Part 30 (2/2)
”Shall I?”
”Why not?”
”I don't know which to choose.”
”Oh, any of them!”
Thus urged, Hilary drew three of her ma.n.u.scripts at a venture, put them inside a long envelope, wrote a short note offering them to the editor, enclosed it, fastened, addressed, and stamped her letter, and placed it in the post-box in the hall.
”What fun if you have some luck!” said Stuart.
”I drew a tiny little swastika inside the envelope, and I made three crosses over it with my right forefinger,” confessed Hilary, ”but I don't suppose it's any use; they'll probably come packing back.”
”Well, if they do you must send them to some other magazine,” said Stuart hopefully.
Diana felt a little cheered up after reading three chapters of _Ivanhoe_, but she was still angry with Hilary. She felt that she would like to play a trick upon her. It would really serve her right for being so generally disagreeable. There was no need at all for prefects to take advantage of their office and ride roughshod over the intermediates. How could she possibly pay her out and settle the score between them? She pondered for a while, then had a sudden brain-wave and chuckled. First, she ascertained that the senior room was empty, then she paid a surrept.i.tious visit to the pantry and purloined a pepper-pot. Hiding this for safety in her pocket she went back to the senior room, opened Hilary's desk, and put a plentiful sprinkling of pepper inside.
”It'll make Hilary just sneeze her head off to-morrow!” triumphed Diana.
”She'll think she's got a touch of 'flu', and she'll be in _such_ a scare! I'd give worlds to see the fun. Only, of course, I daren't show myself, or she'll find out. No, that would never do.”
Putting the pepper-pot back in her pocket, she was in the act of leaving the room, when in the dusk she collided with Geraldine. The astonishment was mutual.
”What are you doing here, Diana?” asked the head prefect sharply.
”Oh, nothing in particular. I was just taking a roam round the school, that's all.”
”You've no business to roam into the senior room. Keep to your own quarters. We can't have juniors coming in here!”
”I'm not a junior!”
”Well, intermediates are quite as bad, if not worse!”
Diana beat a retreat, for the supper-bell was ringing. She marched into the dining-room with a defiant twinkle in her eyes, and meeting Wendy, could not refrain from whispering:
”Done 'em brown for once! Hilary'll get the surprise of her life to-morrow.”
”s.h.!.+ s.h.!.+” warned Wendy too late.
Geraldine, who was exactly behind, and who had evidently overheard, glared at the couple, but forbore to speak. Indeed there was not time for her to do so, for the girls were taking their seats, and Miss Todd was waiting to say grace. It is undignified for a head prefect to take too much notice of the chance remarks of intermediates, so Geraldine let the matter pa.s.s, and, whatever her private thoughts might be, did not revive the subject after supper.
CHAPTER XX
A Tangled Plot
Loveday and Diana went to bed that evening just as usual. They performed their customary hair-brush drill, twisted Diana's light-brown locks in curl-rags, and plaited Loveday's flaxen mane in two long braids, folded their clothes neatly, read their Bible portions, said their prayers, and blew out the candle. Then they lay chatting quietly till Miss Beverley came on her nightly round of dormitory inspection.
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