体倾向性的范例。