The Girls of Central High on the Stage/Chapter 10
CHAPTER X
THE MID-TERM EXAMINATION
The girls, who were nearest the end of the lake, watched Patrick and the old hog in amazement. The boys came down from the far end with a chorus of yells and laughter.
For the Irishman, leaping up with his feet apart, descended on the back of the charging animal, with his face toward her tail!
The porker grunted her displeasure, and Patrick did some grunting, too; but he was not easily scared—nor would he be shaken off. He locked his arms tightly around the animal's body and hugged her neck with his legs, so that she could not bite him.
The creature kept up a deafening squealing, while out of the bush rushed Dandy, the farmer's dog. The boys came sweeping in from the lake to join in the sport—sport to everybody but the pig and Patrick! But Dandy got into the scrimmage first.
True to his instinct, the dog attempted to seize the hog by the ear, but miscalculated and caught Patrick by the calf of the leg!
"Moses and all the children of Israel!" bawled the Irishman. "'Tis not fair to set two bastes onto wan! Call off yer dawg, Otto, or it's the death of him I'll be when I git rid of the hog."
But just then the poor hog got rid of him. She lay down and Patrick tumbled off, kicking at the dog. Dandy seemed much surprised to discover that he had locked his teeth on the wrong individual!
The boys were convulsed with laughter; but the girls were afraid that the Irishman had been seriously hurt. And, from the squealing of the hog, they were positive that she was suffering.
However, Mr. Sitz and Otto appeared, and tied the legs of the struggling beast, and so bore her away. They had already trapped her litter of young ones, and Patrick limped after his master and Otto, vowing vengeance against both the hog and the dog.
So the boys took turns in keeping up the fire on the shore, for although it was a clear day, the wind continued cold and blew hard. They were all glad to hover around the blaze, now and then; and especially so when they ate their luncheons.
Eve had prepared a great can of chocolate and the girls had all brought well-filled lunch boxes. Bobby was hovering about Laura's as soon as it was opened.
"Mammy Jinny's made you something nice, I know," she said. "Dear me, I'm so hungry! I wish I was like the Mississippi River."
"What's that for?" demanded Prettyman Sweet, who overheard her. "Like the Mississippi? Fawncy!"
"Then I'd have three mouths," exclaimed Bobby, immediately filling the mouth she did possess.
"My word! that wouldn't be so bad an idea, would it?" proclaimed Purt, who was a good deal of a gourmand himself.
"I don't think much of this jam pie," complained Chet, holding up a wedge that he had taken from his sister's basket.
"That's not jam pie!" exclaimed Laura. "Whoever heard of jam pie?"
"Yep. This is it," declared Chet "The crusts are jammed right together. There ain't enough filling."
The wind increased toward the end of the day and it was hard to skate against it; but the young folk had a lot of fun sailing down the length of the pond with their coats spread for sails.
"That was a great scheme you suggested about the kite the other day, Laura," declared Lance Darby. "It was as good as an aeroplane."
"What would be the matter with hitching the kite to our scooter?" suggested Chet, who overheard him.
The two chums owned a small iceboat which went, on Lake Luna, by the name of "scooter."
"Say, old man! I've got a better scheme than that!" cried Lance, suddenly.
"What say?"
"Let's combine a flying machine with an iceboat and beat out everybody on the lake this winter?"
"Wow!" shouted his chum. "Now, you've been skating with Mother Wit and have caught her inventive genius—it's contagious. Gee! what an idea!"
"That's all right. Wait till you hear my scheme," said Lance, wagging his head.
"It ought to work fine," said Bobby Hargrew, with serious face. "All you will have to do when you are sailing along the ice and come to open water will be to turn a switch and jump right into the air. Save getting your feet wet."
"Laugh all you want to," said Lance, threateningly. "When we get it done you girls will be glad enough to ride in it."
"Not I!" cried Nellie Agnew. "I wouldn't ride on your old scooter as it is. And to combine a flying machine and iceboat—whew! I guess not."
The boys became enthusiastic, however, and they talked about it all the way home. Lance, however, kept the important idea regarding the new invention for Chet Belding's private ear.
Jess Morse enjoyed the outing that Saturday, as she always enjoyed such fun when with the Beldings; but, after all her mind was on her play. She almost lived that play nowadays!
And, to tell the truth, she began to neglect some of her studies in her concentration of mind upon "The Spring Road." Her mother praised it warmly.
"To think that I should have a daughter who may turn out to be a real genius!" cried Mrs. Morse. "Although it is so hard to get a play accepted by a first-class producer."
"No. I don't want to be a genius," said Jess shaking her head. "But I do want awfully to win that prize."
"Such a sordid child," said her mother, playfully. "I cannot imagine one's putting such emphasis on mere money. It isn't genius, after all, I fear. Our friends would call you eminently practical, I suppose," and the irresponsible lady sighed.
But if Jess had no impractical thoughts regarding why she wished to win the prize, she made the mistake, just the same, of letting Miss Carrington catch her two or three times in recitation hour. Gee Gee was down on her like a hawk.
"Miss Morse, what does this mean?" demanded the stern teacher, eyeing Jess with particular grimness through her thick spectacles.
She had called the culprit to her desk just before the noon recess and now showed her the enormity of her offenses.
"You are falling back. There is something on your mind beside your textbooks, that is very sure, Miss Morse. I cannot lay it to athletics at present, I suppose, for there seems to be a slight let-up in the activities of you young ladies in that direction," and she smiled her very scornfullest smile. Miss Carrington abhorred athletics.
"But we have another matter interfering with the placid current of our school life. Are you, Miss Morse, one of the young ladies who are attempting to write a play?"
"Ye—yes, ma'am," stammered Jess, blushing to her ears.
"Ah! so I thought. I believe I can pick out all these playwrights by a reference to their recitation papers. And this afternoon comes our mid-term examination. Let me tell you, Miss Morse, that you must do better this afternoon, or I shall take your case up with Mr. Sharp."
She was folding and tying with a narrow ribbon some papers as she spoke, and her eyes snapped behind her glasses.
"These are the questions in my hands now, Miss Morse," said Gee. "And let me tell you, they are searching ones. Be prepared, Miss—be prepared!"
And she popped them into the top drawer on the right-hand side of her desk. But before she could shut down the roll top and so lock the desk, Miss Gould appeared at the door of the room and beckoned to Miss Carrington. The latter rose hurriedly and departed, leaving her desk open. And likewise leaving Jess Morse, her hungry eyes fixed upon that drawer in which the examination questions lay!
Just a peep at those papers might have helped Jess a whole lot in the coming hour of trial.