02 Jo of the Chalet School (5 page)

They scattered, laughing. Bernhilda and Grizel ran up to the top dormitory, where Bernhilda was introduced to one of the lake-window cubicles.

‘Gisela has the other,’ explained Grizel. ‘Bette and I have the valley windows between us. Aren’t they decent? Gisela is head here, and we are to have some privileges, as we are the oldest. Juliet is head of the yellow room – this is the green room – and she is to share our privileges. What kind of holidays did you have? I had a
gorgeous
time!’

In the room below Jo was explaining to Frieda and Paula where they were to keep their possessions, and all about dormitory rules. Shy Frieda listened in silence, and Paula was rather too much overawed to say anything. In any case, Jo’s English was distinctly difficult for her to follow, since that lady forgot all about rules against slang in her excitement, and ‘topping – ripping – vile – absolutely
It!
‘ and other forbidden expressions freely sprinkled her speech. Miss Bettany, coming in to see that all was well, stood in the doorway, smiling grimly as the unconscious Jo informed the new members of the dormitory that ‘It’s simply ripping having such crowds this term! Even if the new kids don’t play hockey, we’ll have enough for two teams, which is top-hole luck!’

‘Josephine!’ said her sister’s voice at that moment.

Joey swung round, and turned beetroot colour. ‘I forgot,’ she said lamely.

‘It sounds like it,’ said Miss Bettany, a twinkle in her eyes. ‘Please don’t forget again.’ Then she turned and left them to go to the blue room, where Gisela, Wanda and Marie were all standing by the window, chattering, as fast as their tongues could wag, in German.

‘Here is Madame,’ said Gisela as she entered.

Wanda turned with a smile. ‘Oh, Madame! It is such a charming room! And the colour is de-light-ful!’

She spoke slowly and carefully, for English was still a difficulty to her.

‘You like it?’ said Madge. ‘That’s splendid! Has Gisela shown you the form rooms yet? Show them all over, Gisela. You old girls will have to look after the new ones just now, for I have so much to do; I really don’t know whether I’m standing on my head or my heels!’

She withdrew, and went to the last dormitory with a little quaking sensation. She was not at all sure how Simone would take this separation from her beloved Jo. She and Mademoiselle, who was a distant cousin of Simone’s, had talked it over at the end of the previous term, and had decided that it would be better for both children if they were parted. Simone must learn to make other friends besides Joey; and Joey ought to have a little freedom sometimes. She was one of the most unsentimental of schoolgirls, and the French child’s adoration had often been trying to her during the past term.

‘All the same,’ thought Miss Bettany, ‘I hope Simone won’t spend all her spare time in tears, or I shall regret our decision.’

She went into the room, but it was empty. Evidently Simone had taken her small sister over to Le Petit Chalet. Miss Bettany heaved a sigh of relief, and went off to her own quarters. It was now half-past ten, and in half-an-hour there would be a fresh inflow of pupils. She had barely settled herself down to copying the time-table before Miss Maynard appeared, waving a dormitory list at her.

‘What
is
the matter?’ demanded the Head.

‘We’ve forgotten those new Italian children!’ gasped Miss Maynard.

‘Goodness! How awful!’

‘It’s their father’s fault, of course. He only decided to let them come as boarders last night, and didn’t let you know till nearly twenty-two, and there’s been no time since then to arrange
anything
! What shall we do?’

‘Let me have the list..’ Miss Bettany took the neatly-written list and skimmed it through. ‘Yes; I have it!

Simone can go over to Le Petit Chalet as I said, and Frieda Mensch too. Then Bianca can have Simone’s cubicle, and Luigia, Frieda’s. What a good thing we got that extra dorm. ready in case of need! Go and tell Frieda, will you? and send Joey to take Simone’s things over. I’ll run across and settle it with Mademoiselle. We must fly!’

Fly they did; and as Bernhilda and Gisela came to the rescue, the two cubicles were soon rearranged, and Simone and Frieda were settled.

‘In a way,’ said Miss Maynard, ‘it ought to be a good thing. They’re a colourless pair, and they would certainly never have had a chance in those other rooms. Now, one of them will be bound to take the lead, which is just as well.’

The two concerned didn’t think so. Simone promptly dissolved into tears at the thought, and Frieda wondered unhappily how she would get on so far away from Bernhilda. Luckily, there was too much going on for them to fret for any length of time, and when they all assembled for
Mittagessen
at thirteen o’clock they were as cheery as anyone.

Miss Bettany glanced down the two long tablefuls of girls with pride. They all looked so fresh and trim in their brown tunics with tussore tops. The people with long hair had it fastened with ribbons to match, and, as she afterwards said to Mademoiselle, the Chalet
Speisesaal
really looked like a school dining-room.

Twenty of the boarders had now arrived. The others would be arriving during the afternoon, and on the morrow work would begin. The girls were all together to-day, but, except at the week-ends, the Juniors would in future have all their meals in the little
Speisesaal
at Le Petit Chalet. As far as possible they would be kept there, having their own class-rooms over there, and their own music-room and play-room. Yvette Mercier, the oldest of them, was nine, and the others were mainly eight-year-olds, so it had been decided that it would be best for them to have their own quarters away from the elder girls.

Yvette, who had just been informed that she would be head of the Junior School, was very proud of herself. She was a quick, clever child, with any amount of personality, and her mistresses felt fairly sure that under her the juniors would soon grow in unity of spirit, and, later on, would be able to make themselves felt in school affairs.

After Mittagessen they scattered to unpack, and the rest of the day was spent in getting their books ready for the morrow, settling about seats in the form-rooms, and racing about in the bright September sunshine, and
talking
- any amount of talking. On the morrow they would have to speak in English most of the time; but to-day they might use their own languages, and the effect was reminiscent of the Tower of Babel.

German and French predominated, naturally, but there was a good deal of Italian; and two new juniors, Thyra and Ingeborg Eriksen, could speak very little but their native Norwegian.

Joey chattered a polyglot mixture, for she was as much at home in French and German as in English, and Juliet and Grizel stuck to their own language as much as possible; while Rosalie Dene, the new English girl, felt literally tongue-tied with most of the others.

When twenty-one o’clock brought the bed-time of the senior dormitory, and Juliet and Luigia, Miss Bettany drew a sigh of relief.

‘I feel,’ she said to her three colleagues – Marie Pfeifen was in charge at Le Petit Chalet for the moment –

‘just as though no one had stopped talking
once
to-day! Thank goodness for a little peace!’

‘Hear, hear!’ laughed Miss Maynard. ‘And I’m off to bed if you will all excuse me!’

‘I think we’ll all go,’ said her Head.

Mademoiselle assented. ‘I, too. Come, Mademoiselle,’ to Miss Durrant, ‘let us seek our own chalet.’

They all went to the door.

‘Good-night,’ said Miss Bettany; ‘I think it’s going to be a good term.’

‘Tophole!’ said Miss Maynard wickedly.

And with that they retired for the night.

‘Gisela – Gisela! Do stop a minute! I want to speak to you!’

Gisela Marani halted and turned round to see Joey Bettany racing after her. ‘I am sorry, Joey,’ she said as the younger girl reached her. ‘I did not know you were following me.’

‘’Course you didn’t! I say, are you in a hurry? ‘Cos if not, I want to speak to you.’

‘Yes? What is it? Some important event you wish to celebrate?’

‘No fear! It’s nothing like
that
! Only, do you remember that book you showed me last term – “Somebody or other of the Fourth”?;

‘Yes,’ said Gisela. ‘It was from that that we took our idea of celebrating Madame’s birthday.’

‘So it was! I’d forgotten that By the way, what
was
the name of the girl?’

‘Which girl? Do you mean the head girl? I think her name was -’

‘Goodness, no!’ interrupted Joey. ‘Sorry, Gisela! I know it’s rude to interrupt, but there’s so little time always! I meant the one in the Fourth.’

‘Her name was Denise. But do you wish to read it? I will ask mamma to post it if you would like it.’

‘Thanks awfully, but I’d rather not. It looked awful tosh, really! No; all I meant was about the school magazine. What about it?’

Gisela had frowned at the word ‘tosh,’ which sounded to her uncommonly like forbidden slang, but now her frown vanished as she exclaimed, ‘Of course, I had not forgotten; but we are always so busy!’

‘I know we are. The bell will ring for
Mittagessen
in a minute! Oh, Gisela,
do
get started! There’s a gem!’

‘I should like a magazine,’ said Gisela thoughtfully. ‘How shall we begin?’

‘I should call a meeting and ask the others,’ said Joey promptly. ‘My idea is, ask the day-girls to come tomorrow morning at nine, just like ordinary school-days, and hold a meeting in the dining-room. I’m sure my sister would agree.’

‘She said we might have a magazine last term,’ said Gisela. I will ask her if we may call the meeting, and, if she gives permission, we will do as you suggest, and perhaps we may begin this term.’

‘Good! That’s splendid of you, Gisela! You
are
a gem! And there goes the bell. Come on! I’ll race you back!’

Gisela, however, as head girl, had a certain amount of dignity to uphold, and she refused the challenge, so Joey set off by herself, and arrived at the Chalet, panting for breath. Her sister was standing at the lakeside, looking at the grey waters, and raised startled eyes as she dashed up.

‘Jo! Why are you racing about like that? It’s enough to start you coughing again!’

‘But it hasn’t,’ retorted Jo with perfect truth. ‘I say! Do you think there’s going to be a storm?’

‘I don’t know. The lake looks rather like it. I’ve a good mind to send the Hamels and the Rincinis home now. They all have to get back to Torteswald, since the Hamels have had to turn out of the chalet by the Post; and if the wind comes, it will blow from the north-east, and that means waves breaking on the path if it’s a strong wind.’

‘Well, before you
do
send them home, Gisela wants to know if we may have a meeting to-morrow to discuss the magazine,’ said Jo eagerly. – ‘Don’t you, Gisela?’

Gisela, who had come up in time to hear the last sentence, smiled. ‘If we may, Madame, it might be well.

See, it is now October, and we should begin at once,
nicht wahr?
‘

Miss Bettany nodded. ‘Yes. If you want a magazine this year you certainly ought to begin now. Have the meeting to-morrow by all means. I am going to send the Hamels and the Rincinis home now, as I think we are going to have a storm, so come along and tell them.’

The second bell sounded at that moment; so Gisela, flinging her dignity to the winds, raced into the house to find the four day-girls who lived at Torteswald, a little village beyond Seespitz, and bid them come next morning for the meeting. Her head-mistress followed to send them home, for already a low moaning in the valleys heralded the coming of the storm, and the wind-tossed lake would make the path unpleasant to walk along before very long.

The news of the meeting thrilled the girls enormously, and they could talk of nothing else. Even the rising of the storm scarcely distracted their attention. After
Mittagessen
, Gisela ran across to Le Petit Chalet to let the juniors know about it. Coming back, she could scarcely keep her feet. In these narrow valleys the wind roars down as through a funnel, and its violence is doubled. The lake was already covered with white-capped waves that dashed themselves against the shore, bespattering the path with spray and foam.

‘Isn’t it a good thing,’ said Joey as she struggled with her sewing, ‘that the Hamels have let Scholastika? It would have been an awful walk.’

‘They couldn’t have come every day,’ replied Juliet. ‘Either they’d have had to be boarders, or they’d have had to have a governess, now the steamers have stopped.’

‘The railway will have closed in a fortnight’s time,’ put in Gisela. ‘After that we shall have to take the mountain-path when we want to go to Spärtz.’

‘Coo! Won’t it be cheery when the snow comes?’ commented Joey.

‘You will know when this term has reached is end,’ laughed Gisela as she laid aside her own beautifully-done work to see what Jo was doing. ‘
Joey!
‘

‘Why, what’s wrong?’ demanded the owner of the work. ‘It’s quite neat, and the stitches are
nearly
all the same size.’

‘But it is the wrong stitch!’ wailed Gisela, to whom Jo’s appalling sewing was a mystery and a grief.

‘Give me your scissors.’

‘Oh, I say!’ protested Jo. ‘You’re not going to take it out, are you?’

‘But it cannot remain like that! It is all wrong! It will spoil the garment!’

‘Well, I don’t mind that. I’d rather it was spoilt altogether as have to do the horrid thing all over again! I simply
loathe
sewing!’ returned Jo, who, till last term, had scarcely ever touched a needle.

To the foreign girls this was a shocking state of affairs. They could all do exquisite plain sewing themselves, and the older ones, at least, embroidered beautifully. Juliet Carrick, Margia Stevens, and Rosalie Dene were the only ones among the English girls whose work would pass muster with Mademoiselle. Jo Bettany and Grizel Cochrane were considered worse than the juniors, and the American child, Evadne Lannis, had scarcely known one end of a needle from the other when she first came. Some of the elder girls had promptly constituted themselves teachers to Grizel and Joey in the previous term, and Bernhilda Mensch did her best for Evadne, who hated sewing even worse than Joey did, and did everything she could to get out of it.