Grace Harlowe's Sophomore Year at High School Part 5

"Look!" said Nora suddenly. "Who are those people coming across the orchard? Doesn't that look like Julia Crosby and some of her crowd?"

"Yes," exclaimed Grace, "it is, and Miriam is with them."

"Then help me get my aeroplane into the shed quickly," exclaimed David.

"You know that the Crosby girl is not a favorite with me." Then he added half to himself, "I don't see why Miriam insists on going around with her so much."

The boys lost no time in getting the aeroplane into the house, David slammed the doors, and triumphantly turned the key in the lock just as Miriam and her party came up.

With a quick glance Miriam's eyes took in the situation. She bowed courteously to Mrs. Gray, whom she dared not slight; included Grace, Nora and Jessica in a cool little nod, and stared straight past Anne. Then turning to her brother she said, "David, show Miss Crosby and her friends your aeroplane, they wish to see it."

A look of grim determination settled about David's mouth. Looking his sister squarely in the face, he said, "I am sorry to seem disobliging but I cannot show your friends my aeroplane and I am surprised to find that they know I have one."

Miriam reddened at this, but said insolently, "If you can invite other people to see it, you can show it to us."

There was an uncomfortable silence. Mrs. Gray looked surprised and annoyed. The peaceful old lady, disliked scenes of any kind. Grace and her chums, knowing that Miriam was only making herself ridiculous, felt embarra.s.sed for her. Then Julia Crosby laughed in her tantalizing irritating way.

That settled the matter as far as David was concerned.

"You are right," he said, "I could show my flying machine to you and your friends if I cared to do so. However, I don't care to. Knowing that I wished my experiment to be kept a secret, you came here with the one idea of being disagreeable, and you have succeeded. I am sorry to be so rude to my own sister, but occasionally the brutal truth is a good thing for you to hear, Miriam."

Miriam was speechless with anger, but before she could frame a reply, Mrs.

Gray said soothingly "Children, children don't quarrel. David, it is getting late. We had better go. I suppose it is of no use to ask any of you athletic young folks to ride back to town." With a little bow to Miriam and her discomfited party, Mrs. Gray turned toward where her carriage awaited her, followed by David and his friends.

After bidding her good-bye, the young people took the road to town. For David's sake all mention of the recent unpleasantness was tacitly avoided, though it was uppermost in each one's mind.

"I have one thing to be thankful for," said Grace to Anne, as she turned in at her own gate, "and that is that Miriam Nesbit isn't my sister."

As for Miriam, her feelings can be better imagined than described. She sulked and pouted the whole way home, vowing to get even with David for daring to cross her. Julia Crosby grew rather tired of Miriam's tirade, and left her with the parting advice that she had better forget it.

When Miriam reached home she immediately asked if David had come in.

Receiving an affirmative reply, she went from room to room looking for him, and finally found him in the library. He was busy with a book on aviation. She s.n.a.t.c.hed the book from him, threw it across the room and expressed her opinion of himself and his friends in very plain terms.

Without a word David picked up his book and walked out of the library, leaving her in full possession of the field.

CHAPTER V

ON THE EVE OF BATTLE

But little time remained before the first basketball game of the series between the soph.o.m.ores and juniors. Both teams had been untiring in their practice. There had been no further altercations between them as to the use of the gymnasium, for the juniors, fearing the wrath of Miss Thompson, were more circ.u.mspect in their behavior, and let the soph.o.m.ore team strictly alone.

"They are liable to break out at any time, you can trust them just as far as you can see them and no farther, and that's the truth," cried Nora O'Malley. The soph.o.m.ore players were standing in the corridor outside the gymnasium awaiting the pleasure of the juniors, whose practice time was up.

"They are supposed to be out of here at four o'clock," continued Nora, "and it's fifteen minutes past four now. They are loitering on purpose They don't dare to do mean things openly since Miss Thompson lectured them so, but they make up for it by being aggravating."

"Never mind, Nora," said Grace, smiling at Nora's outburst. "We'll whip them off the face of the earth next Sat.u.r.day."

"Well, I hope so," said Nora, "I am sure we are better players."

"What outrageous conceit," said Jessica, and the four girls laughed merrily.

"By the way, Grace," said Anne, "I want to ask you something about that list you gave me. I don't quite understand what one of those signals means."

"Trot it out," said Grace. "I'll have time to tell you about it before the practice actually begins."

Anne took out her purse and began searching for the list. It was not to be found.

"Why, how strange," she said. "I was looking at it this morning on the way to school. I wonder if I have lost it. That would be dreadful."

She turned her purse upside down, shaking it energetically, but no list fell out.

"Oh, never mind," said Grace, seeing Anne's distress. "It's of no consequence. No one will ever find it anyway. Suppose it were found, who would know what it meant?"

"Yes, but one would know," persisted Anne, "because I wrote 'Soph.o.m.ore basketball signals' on the outside of it. Oh, dear, I don't see how I could have been so careless."

"Poor little Anne," said Jessica, "she is always worried over something or other."

"Now see here, Anne," said Grace, "just because you lost a letter last term and had trouble over it, don't begin to mourn over those old signals.

No one will ever see them, and perhaps you haven't lost them. Maybe you'll find them at home."

"Perhaps I shall," said Anne brightening.

"Now smile Anne," said Nora, "and forget your troubles. There is no use in crossing bridges before you come to them."

This homely old saying seemed to console Anne, and soon she was eagerly watching the work of the team, her brief anxiety forgotten.

That night she searched her room, and the next day gave her desk in school a thorough overhauling, but the list of signals remained missing.

The soph.o.m.ore players with their subst.i.tute team met that afternoon in the gymnasium. It was their last opportunity for practice. Sat.u.r.day they would rise to victory or go down in ignominious defeat. The latter seemed to them impossible. They had practised faithfully, and Grace had been so earnest in her efforts to perfect their playing that they were completely under her control and moved like clockwork. There was no weak spot in the team. Every point had been diligently worked over and mastered. They had played several games with the freshmen and had won every time, so Grace was fairly confident of their success.

"Oh, girls," she cried, wringing her hands in her earnestness, "don't make any mistakes. Keep your heads, all of you. I am convinced we are better players than the juniors, even if they did get the pennant last year. For one thing I don't think they work together as well as we do, and that's really the main thing. Miriam, you missed practice yesterday. You are going to stay to-day, aren't you?"

Miriam nodded without replying. She was busy with her own thoughts. She wished she could hit upon some way to humiliate Grace Harlowe. But what could she do? That was the question. The members of the team adored their gray-eyed, independent young captain, therefore she would have to be very careful.

She had been steadily losing ground with her cla.s.s on account of her constant a.s.sociation with the juniors, and the slightest misstep on her part would jeopardize her place on the team. She had a genuine love for the game, and since she couldn't play on the junior team, she concluded it would be just as well not to lose her place with the soph.o.m.ores. In her heart she cared nothing for her cla.s.s. She had tried to be their leader, and Grace had supplanted her, but now Grace should pay for it.

All this pa.s.sed through Miriam's mind as she covertly watched Grace, who was rea.s.suring Anne for the fiftieth time, not to worry over the lost signals.

"Don't tell any one about it," she whispered to Anne. "You may find them yet."

Anne shook her head sorrowfully. She felt in some way that those signals were bound to make trouble for her.

"By the way, girls," said Grace, addressing the team, "has any one any objection to Anne and Jessica staying to see the practice game? They have seen all our work and are now anxious to see the practice game. They know all the points, but they want to see how the new signal code works."

"Of course not," answered the girls. "We won't turn Oakdale's star pupil out of the gym. Anne shall be our mascot. As for Jessica, she is a matter of course."

"I object," said Miriam. "I object seriously."