02 Jo of the Chalet School (25 page)

‘I’ve heard you say a dozen worse things!’ retorted Margia. -‘Oh,
Simone
!’

For Simone had burst into tears once more. ‘You are so un-kind!’ she sobbed. ‘Always it is me who must do the work-but always!’

‘Oh, for goodness’ sake, stop it!’ groaned Jo. ‘You’re a perfect Niagara yourself, Simone!’

Almost on the words the door opened, and Mademoiselle came in. ‘Simone, why do you then cr-r-r-y?’

she asked dramatically.

‘
Je n’en said rien!
‘ sobbed Simone.

‘In English, if you please.’

Simone gulped noisily, and then wailed. ‘I do not know!’

‘It’s the spring,’ said Miss Durrant, who had been standing behind her, an interested spectator of all this.

‘She ought to have some sulphur or something, to cool her down a little.’

At this lively prospect Simone literally howled, bringing Miss Bettany to the spot. She gave the French child short shrift. ‘Off to bed with you!’ she said. ‘A dose of salts will put you right. -Come here, you others. Joey, let me see your tongue.’

Joey obligingly hung it out as far as it would go, and Margia followed her example. Miss Bettany promptly decided to dose them all round, and went off to superintend the mixing of a big jorum of sulphur, lemon juice, tartaric acid, and one or two other items. At seven o’clock the next morning she made the round of the dormitories, and saw to it herself that every girl took her dose.

‘Filthy muck!’ was Joey’s verdict-unfortunately for her, overheard by Miss Maynard, who promptly awarded her with the whole of ‘Lycidas’ to be repeated before Saturday, on pain of losing the Saturday expedition. The middles, as Juliet later remarked to Gisela, were meeting the rewards for all their sins at once.

Mercifully, nothing else occurred during that day. Whether the Head’s ‘spring medicine’ had anything to do with it or not, no one could say; but the fact remains that they reached bedtime without any other explosions beyond the usual trials of badly-prepared work.

The next day ‘Mrs Squeers,’ as naughty Jo promptly christened her sister, appeared again with her medicine, but this time no one had any remarks to make about it. All swallowed their doses in silence.

Work, that day, proceeded as usual. The only thing that was
not
usual was the behaviour of the dogs.

Usually quite happy with their freedom of the enclosure and the long walk they always had with the girl sin the afternoon, to-day they were restless and unhappy. Zita prowled up and down the fence nearest the Kronprinz Karl and the torrent, every not and then sitting back on her haunches and baying mournfully-an example faithfully imitated by her son, who yelped loudly.

‘I can’t think what has happened to those dogs,’ said miss Bettany during the half-past ten break as she stood by the gate, talking to Miss Maynard and watching the girls, who were wandering about in twos and threes. ‘I never knew Zita to behave like this before!’

‘You know the old idea that a dog howls at the approach of death?’ said Miss Maynard.

‘Marie has been wailing about it whenever we’ve met,’ replied Miss Bettany. ‘She’s convinced something awful is about to happen. But you aren’t superstitious, surely?’

Miss Maynard laughed half-ashamedly. I’m not, as a general rule. But there’s certainly something wrong, and Zita knows it. Animals always sense coming disaster, I think-dogs and cats especially.’

‘She may be feeling unwell,’ suggested Madge. ‘Let’s go and examine her.’

They strolled across to where Zita stood with Rufus nuzzling against her, and Joey petting them both, the ever-faithful Simone beside her. She looked up as the two came near.

‘I can’t think
what’s
the matter with Zita,’ she said seriously. ‘I’ve loved her and talked to her, and she only howls. Oh, do you think she’s ill?’

‘Let me see,’ said her sister, bending over the big dog.

Zita turned mournful eyes on her young mistress, then she lifted her nose to the sky and gave utterance to her long howl. Miss Bettany patted her head and felt her nose. ‘Poor odl Zita! I wish you could tell us why you are so unhappy! What is it, my dear? Have you hurt your paw? Let me see.’

Zita allowed them to examine her feet one by one, but there was nothing wrong there.

‘Is she going to die?’ asked Joey almost tearfully.

‘Nonsense, Joey!’ replied her sister sharply. ‘I don’t’ know what can be the matter, but she’s well enough in herself.’

‘Perhaps she wants a long walk,’ suggested Miss Maynard. ‘She seems terribly restless. Look at her!’ For Zita was once more pacing along the fence.

Miss Bettany looked after the dog, and then glanced round. ‘I’ve a good mind to send the girls for their walk now, and let them have their lessons this afternoon. Look at that sky! There’s a storm threatening in the near future.’

Miss Maynard nodded. ‘You’re quite right; there is! Isn’t this Mr Denny’s afternoon, though? There won’t be much time for lessons!’

‘
Kaffee
can be half-an-hour later for once, and Mr Denny has them in three classes, so we’ll cut the middles’ sewing, and they can have my history instead; I don’t’ suppose
they
will object! There’s the bell.

Send Gisela round to the various forms to tell them to get ready, and ask Miss Durrant if she will take the middles and the seniors. Juliet and Gisela can take the juniors. They are to walk round the lake to Buchau and back.-The little ones had better go no farther than Seespitz. This is very tiring weather.’

‘It’s horribly oppressive,’ agreed Miss Maynard as she set off on her errand.

Needless to state, the girls were charmed at the idea, and ten minutes later were all ready in brown caps and coats, and strong boots. Then a queer thing happened. Joey went, as usual, to fetch the dogs. Rufus came eagerly enough, but Zita merely looked at her pathetically, and bayed again. She simply refused to stir from where she was.

‘What a queer thing!’ said Madge when she heard Joey’s report. ‘I do hope she’s all right. Leave her, Jo, if she won’t come, but take Rufus.’

However, when she saw the two long files of girls marching down to the gate, Zita reluctantly left her post and followed them, although she kept looking back at the three mistresses who were left behind.

‘I simply don’t understand it,’ said Miss Bettany. ‘Zita has never behaved like this before.’

‘It is the spring, perhaps,’ suggested Mademoiselle. ‘It is affected the younger girls, and why not the dog too?’

‘That must be it,’ agreed Madge. ‘Well, shall we go for stroll in the other direction? We might go out of the pine-woods gate, and walk down by the river and along the lake-path home. What do you say?’

‘I have much to do,
cherie
,’ said Mademoiselle. ‘If you will forgive me, I will stay behind and finish my work.’

‘You need a walk, really,’ said her Head. ‘However, if you want to work-’

‘I ought to stay too,’ laughed Miss Maynard. ‘I have a pile of algebra books to correct. But they can come later on, and I’ll come with you now.’

They hurried in and put on their outdoor clothes. Then, waving a gay farewell to Mademoiselle, they set off across the enclosure to the gate which opened on to the pasture, close by the pine-woods at the base of the slopes of the Barenbad Alpe. There was no wind to-day, and the woods were very still. The only sound they could hear was the roaring of the torrent as it thundered down the valley to the lake.

‘What a noise the water makes!’ exclaimed Miss Maynard as they neared it.-‘Oh, what a magnificent sight!’

A sudden turn in the road had brought them in full view of the stream, and a magnificent sight it was: the grey foaming water, tossing and boiling between its narrow rocky banks, fighting every inch of its way to the Tiern See. It was a bare six inches below the summit of its banks, and it looked to Madge Bettany as if it must, ere long, overtop them and fling itself across the valley. She remembered it as it had looked on that hot day in the summer when they had gone dry-shod over the pebbles on their way to the Mondscheinspitze for her birthday picnic. She recalled, too, how Bernhilda had told her that three bridges had been swept away by the winter floods, so that now there was only a log across it. She glanced down to where she knew the log to be and felt a little wave of thankfulness to see it still there.

‘Here’s Herr Braun,’ said Miss Maynard suddenly.

Madge looked up, and saw the good-natured hotel-keeper coming to meet them. His face was very grave, and all the cheeriness seemed to have fled form it.

‘
Gruss Gott, Fraulein,
‘ he said as he reached them.

‘
Gruss Gott, Herr Braun
,’ replied Madge; then she added, ‘the stream is very full,
nicht wahr
?’

‘Too full,
mein Fraulein
, too full!’ he said.

‘How do you mean-too full?’ asked Madge, paling slightly.

He explained. ‘As you can see, gracious lady, the banks are narrow. There is a great deal of snow still melting. That means that there is much water still to come down. If is should occur that the water was dammed higher up, then, when the dam broke-as assuredly it must-there would be little or no room for the flood to pass to the lake, and it would overflow and flood the valley.’

‘Has it happened before?’ asked Miss Maynard.

‘Twice within my recollection. Once, the village up yonder,’ he pointed up the valley, ‘was completely overwhelmed, and there were many lives lost. That is why all the houses are now built on the higher ground, while many are raised off the ground altogether. The other time it was not so serious, but still much of the valley was several inches under water for two days, and there were many goats drowned.’

‘And do you think there will be a flood now?’ demanded Madge.

He shook his head. ‘
Der liebe Gott
knows, and He only. At least,
mein Fraulein
, you are safe, and the little ones; for the Chalet stands high. Nevertheless, if you will permit that I advise you, I would suggest that you take food with you to-night upstairs. If there should be a storm, it might chance that the water will rise high enough to make it unpleasant for you to eat in the lower rooms. It would soon drain away to the lake; but it is always well to be prepared.’ By this time, they had reached the Kronprinz Karl, and he bade them farewell, repeated his advice about the food. Then he left them and they walked home along the lake-path.

‘What shall you do?’ asked Miss Maynard of her Head.

‘I wish I knew!’ Miss Bettany looked worried. ‘If I thought there really would be a flood, as he suggests, I should take the girls to Seespitz, and ask them to take us at the Gasthof for the next few days until the water goes down. But I don’t want to do that unless it is absolutely necessary.’ She paused; then, ‘What do you think yourself?’ she asked.

Miss Maynard frowned. ‘I really don’t know. It’s fearfully difficult. One doesn’t want to be fussy; and yet if anything like a flood
did
take place-well, one would always wish one
had
been “-fussy,” I mean.’

Mademoiselle, tackled on the same subject, held the view that doubtless Herr Braun was exaggerating the danger. She also pointed out that the Kronprinz Karl lay much nearer the stream, and also that it lay at a lower level than the Chalet, and therefore might quite possible be damaged by a flood while the school stood high and dry. The ringing of the bell for
Mittagessen
put an end to the discussion, and nothing more was said. After dinner, the afternoon’s engagements were explained to the girls. The juniors would have their singing as usual at half-past one, while the middles had history, and the seniors mathematics. Then the middles would have their singing lesson, and the juniors would make up the French they had missed in the morning. It would then be the turn of the seniors for singing, and the middles and juniors would do English literature and German dictation respectively. Finally, all the school would have half-an-hour’s folk songs at the end of the afternoon instead of the beginning. Then Miss Bettany made the announcement which set everyone gasping with surprise. ‘After we leave the table,’ she said, ‘everyone will go over to Le Petit Chalet. The juniors will bring their night things, brushes and combs, and washing paraphernalia, over here.

The elder girls will bring the bedding, and we will make up your beds over here for once. Grace!’

She said grace, and then marshalled them out of the room, and saw them over to Le Petit Chalet, where the prefects took charge. Then she turned back to the
Speisesaal
, where the excited mistresses awaited her.

‘So that is your solution of the problem?’ cried Miss Maynard. ‘I congratulate you, Madame! It’s quite the best you could have made!’

‘But why? I don’t understand,’ said Miss Durrant plaintively. ‘Is anything wrong that you are doing this?’

‘I forgot. Of course, you took the walk, and there’s been no chance to tell you. Herr Braun is afraid the river may flood, and flood badly. I don’t suppose we are in any read danger, it it’s best to be on the safe side, and Le Petit Chalet lies lower than the Chalet itself; so I decided to bring the babies over here. Now come with me, all of you, and let us decide how we can best manage.’

They went upstairs, and an exciting time followed while they pushed beds together and fitted in mattresses for the juniors. When half-past one came Miss Bettany and Miss Maynard went off to take their various classes, leaving Mademoiselle and Miss Durrant to wrestle with the problem of fitting thirteen extra people into the upstairs rooms.

Downstairs, in the big class-room, ‘Plato’ struggled with the excited juniors, who refused to take any real interest in the charming setting of ‘Where Go the boats?’ which he had procured for them. He wondered vaguely why they were all so much upset; but he lived largely in a fairy world of his own, and as long as they did not sing out of tune he did not worry about them particularly. It was worse when the middles came, for Miss Bettany had felt it would be wiser to give them some explanation of the state of affairs, and they were deeply thrilled. They simply couldn’t give their singing-master any attention, and, finally, even ‘Plato’