Monitress Merle, Angela Brazil [top rated ebook readers .TXT] 📗

be of help, and arrange for them to be proposed as members of committees. There's Mavis, of course. Beata and Romola Castleton have been at school before, and so has Fay Macleod. Kitty Trefyre looks as if she might be useful."

"I shall propose that you take the chair," said Iva. "Oughtn't that to be a question of age?" interrupted Muriel quickly.

"It's a question of who is competent to do it. Merle's the only one of us who knows how," returned Nesta, looking Muriel squarely in the face.

"Oh, all right!" (rather sulkily).

"We shall want a secretary, and you're a quick writer," suggested Merle, with more tact than she generally possessed.

It was evident to Merle from the first that the greatest factor of trouble in connection with her new post would lie with Muriel Burnitt. Muriel was a little older than herself, she was clever, and she had a sharp tongue. She had been educated solely at 'The Moorings,' and she very much resented any allusions by Merle to former doings at the Whinburn High school. Iva and Nesta were more broad-minded, and were quite ready to take the benefit of Merle's past experiences, but as their work lay largely at the hostel they were not so likely to clash. Even Muriel, however, recognised the necessity of receiving instruction on the subject of a public meeting, and allowed herself to be duly coached for the duties of the occasion.

All the school felt quite excited when three o'clock on Thursday afternoon arrived, and they were left to themselves in the large classroom. Big girls, little girls, new girls, and old girls sat on the forms in giggling anticipation, chattering like swallows on the eve of migration, and determined to have a good time and enjoy themselves.

"You're the eldest! Open the ball!" said Iva, pushing Nesta forward.

But Nesta had turned shy. She had never been in such a position before, and, flushing scarlet, she urged her utter inability to cope with the matter.

"I can't! You do it—or Muriel!" she whispered in an agonized voice.

But Muriel, in spite of her ambition, was also afflicted with stage-fright and passed on the honour.

Iva, making a supreme effort, called to the girls for silence, but they were too much out of hand to listen to her and only went on talking. Merle, following some wise advice administered by Mavis, had allowed the other three to have first innings, but as none seemed capable of controlling the meeting she now stepped to the front and, making a megaphone of a roll of foolscap, yelled, "Order!" with all the force of her lungs. The effect was instantaneous. There was an immediate dead hush, and all eyes were turned in her direction.

"We're here this afternoon on business, and our first matter is to elect a chairwoman," she proclaimed. "Will somebody kindly nominate one."

"I beg to propose Merle," piped Iva.

"And I beg to second her," fluttered Nesta, taking courage.

The clapping and stamping that followed witnessed the entire approval of the meeting. Merle was unanimously elected to the chair, and having thus received the symbol of authority proceeded to wield it. She was not in the least bashful, and was quite ready to cope with anything that lay before her. She held up a hand for silence and addressed her audience.

"I've told you we're here on business, and I want to explain. As it affects everybody, perhaps you'll kindly listen without talking. Will those three girls on the back bench move out here? Thanks! Now you all know the school has started on a new era, and we hope it's going to forge ahead. In the past we haven't done very much in the way of societies. Perhaps that's all the better, because it gives us the chance to make a clean start now, without any back traditions to hamper us. What I propose is this: We'll go slow at first until we get into the swing of things, and then later on we can blossom out as much as we like. I suggest that we should get up three societies:

"A Games Club.

"A Literary Club.

"An Entertainment Club.

"The Games Club will try and work up a decent hockey team, and when our play is worth anything, we'll see if we can't arrange a match with some other school. The Literary Club will run a magazine, to which you'll all be welcome to send contributions; and the Entertainment Club will concentrate on getting up theatricals or something of that sort for the end of the term. Does this meet your views?"

"Rather!"

"A1."

"Go ahead!" shouted several voices.

"Well, our first business is to appoint a president and a secretary for each. I'm going to write a few likely names upon the blackboard, and then you can make your choice. I ought to add that the boarders have already started a Recreation Club of their own, and have made Nesta Pitman president and Aubrey Simpson secretary. This has nothing to do with the day-girls, but I just mention it, thinking you'd like to know about it. We haven't time for a ballot, so if you'll propose candidates we'll take the voting by a show of hands."

An interesting and exciting ten minutes followed, in which the merits and demerits of various nominations were discussed, and the following girls were finally elected to office:

GAMES CLUB

  President. Merle Ramsay.
  Secretary. Kitty Trefyre.
  Committee. Muriel Burnitt.
                     Aubrey Simpson.
                     Beata Castleton.
                     Tattie Carew.
                     Edith Carey.
                     Peggie Morrison.

LITERARY CLUB

  President. Muriel Burnitt.
  Secretary and Editress of Magazine. Mavis Ramsay.
  Committee. Iva Westwood. Maude Carey.
                    Merle Ramsay. Fay Macleod.
                    Nesta Pitman. Peggie Morrison.

ENTERTAINMENTS CLUB

  President. Iva Westwood.
  Secretary. Nesta Pitman.
  Committee. Muriel Burnitt. Aubrey Simpson.
                    Mavis Ramsay. Sybil Vernon.
                    Merle Ramsay. Kitty Trefyre.

It was just when the successful candidates were receiving congratulations that Beata Castleton stood up.

"As this is an open meeting may I make a suggestion?" she asked.

"Certainly," replied Merle from the chair.

"Well, I should like to suggest a 'Nature Study Club.' There doesn't seem to be anything of that sort in the school, is there?"

"We have a museum somewhere about the place, I believe," admitted Merle.

"It's all put away in boxes," said Edith.

"Then why can't we bring it out and arrange it and add to it? And can't we start a record, year by year, of when we find the first specimens of certain wild flowers, hear the first notes of certain birds, and see migratory birds? It would be ever so interesting."

"What a splendid idea! I'd like to second that!" exclaimed Mavis, jumping up in great enthusiasm.

The general feeling was in favour of the proposition, and the Nature Study Club was duly inaugurated, with Beata for president and Fay Macleod for secretary, and a committee consisting mostly of the particular little set of girls who motored daily from Chagmouth.

By four o'clock the whole of the business was concluded, the societies were established, and a very hopeful start had been made. Among the many activities of that important afternoon one point seemed to stand out firmly and clearly—Merle above all the other monitresses had shown herself capable of taking the lead. Where Iva, Nesta, and Muriel had failed to control the school she had restored order, conducted the meeting admirably, and exhibited considerable powers of organisation. She had undoubtedly justified her position, and had won the respect of most of her comrades.

"Did I do all right?" she asked Mavis anxiously, as they walked home.

"Splendiferously! I was bursting with pride! I couldn't have done it myself, Merle! When I saw all that rackety crew talking and ragging, I thought it was hopeless and that we should have to fetch Miss Mitchell. Some of those juniors had just made up their minds to give trouble. You tackled them marvellously."

"I wasn't going to give in to them!" declared Merle. "I meant to stop their ragging if I had to go round and box all their ears. Well! They know now they have to behave themselves or I'll know the reason why! But oh, Mavis! I don't think Muriel will ever forgive me for being chairwoman."

"Why not?"

"She never wanted me to be a monitress!"

"Nonsense!"

"It's the truth."

"Well, she missed her own opportunity, so she can't blame you for taking it this afternoon."

"She's against me all the same. Iva and Nesta are quite nice, but there are going to be squalls with Muriel. You'll take my part?"

"Of course I shall, through thick and thin. You can always count on your own sister."

"That's something to go upon at any rate. I shall need support. I don't believe it's going to be an easy business."

"'Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,'" quoted Mavis laughingly.

"Exactly. I wanted tremendously to be monitress, but I didn't realise all
I was in for. I see many breezes in front."

"You'll weather them all, don't fear! After such a splendid start I've every confidence in you. It's only a question now of keeping it up and going ahead."

Merle was not mistaken in her estimation of the difficulties that lay before her. A certain section of the juniors, led by Winnie Osborne and Joyce Colman, the firebrands of the Third form, offered great resistance to the authority of the monitresses, and put every possible obstacle in their way. To keep these unruly youngsters in order meant a constant clashing of wills, and needed much courage and determination. Some of the new girls also were inclined to rebel and to air their own views. Sybil Vernon, in particular, was a thorn in the flesh. She had been at boarding-school before, and on the strength of her previous experience she offered advice upon any and every occasion. She was very aggrieved that she had not been eligible for election to office herself.

"I know so much more about it than most of you!" she would explain airily. "If Miss Pollard had only chosen me as a monitress I could have organised everything exactly like it used to be done at The Limes."

Sybil was a curious girl, fair, with a fat babyish face, and a vast idea of her own importance. She was very proud of her family, and never for a moment forgot, or allowed anybody else to forget, that she belonged to the Vernons of Renshaw Court, and that Sir Richard Vernon was her second cousin. She expected a great deal more attention than the school was willing to accord to her, and was invariably offended or aggrieved or annoyed about something. The girls did not take her very seriously, and laughed at what they called her 'jim-jams,' which had the effect of making her first very indignant and finally reducing her to floods of tears.

Though Sybil might be annoying there was really not much harm in her, and her criticisms were very easily combated. A different girl altogether, however, was Kitty Trefyre. She also had been at another school, and set forth standards of conduct which were dissimilar from those at 'The Moorings.' She was cautious in airing these, and wisely so, for most of them caused the monitresses to lift their eyebrows in amazement, whereupon she would instantly retract her remarks and declare she was only 'ragging.' How much she really meant Merle never knew, but the latter did not trust her.

"There's a sneaky look about her eyes," she commented to Mavis. "Sybil lunges out and finds open fault, but Kitty hits in the dark. I hope she's not going to spoil Iva!"

"Oh, don't say that!"

"They're chums already, and Iva is rather a chameleon! She takes the colour of her character from her friends."

CHAPTER IV

Chagmouth Folk

As this book partly concerns the doings of the group of girls who came daily from Chagmouth to Durracombe, we will follow them as they motored back on their ten miles' journey from school. Squashed together in 'the sardine-tin,' as they irreverently nicknamed the highly respectable car driven by Mr. Vicary, who owned the garage close to the mill, they held high jinks and talked at least thirteen to the dozen. There was so much to discuss. The school was new to all of them, and naturally they wished to criticise its methods, its teachers, its girls, and its prospects of fun during the ensuing term.

"I like Miss Mitchell!"

"Yes, she's jolly, though I fancy she could be stern."

"Oh, I shouldn't like to face her in the study,