01 The School at the Chalet (5 page)

Joey and Grizel were just as thrilled as she was. Simone, though quite nice, was very shy and quiet, and, since she had been brought up very properly, was apt to be shocked at the tomboyishness of her companions.

‘Besides,’ as Joey put it, ‘if there are more of us, we shall be able to have more games.’

So, when Monday came, they were all agog to meet the strangers.

School began at nine-thirty, when a little body of schoolgirls were to be seen coming along the lake road, carrying books and chattering.

‘There they are! ‘cried Joey from her vantage-point at the window. Then a minute later, in amazed tones, she added, ‘ I thought Madge-my sister, I mean-said there were only four!’

‘So she did,’ replied Grizel, joining her.

‘Well, there’s six there anyhow, and one’s quite a tiny one!’

‘Let’s go down and meet them,’ suggested Grizel.

‘Good scheme! Come along, Simone!’

Simone followed them slowly as they clattered gaily down the wooden stairs and out on to the path. Joey, who did not know what shyness meant, danced gaily along in front. Already the pure mountain air was having its effect on her, and a faint colour tinged her white cheeks. She ran up to the newcomers, holding out her hand in eager welcome.

‘Hello!’ she said. ‘I’m Jo Bettany, and I know you are coming to the Châlet School. Do tell me your names, won’t you? And why, there’s six of you, when we only expected four.’

The girls thus addressed paused and looked at each other. Then one, who was obviously the eldest, came forward and took Jo’s hand.

‘How do you do?’ she said in careful English. ‘You are Fräulein Bettany’s sister, are you not? I am Gisela Marani, and these are Gertrud Steinbrücke, Bernhilda and Frieda Mensch, Bette Rincini, and my younger sister Maria.’

‘These are Grizel Cochrane and Simone Lecoutier,’ said Joey, waving her hand in their direction, while she looked eagerly at them.

The two Maranis and Bette Rincini were slight, graceful girls; Gisela and Maria very dark; Bette, brown, with wavy brown hair, brown eyes, and a warm brown skin. Gertrud was brown-haired, grey-eyed, and very pretty, and the two Mensches were of the fair German type. They were all between the ages of twelve and sixteen, with the exception of Maria, who was obviously not more than nine. Seeing Jo’s eyes fasten on her small sister, Gisela apologetically explained her presence amongst them, and also Gertrud’s.

‘Mamma thought that perhaps Fräulein- ah, but you say “Mees,” do you not?- Bettany would be so kind as to permit Maria to come also. She is younger than we are, but it would be dull for her at home, and she is clever. And Frau Steinbrücke has long wanted to send Gertrud to an English school, so she is with us, and her mother will come herself to explain.’

‘Well, come in and take your things off,’ said Joey, wondering to herself how Madge would take it. ‘This way in. This is our cloakroom. Have you brought slippers to change? Righto! We sha’n't do much in the way of lessons to-day, you know! Just get to know what we know, and about books, and so on. You’re the oldest, aren’t you, Gisela?’

‘Yes, I have sixteen years,’ replied Gisela, ‘and Bernhilda is next.’

Bernhilda smiled at Joey, but she was obviously too shy to say anything just at present. She and Frieda rather reminded Joey of two dolls with their fair hair, blue eyes, and rosy faces. She knew, because Madge had told her, that Bernhilda was fifteen and Frieda twelve. Bette looked about fourteen and a half, and Gertrud was evidently much the same age. When they had all changed, she led them into the first of the big schoolrooms, whither Grizel and Simone had already gone.

‘Now we’re all here,’ she said. ‘ Shall we sit down? I expect my sister and Mademoiselle will be here presently.’

They sorted themselves out, Gisela, Gertrud, and Bernhilda taking three desks at the back, while Bette, Grizel, and herself sat in the next row, and Frieda, Simone, and little Maria occupied the front row. There was a minute’s silence. Then came the sound of light, swift footsteps, and a moment later Madge entered the room, head well up, although her heart was beating rather quickly. She welcomed them all with a pretty, shy dignity, listened to Gisela’s explanation of Gertrud and Maria, and assured her she was very pleased to have them, and then turned her attention to the business of the day. Prayers were something of a difficulty, since all the Tyrolese girls, and also Simone, were Roman Catholics, while she and Joey and Grizel were Church of England. For the present, she solved it by a short reading from Thomas à Kempis, and the Lord’s Prayer said in Latin. ‘But I must hurry up and decide what we are going to do about it,’ she thought. ‘I must discuss it with Mademoiselle.’

Prayers were followed by the working of some exam, questions by all the girls, so that she might have some idea as to how to arrange them. As all lessons, save French and German, were to be taken in English, she found the foreign girls work rather more slowly than would otherwise have been the case, and little Maria did nothing at all. The arithmetic was not done in the ways to which she was accustomed, and there were many quaint turns of speech in the short English compositions; but, on the other hand, both Joey and Grizel rather came to grief over the French, while Simone’s German was dreadful, and Grizel’s worse.

Finally, after much consideration, she decided to work all of them, save Simone, Maria, and Frieda, together in English subjects. Maria, Joey, Grizel, and Bette would form one French class, while the others would make another; and for German, Grizel and Simone would have to be specially coached. It was also obvious that she must get another assistant as soon as possible. ‘We are growing quickly,’ she mused. ‘I only hope it continues.’

At twelve o’clock she finished work for the morning, and bidding the Tyroleans to bring some sewing for the afternoon, dismissed them for two hours, during which she saw that the children had their dinner, insisted on Jo’s practising for an hour, and, finally, entertained Frau Steinbrücke, a stout, cheery lady, who informed her that all Tiern See was talking about her, and who prophesied that, in the summer at least, she would have quite a large number of pupils.

At half-past two punctually all the girls were settled in their places again, each with some sewing, and Mademoiselle took charge. Here, both Jo and Grizel came off badly, since both hated their needles, and even little Maria was more expert than they were, while Gisela was doing some wonderful embroidery destined for her own underclothes. She sat with Grizel, and after watching that young lady’s antics for a few minutes, put down her own work, and took the much-abused pocket-handkerchief the English girl was supposed to be hemming.

‘But you should hold it so,’ she said in her careful English. ‘And your needle-it sticks. Here is another; now we will try once more, please!’

Thus encouraged, Grizel began again, with slightly better results.

‘I hate sewing,’ she said confidentially to her guide, who had taken up her own work again. ‘I don’t see why we should have to fag like this when there are sewing-machines that do the work twice as quickly!’

‘But you would wish to know how to make the stitches?’ replied Gisela.

Grizel tossed her hair with an impish grin. ‘No fear,’ she said. Then, with a sudden change of subject, she went on: ‘I wonder who will be appointed Head Girl?-the first Head Girl of the Châlet School!’

‘Ah, yes; I have read of the Head Girl in your English school-stories,’ replied Gisela pleasantly. ‘And also Prefects.’

‘Yes. I know Miss Bettany means to have this exactly like an English school, so I expect we shall have them too.’ Then she began to giggle. ‘Rather weird to have Prefects when there are only nine of us!’

‘But soon there will be more,’ observed Bette Rincini, who up till then had worked in silence on Gisela’s other side. ‘Mamma said at
Mittagessen
–’

‘” Dinner,” ‘ corrected Gisela.

‘Ah, yes, dinner-that already many of our friends are talking about us, and she makes no doubt that many more girls will come.’

‘How jolly!’ commented Grizel. ‘I like a big school. Do you have big schools in Innsbrück?’

‘But yes. The public schools are very large. I did not go to them; Gisela and Maria and I had a
Mamsell
.

But our
Mamsell
has gone away to be married, so Mamma is very pleased for me to come here.’

‘Bernhilda and Frieda went to the public school,’ observed Gisela, ‘but they, too, are pleased to leave it.

My father says that the English schools are deficient in education, but they give girls a more healthy life, and Herr Mensch agrees with him. There are others, too, who think the same, so, as Bette has said, we shall, without doubt, soon become a large school.’

‘But our schools aren’t deficient in education! ‘ said Grizel, firing up. ‘You get a jolly good education at the High Schools!’

‘But you have such a short period in school,’ returned Bette. ‘You work for no more than five or six hours.

Now we begin at eight o’clock in the morning and work till twelve. Then we begin again at thirteen and go on for another four hours.’

‘How ghastly!’ said Grizel sincerely. ‘Almost as bad as Germany!’

‘But in Germany, so my cousin Amalie has told me, they work even harder than that. And they have no games as you have.’

‘Well, we certainly sha’n't work like that,’ replied Grizel decidedly. ‘I’m sure Miss Bettany would never hear of it!’

‘No; she is English,’ agreed Gisela.

At four o’clock the command came to fold up the work, and then the six day-girls got ready for their walk home. The Maranis and Gertrud lived at Torteswald, a small village about twenty minutes’ walk from Seespitz, and the Mensches were at Seespitz Gasthaus for the summer, while Bette had to go all the way to Buchau. As it was a fine day, she meant to walk instead of taking the steamer, and Grizel and Jo volunteered to accompany them to the Seespitz landing-Simone had disappeared as soon as they were dismissed, and they could not find her, though Joey ran, calling, through the house.

It was a delightful walk, and they found each other very friendly, although shy Frieda only smiled and scarcely spoke at all. Gisela, Bette, and Gertrud were anxious to find out all they could about English schools, and they asked many questions. The two English girls found that they had read quite a number of school-stories, and were very ready to take in all they could on the subject of Prefects, and Head Girls, and games.

‘Then I understand that though most of you are very honourable, it is not always so,’ said Gertrud finally.

‘What do you mean? English girls always play the game! ‘ cried Jo sharply.

‘But some cheat, and look at examination papers beforehand, and take what is not their own,’ returned Gertrud.

‘Tosh! I’ve never met any!’ declared Jo.

‘But it says so in the books I have read,’ persisted the elder girl.

‘But that’s only to make the story,’ explained Jo. ‘We don’t really do such things -honest Injun, Gertrud!

‘I should hope not!’ came from Grizel, who was walking a little in front with Gisela and Bernhilda.

Gertrud’s face cleared. ‘Ah, I see. I am glad, for I should like to think that all English girls are honourable.

We are grateful to you, you know, for my father says that it is the great loans England has made to Austria that are making it possible for us to become a nation once more.’

Jo and Grizel neither knew nor cared about the loans to Austria, but they realised that the others wanted to be friendly, and they were ready to meet them half-way. They chattered on about school topics till they reached the Seespitz Gasthaus, where Bernhilda and Frieda said ‘good-bye’ to them.

‘Will you, perhaps, come and eat an English tea with us on Saturday?’ asked Bernhilda, just before they parted. ‘Mamma would be so pleased if you would come; and Simone also.’

‘Thank you, we’d love it,’ replied Joey.

‘Our first invite,’ she said gleefully to Grizel as they trotted back to the Châlet. ‘Well, what do you think of them all?’

‘I like them,’ returned Grizel with fervour. ‘Gisela’s a dear, isn’t she? Do you think Miss Bettany will make her Head Girl?’

‘Oh, I expect so; she’s the eldest. I say, if we’re going to go on growing like they say, Madge’ll have to take another place, won’t she?’ said Joey with considerable lack of good grammar. ‘And get some more mistresses too! There’s Simone! Hullo, Simone! Why didn’t you come with us?’

‘I went for a little promenade,’ replied Simone.

‘Well, why didn’t you promenade with us?’ demanded Grizel. ‘There’s no need for you to go off by yourself like that!’

‘You had enough,’ returned Simone.

‘Oh, tosh!’ declared Joey in friendly fashion. ‘You mustn’t go raking off by yourself. There’s only us three boarders at present, and we must stick together!’

Simone looked wistfully at them, but made no remark, and as they had reached the Châlet, the conversation dropped.

Chapter 6.

Joey Gives A Promise.

By Saturday it was quite obvious that the Châlet School would have to enlarge both its premises and its staff. It had started actual work with nine pupils. In five days’ time these had swelled to seventeen, two of them being English girls whose parents wanted to go to Norway, and were not anxious to take their children on such a tiresome journey. So, as Joey said, there were two more boarders straight off.

Amy and Margia Stevens were nice little people of eight and eleven, who had spent most of their short lives in travelling, since their father was Foreign Correspondent to one of the great London dailies. Margia, the elder child, was a motherly person, who adored her small sister; Amy was a dainty, fairylike little creature, who thought Margia was all that was wonderful.

‘It really is time they mixed with other children,’ said Mrs Stevens, as she sat talking to Madge and Mademoiselle; ‘but until this year, Amy has been so delicate, I did not like to leave her anywhere, and it was out of the question for Margia to go alone. We must go to Bergen, but I did not want to send them to a convent school. When we heard of you, it seemed quite providential.’