Part 21 (1/2)
”I don't know, unless on the lawn,” ventured Jess.
”Whew! It would spoil the tennis-courts.”
”Well, I suppose she could hire a field. It would be ripping fun to learn to milk.”
”Don't flatter yourself you'd have the chance. The seniors get all that kind of fun, and we poor intermediates only get the spade work. I've never been allowed to feed the chickens once, no--not _once_--and I think it's jolly hard luck!”
”Well, after the way you stuck your fingers into the bee-hive, I should think Miss Ormrod would hardly trust you to feed a sparrow!”
”What nonsense! I was only investigating!”
”Oh, I dare say! It sounds very grand when you put it that way. Miss Ormrod called you 'Meddlesome Matty', and said you deserved to be stung!”
One great advantage of the farming operations, in the eyes of the younger girls, was that so many materials were left lying about, and it was quite possible to obtain a considerable amount of enjoyment from them. A plank placed over a tree-trunk made quite a good see-saw; the new back gate was a delightful one to swing upon; and, when Miss Ormrod's back was turned, it was a favourite amus.e.m.e.nt to place a ladder against the potting-shed wall, climb to the ridge of the roof, and then slide down and give a flying jump to the ground. There was an old bucket inside the potting-shed upon which Diana had her eye; she had schemes that centred round that bucket. It had holes drilled in its sides, and had been used during building operations to light a fire in. She was determined it should be used for that purpose again.
Down by the brink of the lake was a boat-house that belonged to the school. It was kept carefully locked, and Miss Todd had the key. Since she had taken over the school she had allowed no one to use the boat--a grievance at which the girls sometimes grumbled. There was a small landing-stage at the edge of the water, and only six feet away from this was a sort of island formed of some willow-stumps and a little soil. It was a tiny place, hardly worthy to be called an island, and yet for Diana it held an immense attraction. She wanted to get on to it. She went down one day with Wendy, Peggy, and Vi, and they took the plank which had been used for a see-saw, fixed it as a bridge from the landing-stage to a willow-stump, and then walked across and took possession. Their new property was only about as large as a good-sized dining-table, but they were immensely pleased with it.
”We'll bring down the Stars and Stripes and hang them up!” exulted Diana.
”The Union Jack, you mean!” corrected Wendy. ”Can't run up even an Allied flag on British soil without first claiming it for the King! I'd like to have a picnic here!”
”That's exactly what's in my mind,” agreed Diana, waiving the question of the colours. ”And I've got a brain-wave. We'll carry the bucket over, light a fire, and cook something. Wouldn't it be rather ripping?”
”A1!” beamed Peggy and Vi.
”Crusoe Island”, as the girls named their willow-clump, might certainly claim the doubtful distinction of being the smallest British possession in the world, but it was an important one in the eyes of its owners.
They duly brought down the Union Jack and the American flag, and--as a concession to Diana--planted them side by side on its scanty soil. They decided not to tell seniors or juniors anything at all about it. Of course, in a vague way, the whole school knew of its existence, but n.o.body had troubled before to land on its few yards of surface. It was well hidden by the boat-house, so that any operations there were not visible from the garden or orchard. The rest of the intermediates, admitted with many cautions of silence into the secret, approved whole-heartedly; the form squatted in a circle on their territory, linked little fingers, and pledged themselves into a sort of Crusoe Society. Everybody felt that the first thing to be done was to hold an inauguration feast. They borrowed the bucket, filled it with coal and c.o.ke from the greenhouse, and carried it successfully over the plank to the island.
”So far so good!” purred Diana. ”We've got our fire!”
”But not our feast!” qualified Wendy.
”We shall have to be jolly careful to dodge those juniors,” advised Jess. ”If they see us carrying out cups they'll be on the scent directly.”
”We mustn't risk it. Besides, Barker would be sure to catch us in the pantry, and make a clamour if we took cups; we must manage without things from the house.”
”There's a large biscuit-tin lid in the hen-yard,” suggested Sadie. ”If we washed it very well, it would do as a frying pan.”
”Good biz!”
”What could we fry?”
The commissariat question was indeed the problem of problems. The village was unfortunately out of bounds, so that, except on stated occasions, when they were escorted by a mistress, the girls were unable to do shopping ”on their own”. There are ways, however, of crawling through even the most barbed-wire fence of rules.
”Toddlekins never told us we weren't to ask anybody else to do shopping for us,” said Wendy demurely. ”When you've not been told not to do anything, you're not disobedient if you don't do it--oh! I'm getting rather in a muddle, but you know what I mean.”
They did, and they grinned approval.
”There's a little boy working on the next farm,” continued Wendy. ”I've smiled and waved to him over the hedge sometimes. I believe he'd do _anything_ for me. If you can stump up some cash, I'll get him to run an errand for us. He's picking stones out of the field at this present moment--at least, to be absolutely truthful, he was, ten minutes ago, and I don't suppose he's stopped. If I go to the orchard fence I can call to him.”
The circle looked at Wendy with admiration. They had not before realized the riches of her resourcefulness. Each promised to contribute sixpence, and told her where to find their purses, so that they need not arouse suspicion by visiting their dormitories in a body.
”We'll be lighting the fire while you get the prog,” they a.s.sured her.