So sang Rona, bounding noisily one afternoon into No. 3, Room 5, and popping her hands from behind over Ulyth's eyes as the latter sat writing at a table near the window.
"What are you always scratching away for? Can't you finish your work at prep.? Why don't you come downstairs and play basket-ball? You're mighty2 studious all of a sudden. What have you got here?"
Ulyth flushed crimson3 with annoyance4, and turned her sheets of foolscap hastily over to hide them from her room-mate's prying5 eyes.
"You're not to touch my papers, Rona! I've told you that before."
"Well, I wasn't touching6 them. Looking's not touching, anyway. What are you doing? It's queer taste to sit scribbling7 here half your spare time."
"What I was doing is my own concern, and no business of yours."
"Now you're riled," said the Cuckoo, sitting[Pg 67] down easily on her bed. "I didn't mean any harm. I always seem sticking my foot into it somehow."
Ulyth sighed. Nobody in the school realized how much she had to put up with from her irrepressible room-mate, whose hearty8 voice, extraordinary expressions, and broad notions of fun grated upon her sensitive nature. Rona did not appreciate in the least the heroic sacrifice that Ulyth was making. It had never occurred to her that she might be placed in another dormitory, and that she only remained on sufferance in No. 3. She admired Ulyth immensely, and was quite prepared to take her as a model, but at present the copy was very far indeed from the original. The mistresses had instituted a vigorous crusade against Rona's loud voice and unconventional English, and she was really making an effort to improve; but the habits of years are not effaced9 in a few weeks, and she still scandalized the authorities considerably10. Ulyth could tolerate her when she kept to her own side of the bedroom, but to have meddlesome11 fingers interfering12 with her private possessions was the last straw to her burden of endurance.
"Do you understand?" she repeated emphatically. "You're not to touch my papers at all!"
"All serene13! I won't lay a finger on them—honest—sure!" returned the Cuckoo, chanting her words to the air of "Swanee River", and drumming an accompaniment on the bedpost. "What d'you think Stephanie called me just now? She said I was an unlicked cub14."[Pg 68]
"Oh, surely she didn't! Are you certain?"
"Heard her myself. She said it to my face and tittered. You bet I'll pay her out somehow. Miss Stephanie Radford needs taking down a peg15. Oh, don't alarm yourself, I'll do it neatly16! There'll be no clumsy bungling17 about it. Well, if you won't go down and play basket-ball I shall. It's more fun than sitting up here."
As the door banged behind Rona, Ulyth heaved an ecstatic "Thank goodness!" She sat for a few moments trying to regain18 her composure before she recommenced the writing at which she had been interrupted. The manuscript on which she was engaged was very precious. She had set herself no less a task than to write a book. The subject had come to her suddenly one morning as she lay awake in bed, and she regarded it as an inspiration. She would make a story about The Woodlands, and bring in all the girls she knew. It was no use struggling with a historical plot or a romance of the war—she had tried these, and stuck fast in the first chapters; it was better to employ the material close at hand, and weave her tale from the every-day incidents which happened in the school. So she had begun, and though she floundered a little at the difficulty of transferring her impressions to paper, she was making distinct progress.
"I'd never dare to have it published, of course," she ruminated19. "Still, it's a beginning, and I shall like to read it over to myself. I think there are some rather neat bits in it, especially that shot[Pg 69] at Addie and Stephie. How wild they'd be if they knew! But there's no fear of that. I'll take good care nobody finds out."
When to make time to go on with her literary composition was the difficulty. It was hard to snatch even an occasional half-hour during the day. Where there is a will, however, there is generally also a way, and Ulyth hit upon the plan of getting up very early in the morning and writing while Rona was still asleep. The Cuckoo never stirred until the seven o'clock bell rang, when she would awake noisily, with many yawns and stretchings of arms, so Ulyth flattered herself that her secret was absolutely safe.
Where to hide the precious papers was another problem. She did not dare to put them in any of her drawers, her desk would not lock, and her little jewel-box was too small to contain them.
The fireplace in the bedroom had an old-fashioned chimney-piece that was fitted with a loose wooden mantel-board, from which hung a border of needlework. It was quite easy to lift up this board and slip the papers between it and the chimney-piece; the border completely screened the hiding-place, and, except at a spring-cleaning, the arrangement was not likely to be disturbed. Ulyth congratulated herself greatly upon her ingenuity20. It was interesting to have a secret which nobody even guessed. She often looked at the chimney-piece, and chuckled21 as she thought of what lay concealed22 there.
The days were rapidly closing in now, and the[Pg 70] time between tea and preparation, which only a few weeks ago was devoted23 to a last game of tennis or a run by the stream, was perforce spent by the schoolroom fire. It was only a short interval24, not long enough to make any elaborate occupation worth while, so the girls sat knitting in the twilight25 and chatting until the bell rang for evening work.
One afternoon, when tea was finished, Ulyth, instead of joining the others as usual, walked upstairs to put away some specimens26 in the Museum. She passed V b classroom as she did so, and heard smothered27 peals28 of mirth issuing from behind the half-closed door.
"What are they doing?" she thought. "I believe I'll go and see." But catching29 Rona's laugh above the rest, she changed her mind, walked on, and bestowed30 her fossils carefully in a spare corner of one of the cases. Meanwhile, the group assembled round the fire in V b were enjoying themselves. The room was growing dusk, but, seated on the hearthrug, Addie Knighton could see quite sufficiently31 to read aloud extracts from a document she was perusing32, extracts to which the others listened with thrilling interest, interspersed33 with comments.
"'The girls of the Oaklands'," so she read, "'were a rather peculiar34 and miscellaneous set, especially those in the Lower Fifth. Scarcely any of them could be called pretty—'" ("Oh! oh!" howled the attentive35 circle.) "'One of them, Valerie Chadford, imagined herself so, and gave[Pg 71] herself fearful airs in consequence; she was very set up at knowing smart people, and often bragged36 about it.'" ("I'll never forgive her, never!" screamed Stephanie.) "'The twins, Pearl and Doris, were fat, stodgy37 girls, who wore five-and-a-halfs in shoes and had twenty-seven-inch waists.'" ("Oh! Won't Merle and Alice be just frantic38 when they hear?") "'But even they were more interesting than Nellie Clacton, who usually sat with her mouth open, as if she was trying to catch flies.'" ("Does she mean me?" gasped39 Mary Acton indignantly.) "'Florence Tulliver was inclined to be snarly40, and often said mean things about other people behind their backs.'" ("I'll say something now!" declared Gertrude Oliver.) "'And Annie Ryton was——'" but here Addie broke off abruptly41 and exploded.
"Go on! Go on!" commanded the girls.
"It's too lovely!" spluttered Addie. "O—ho—ho! So that's what she thinks of me, is it?"
"Read it, can't you?"
"Here, give the paper to me!"
"No, no! I'll go on—but—I didn't know my eyes were like faded gooseberries, and my hair like dried seaweed!"
"Has she described herself!" asked Stephanie.
"I haven't come to it yet. Oh yes! here we are, farther on: 'Our heroine, Morvyth Langton, was an unusually——'"
But here Addie stopped abruptly, for a blazing little fury stood in the doorway42.[Pg 72]
"Addie Knighton, how dare you? How dare you? Give me that paper this instant!"
"No, no! It's much too interesting. Let go! Don't be silly! How can you? Oh, what a shame!" as Ulyth in her anger tore the manuscript across and flung it into the fire.
"Whew! Now you've gone and done it!" whistled Rona.
Ulyth was holding down the last flaming fragment with the poker43. When it had expired she turned to the guilty circle. "Who took my papers from my bedroom?"
Her voice was sharp, and her eyes fixed44 full on Rona.
"I didn't touch them. I never laid so much as a finger on them," protested the Cuckoo.
"But you told someone where they were?"
Rona winked45 in reply. Yes, alas46! winked consciously and deliberately47. (It was well for her that Miss Moseley was not in the room.)
"I knew you'd got something there," she admitted. "Were you such an innocent as to think I never saw you scribbling away hard in the early mornings? Why, I was foxing! I used to watch you while I was snoring, and nearly died with laughing because you never found me out."
If eyes could slay48, Ulyth's would have finished Rona at that moment. But Addie Knighton, whose suspension of mirth had been merely a species of temporary paralysis49, now relapsed into a choking series of guffaws50, in which the others joined boisterously51.[Pg 73]
"I can't—get—over—seaweed—and faded gooseberries!" crowed Addie hysterically52.
"I don't catch flies with my open mouth!" shouted Mary Acton, suspending her knitting in her indignation.
"Will somebody please measure the twins' waists?" bleated53 Christine.
"I didn't say it was meant for any of you. If the cap fits, put it on. Listeners hear no good of themselves, and no more do people who read what isn't intended for them. It serves you all right, so there!" and Ulyth flounced out of the room.
She ran straight up to her bedroom, and burst into tears. It was such a tragi-comedy ending to her literary ambition. She would rather the girls had been more indignant than that they had laughed so much.
"I'll never write another line again," she resolved; and then she thought of the binding54 she had always intended to have on her first published book, and wept harder.
"Ulyth," said the Cuckoo, stealing in rather shamefacedly, "I'm really frightfully sorry if you're riled. I didn't know you cared all that much about those old papers. I told Addie, as a joke, and she went and poked56 them out. I think they were fine. It was a shame to burn them. Can't you write them over again?"
"Never!" Ulyth replied, wiping her eyes. "Rona, you don't realize what damage you've done. There! oh yes, I'll forgive you, but if you[Pg 74] want to keep friends with me, don't go and do anything of the sort again, that's all!"
Ulyth felt a little shy of meeting her class-mates after their discovery of the very unflattering description she had written of them, but the girls were good-natured and did not bear malice57. They treated the whole affair as an intense joke, and even took to calling one another by the assumed names of the story. They composed extra portions, including a lurid58 description of Ulyth herself, illustrated59 by rapid sketches60 on the black-board. The disappointed authoress took it with what calm she could muster61. She knew they meant to tease, and the fewer sparks they could raise from her the sooner they would desist and let the matter drop. It would probably serve as a target for Addie's wit till the end of the term, unless the excitement of the newly formed ambulance class chased it from her memory. The Woodlanders were trying to do their duty by their country, and all the girls were enthusiastically practising bandaging.
"I wish we'd some real patients to bind55 up," sighed Merle one day, as V b took its turn under Nurse Griffith's instructions.
"I'd be sorry for them if they were left to your tender mercies," retorted Mavis, who had been posing as patient. "My arm's sore yet with your vigorous measures."
"What nonsense! I was as gentle as a lamb."
"A curious variety of lamb then, with a wolf inside."
"I believe The Woodlands would make a[Pg 75] gorgeous hospital," suggested Addie hopefully. "When we're through our course we might have some real patients down and nurse them."
"Don't you think it! The Rainbow won't carry ambulance lessons as far as that!"
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1
fowl
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| n.家禽，鸡，禽肉 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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prying
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| adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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scribbling
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| n.乱涂[写]胡[乱]写的文章[作品]v.潦草的书写( scribble的现在分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下 | |
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hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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effaced
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| v.擦掉( efface的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；超越；使黯然失色 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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meddlesome
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| adj.爱管闲事的 | |
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interfering
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| adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词 | |
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serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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cub
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| n.幼兽，年轻无经验的人 | |
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15
peg
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| n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定 | |
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neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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bungling
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| adj.笨拙的，粗劣的v.搞糟，完不成( bungle的现在分词 )；笨手笨脚地做；失败；完不成 | |
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regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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ruminated
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| v.沉思( ruminate的过去式和过去分词 )；反复考虑；反刍；倒嚼 | |
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ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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27
smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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peals
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| n.（声音大而持续或重复的）洪亮的响声( peal的名词复数 )；隆隆声；洪亮的钟声；钟乐v.（使）（钟等）鸣响，（雷等）发出隆隆声( peal的第三人称单数 ) | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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perusing
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| v.读（某篇文字）( peruse的现在分词 )；（尤指）细阅；审阅；匆匆读或心不在焉地浏览（某篇文字） | |
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interspersed
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| adj.[医]散开的；点缀的v.intersperse的过去式和过去分词 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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bragged
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| v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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stodgy
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| adj.易饱的；笨重的；滞涩的；古板的 | |
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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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snarly
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| adj.善于嚣叫的；脾气坏的；爱谩骂的；纠缠在一起的 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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poker
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| n.扑克；vt.烙制 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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45
winked
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| v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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48
slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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49
paralysis
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| n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症) | |
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50
guffaws
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| n.大笑，狂笑( guffaw的名词复数 )v.大笑，狂笑( guffaw的第三人称单数 ) | |
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51
boisterously
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| adv.喧闹地，吵闹地 | |
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52
hysterically
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| ad. 歇斯底里地 | |
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53
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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54
binding
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| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
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bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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56
poked
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| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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57
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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lurid
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| adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的 | |
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59
illustrated
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| adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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sketches
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| n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概 | |
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61
muster
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| v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册 | |
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