9 ALICIA IN TROUBLE
THE affair at the Pool had a good many results. First, it made Mary-Lou follow Darrell about like adog that has found its master and doesn't mean to leave it! She was always there to fetch and carry forDarrell. She tidied her desk for her. She even tidied the drawers in her dressing-table, and offered tomake her bed each day.
But Darrell didn't like that sort of thing. 'Don't,' she said to Mary-Lou. 'I can do things for myself.
Why should you make my bed? You know we're all supposed to make our own, Mary-Lou. Don't bedaft.'
'I'm not,' said Mary-Lou gazing at Darrell out of her big, wide eyes. 'I'm only just trying to make a—alittle return to you, Darrell—for—for saving me from drowning.'
'Don't be silly,' said Darrell. 'You wouldn't have drowned, really. I know that now. And anyway Ionly slapped Gwendoline hard! That was nothing.'
But it didn't in the least matter what Darrell said, Mary- Lou persisted in adoring her, and being onthe watch for anything she could do. Darrell found chocolates put inside her desk. She found a littlevase of flowers always on her dressing-table. But it irritated her and made her cross. She could notsee Mary-Lou's mind reaching-out for a friendship that might help her. Mary-Lou was so weak. Sheneeded someone strong, and to her Darrell was the finest girl she had ever met.
The others teased Darrell about Mary-Lou's attentions. 'Has the little dog wagged its tail for youtoday?' asked Alicia.
'I wish I had some one to put bee-yoo-tiful flowers on my dressing-table!' said Irene.
'Just like Darrell to encourage silly nonsense like that!' said Gwendoline, who was jealous of allMary-Lou's friendly little attentions to Darrell.
'She doesn't encourage it,' said Katherine. 'You can see she doesn't.'
Another result of the Pool affair was that Gwendoline really did feel bitter towards Darrell now. Shehad never in her life been slapped by anyone, and she couldn't forget it. Not even her mother hadslapped her! It would have been very much better for spoilt, selfish Gwendoline if a few smacks¹ hadcome her way when she was small. But they hadn't and now the four or five slaps she had receivedfrom Darrell seemed to her, not a sudden flash of temper, soon to be forgotten, but a great insultsomehow to be avenged².
'And one day I'll pay her back, see if I don't!' thought Gwendoline to herself. 'I don't care how long Iwait.'
The third result of the Pool affair was that Alicia really did go deaf through swimming under water solong. It was not a deafness that would last very long, Alicia knew. Suddenly her ears would go 'pop'
inside, and she would be able to hear as well as ever. But in the meantime it was really very annoyingto think that just after she had pretended to be deaf, she really had become deaf. Whatever wouldMam'zelle say this time?

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