"I see Gwen Gascoyne has taken up with Netta Goodwin," said Hilda Browne.
"Then that stamps her," replied Edith Arnold. "I wouldn't touch Netta with a pair of tongs3 myself. I thought better of the Gascoynes!"
Netta was a type of girl that can be found in every school and almost every Form. Rather deficient4 in moral fibre, and badly trained at home, her influence was always on the wrong side. She was clever enough, as a rule, just to avoid getting into open trouble with the authorities, but under the surface she was a source of disturbance5. She had a certain following of gigglers and slackers, who thought
[54]
her escapades funny, and were ready to act chorus to her lead, and though she had never done anything specially6 outrageous7, her reputation at headquarters was not good. Every teacher realized only too plainly that Netta was the firebrand of the Form, and that while she might preserve a smug exterior8 it was really she who was responsible for any outbreaks of lawlessness among the others.
As Junior Mistress of the Fifth no one had more reason to be aware of this than Winnie Gascoyne. Teaching was uphill work to Winnie. She had not Beatrice's commanding disposition9 and capacity for administration, consequently it was the more difficult for her to keep order and enforce rules. She did her conscientious10 best, but girls easily find out a governess's weak point, and at present Netta was trying how far she could go. "Ragging Miss Gascoyne" was a favourite pastime of hers, and one which afforded much sport to her applauders, if not to the victim of her jokes.
A few mornings after Gwen's introduction to the Fifth there was a class for memory map drawing with the assistant teacher. Each girl was supposed to come prepared to make a map of India, and to mark in a large number of places, a fairly difficult task, and one over which many of them grumbled11 in unison12.
"It's not fair! It takes such heaps of time to go over it at home, one hasn't a second for anything else!" wailed13 Minna Jennings.
"I'd a raging headache last night, and my mother said she thought Rodenhurst was getting too much for me," bleated14 Millicent Cooper.
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"Poor frail15 flower! You look as if you'd wither16 at a breath! Better pack you off to a sanatorium!" laughed Netta.
"And you to a lunatic asylum17, you mad thing! Don't you ever get headaches with all this over-swatting?"
"No, my child, for I know a dodge18 or two! N. G. is no infant in arms, I assure you."
"Deign19 to explain, O commander of the faithful!" begged Annie Edwards.
"Well, as I told you, I'm up to a thing or two, and I flatter myself I know just exactly how to tackle Grinnie."
"Who's Grinnie?" asked Gwen rather sharply.
The others roared.
"My sweet babe, my dear ex-Junior, let us initiate20 you into the shibboleths21 of the Fifth! Yes, Seniors indulge in their little nicknames as well as the Lower School, though perhaps we are rather more cultured in our choice of them. Be it known to you then that our respected Head, vulgarly called The Bogey22 by ill-trained Juniors, is among our elect set yclept Lemonade, partly owing to her habit of fizzing over, and partly to a certain acid quality in her temper, otherwise hard to define. Miss Douglas, our honoured Form mistress, being a canny23 Scot, goes by the familiar appellation24 of Thistles, intended also to subtly convey our appreciation—or shall I say depreciation25?—of her prickly habit."
"And Grinnie?" continued Gwen.
"Your sister, by her perpetual smile, courted the title."
[56]
"It's no good exploding, Gwen!" said Annie Edwards. "If you've got a sister who's a teacher you'll just have to hear her called nicknames. You don't suppose we're going to shut up on your account?"
"And you needn't go sneaking26, either, or it'll be the worse for you," added Minna Jennings.
"We'd soon know who'd told tales," snapped Millicent Cooper.
"Peace, turbulent herd28!" said Netta, holding up her hand. "Our friend Gwen, being of a sensible disposition, and a lover, like ourselves, of all wholesome29 jests, fully30 realizes the exigencies31 of her peculiar32 situation. Though in the seclusion33 of her home she may be bound by many natural ties, family obligations cease entirely34 in the classroom. If her sister is a mistress, she is a pupil, and therefore bound to side with her Form through all those trials of tact35 known as 'thick and thin'. Have I not put the thing in a nutshell, O Gwendolen mine?"
Gwen could not help laughing, for there was undoubted truth in Netta's argument. Winnie would, she knew, treat her with the utmost impartiality36, probably even more strictly37, owing to their relationship. It would certainly never do if she were to be regarded as a sneak27 in the Form, ready to report misdoings and make mischief38; such a character would be intolerable to her. Winnie must fight her own battles, and she would throw in her luck with her peers.
"You needn't be afraid of me!" she protested. "I'd be the very last to blab; and I like fun as well as anybody."
[57]
"I knew it, oh, altogether-wise-in-judgment! Have I not proved thee?" returned Netta, with a meaning look in her eyes which only Gwen understood. "Now, having established thy reputation, I will return to my original thingumgigs."
"Oh, Netta, stop being a lunatic, and tell us how you mean to tackle Grinnie!" interposed Minna.
"Well, my little dears, it's extremely simple, but a work of genius all the same. Genius always is simple, I believe! Behold39 my mapping book with its virgin40 page. Behold also this spotless piece of blotting41 paper. I turn it over, and hey, presto42! a transformation43. Here's my map, nicely done in pencil, with all the names marked. Nothing to do but copy it, you see. At the least approach of danger I turn it with its most innocent side up."
The girls sniggered their admiration44. Gwen could not approve, but she did not protest. It was not her business to preach, so she told herself. As long as she did her own work honestly, she could not begin her career in the Fifth by assuming the very character she had just denied. Minna and Annie, inspired by Netta's brilliant idea, were copying the map on to pieces of blotting paper as fast as they could.
"It wouldn't be a bad plan to trace it the wrong way, and then rub it off like a transfer," suggested Millicent.
"Just a little too clever, most astute45 one! Grinnie comes round to look, and she'd think you'd got on too quickly, and want to know the reason why. You're bright, Millicent Cooper, but you're not far-seeing."
[58]
"You'll get caught yourself some time," said Millicent.
"True, O Queen! But I'll have somewhat in the shape of a run first," laughed Netta.
Gwen felt rather indignant as she began her map drawing. She hated cheating, and it seemed very unjust that Netta and the others should win credit for what was not fairly their own work.
"Winnie's not half sharp enough," she thought. "If it were Beatrice, now, there isn't a girl in the room would dare to try any tricks."
Possibly even Winnie had her suspicions. She kept a watchful46 eye on the Form, and made an occasional tour round the desks. Netta was extremely cautious, but all the same her attention to her blotting paper was rather conspicuous47.
"Netta Goodwin, hand me your mapping book!"
Netta started in some confusion at the abrupt48 order, and dropped both mapbook and blotting paper on to the floor. Gwen, equally startled, moved her hand hastily and sent her book spinning after the other. It was a complete accident, but one by which Netta did not hesitate to profit. Under the shelter of the desk she rapidly substituted Gwen's piece of blotting paper for her own, then passed up the book with an air of sangfroid49 truly heroic in the eyes of Annie, Minna, and Millicent. Miss Gascoyne examined the pages carefully, but finding nothing incriminating, supposed she had been mistaken. Netta might be the chief sinner of the Form, certainly, but she was not invariably at fault.
"She thought I was as innocent as Mary's little
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lamb!" laughed that damsel afterwards. "You were a trump50, Gwen, to help me. It was a smart notion of yours to drop your book too. You did it so promptly51!" Then putting her arm round Gwen's neck she whispered: "I helped you when you were in a tight hole, and I'm glad to see you're going to stand by me. I shall always count upon you in future."
So thus it happened that almost in spite of herself Gwen became Netta's ally, pledged to support her on all occasions. She was afraid to risk a quarrel lest Netta should press for the return of the ten shillings she had lent. The debt felt a millstone round her neck, from which there was no immediate52 chance of relief. Netta's particular clique53 of friends, proving Gwen safe, included her in their special set, a compromising arrangement which seemed nevertheless inevitable54. The girls did not really mean much harm, but they were silly and flippant, and enjoyed evading55 rules simply for the fun of the thing. Netta loved to show off before the others, and because she found Miss Gascoyne an easier victim than Miss Douglas, she kept most of her sallies for the junior teacher. She could estimate to a nicety the fine distinction between giving trouble and open defiance56. She never actually overstepped the line, but she contrived57 to make matters very unpleasant for poor Winnie. It was her boast that she could always raise a spark out of Miss Gascoyne, and her admirers were ready to titter in sympathy.
Winnie, mindful of her position as teacher, never mentioned school affairs to Gwen; but one day Beatrice tackled the latter on the subject.
[60]
"I hear you've struck up a friendship with Netta Goodwin," she began. "I'm very surprised, for she doesn't seem a nice sort of girl."
"She's the only one who's been kind to me," returned Gwen, up in arms at once at Beatrice's tone.
"Indeed! Well, I wouldn't be too much with her if I were you. I'm afraid she's anything but desirable."
"Who said I was much with her? Has Winnie been telling tales about me?"
"Don't be nasty, Gwen. You know Winnie never tells."
"There's no particular harm in Netta," protested Gwen, taking up the cudgels for her schoolmate out of sheer contrariness. "She's only rather lively and funny. I suppose that's no great crime."
"Are you sure Father would like her?"
"Dad doesn't know her, so I can't pretend to say what he'd think of her," retorted Gwen, shuffling58 out of the matter with what she knew was a lame59 excuse.
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1
promotion
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| n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传 | |
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intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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3
tongs
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| n.钳；夹子 | |
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4
deficient
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| adj.不足的，不充份的，有缺陷的 | |
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5
disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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6
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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7
outrageous
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| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
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8
exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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9
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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10
conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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11
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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12
unison
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| n.步调一致，行动一致 | |
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13
wailed
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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14
bleated
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| v.（羊，小牛）叫( bleat的过去式和过去分词 )；哭诉；发出羊叫似的声音；轻声诉说 | |
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15
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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16
wither
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| vt.使凋谢，使衰退，(用眼神气势等)使畏缩；vi.枯萎，衰退，消亡 | |
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17
asylum
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| n.避难所，庇护所，避难 | |
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18
dodge
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| v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计 | |
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19
deign
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| v. 屈尊, 惠允 ( 做某事) | |
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20
initiate
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| vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入 | |
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21
shibboleths
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| n.（党派、集团等的）准则( shibboleth的名词复数 )；教条；用语；行话 | |
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22
bogey
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| n.令人谈之变色之物；妖怪，幽灵 | |
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23
canny
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| adj.谨慎的，节俭的 | |
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24
appellation
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| n.名称，称呼 | |
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25
depreciation
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| n.价值低落，贬值，蔑视，贬低 | |
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26
sneaking
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| a.秘密的，不公开的 | |
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27
sneak
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| vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行 | |
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28
herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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29
wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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30
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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31
exigencies
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| n.急切需要 | |
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32
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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33
seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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34
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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35
tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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36
impartiality
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| n. 公平, 无私, 不偏 | |
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37
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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38
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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39
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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40
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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41
blotting
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| 吸墨水纸 | |
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42
presto
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| adv.急速地；n.急板乐段；adj.急板的 | |
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43
transformation
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| n.变化；改造；转变 | |
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44
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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45
astute
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| adj.机敏的，精明的 | |
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46
watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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47
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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48
abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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49
sangfroid
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| n.沉着冷静 | |
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50
trump
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| n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭 | |
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51
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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52
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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53
clique
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| n.朋党派系，小集团 | |
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54
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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55
evading
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| 逃避( evade的现在分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出 | |
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56
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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57
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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58
shuffling
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| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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59
lame
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| adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
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