The Madcap of the School

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imperil their necks seriously, and reached the bottom at the identical moment that a motor char-à-banc rounded the corner and drew up in front of the ent

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r reunion was a thrillingly important occasion, for during the Easter holidays the sch

gular moss-grown roof, ivied bell-tower, stone balls and carved porch offered the very utmost of the romantic and picturesque. The change from the humdrum, ordinary surroundings of their former school was supreme. Miss Beasley had promised them a pleasant surprise, and she had undoubtedly kept her wo

out of a novel! You should see the Bumble Bee! I can tell you she's pleased with life! Buzzing 11 a

ved. Of course, Mother was there, but even then it gave me spasms. Gibbie, of all people in this wide worl

ore parents," chirruped Morvyth Holmes. "Perhaps she's striking o

ining away to an early death if she did! You'll hear plenty of plain, straight, wholesom

you a reformed character this term, may I ask? Come back with a certificate fo

ars. No, we all have our talents, and I consider my mission in life is to keep th

ig!" interrupted V

once, and when I draw fire on myself I save you. See? I'm a kind of scapegoat for the school. Everybody's sins are stuck

ou-you hero

Bee nor the Wasp worry me. I let them both buzz. It seems to please them! Indeed,

general verdict. With Miss Gibbs, however, it was a different matter. The humour of a situation never appealed to her. She frankly considered her troublesome pupil as a thorn in the flesh, and perhaps gave her credit for more than she really deserved in the way of blame. It was whispered in the school that several enterprising spirits had managed to shift on to Raymonde's shoulders the 13 consequences of their own crimes, with results more satisfactory to themselves than to their lively classmate. In spite of the fact that s

ivy, but still preserving its winding stair leading to an upper story that spanned the entrance. With its tiny loophole windows and its great solid oak gate with the little door cut through, it had the aspect of a medi?val fortress, and was a fitting introduction to what was to follow. High walls on both sides enclosed the courtyard, and farther on, to the right of the house, was another quaint garden, where shaved yew trees and clipped hollies presented distorted imitations 14 of peacocks,

he place of the fading daffodils, while a blackthorn bush was a mass of pure white stars. At the far end, instead of a hedge, lay the moat, a shallow stagnant pool, bordered with drooping willows, tall reeds, and rushes that reared their spear-like stems from the dark oozy water. Originally this moat had encircled the mansion as a means of defence, but now, like the ruined gateway, its mission was long past, and it survived, a sleepy wi

r, when the forms were moved to one end, provided plenty of space for drilling or dancing. It seemed strange certainly to turn an Elizabethan bedroom into a twentieth-century class-room, and standard desks looked decidedly at variance w

brains fall naturally into a medi?val groove in these surroundings, and decimals weren't invented then, so that of course it's impossible for me to grasp them; and the same with geography-the map of Africa then had about three names on

l convince Gibbie!" c

bilities that I never even dreamt of at the old school. I believe this term's going to be the t

odate the members of the Sixth Form, while the great chamber, running from end to end of the house, with its nineteen snow-white beds, provided quarters for the rank and file. Just for a moment the girls had stared rather aghast at their vast dormitory, contrasting it with the numerous small rooms of their former school; but the possibilities of fun presented by this congregation of beds outweighed the disadvantages, and they had decided that the arrangement was "topping." It had,

spered Ardiune Coleman-Smith ruefully. "She'll sleep with both e

ead) "I'm going to give away my professional secrets? I've told you already it's my mission to enliven this school, and if you don't have a jinky term I'll consider myself a fai

o her with a gush of admiration. It was a brilliant thought to have labelled th

imit, Ray!" g

nvenient knack of baffling awkward questions by putting 18 on an attitude of utter stolidity. When her eyes were half-closed under their heavy lids, and her mouth wore what the girls called its "John Bull" expression, not even Miss Beasley herself could drag information out of Aveline.

nto her, formed her opinions, and generally dominated her school career. Fauvette was one of those girls who all their lives lean upon somebody, and at present she had twined herself, an ornamental piece of honeysuckle, round the stout oak prop of Raymonde's stronger personality. She was a dear, amiab

eacher, but her energy came in such odd bursts, and with such long lapses between, that it did not in the aggregate amount to much. It was rumoured in the school that Miss Beasley had he

of tennis this term. The Bumble Bee's got their wretched noses on the grindstone, and they'll have a blighting time till the affair's over. No, I'm a wary bird, and I

alents. Can't you show a doctor's certificate prohibiting you from entering for public exams. and

ok her head

octor and thrashing the matter out with him. My only safety l

a day. 20 Their tiffs were very easily made up, however, and they always supported each other in upsets with anyone else, merging what might be termed tribal disputes in national warfar

the volcano. She could always be relied upon to support any enterprising project or interesting hoax that was presented for her approval. These seven comrades, close chums in the past, banded themselves t