04 The Head Girl of the Chalet School (19 page)

“Oh, Rufus, do stop that awful noise! Make him dry up, Joey!”

Joey put her arms round his neck, and kissed him on his cold nose. Then she turned to Grizel. “Grizel, where has she gone to? Do you think Rufus means that she’s buried in the snow?”

But Grizel had managed to pull herself together, and was now able to use her commonsense. “Nonsense!

How could she? It’s as hard as iron!” She stamped on the ground to give emphasis to her words, and the ringing sound of her nail-studded boots on the frozen snow gave point to her rejoinder.

“Then what has happened?”

“Someone may have found her, and carried her,” suggested Grizel.

“But who?”

“That’s more than I can tell you. I didn’t think anyone came here. It’s supposed to be haunted, you know.

Look here, Jo, suppose we go on a little farther and try him again. He might be able to pick up the scent. I don’t think she’s been carried off, if that’s what you are thinking. There’s no one –
what’s that
?”

Jo turned, and looked fearfully in the direction in which she was pointing. What she expected to see, neither she nor anyone else could have told at the moment. What she actually did see was a deep cleft in the rock wall not far from where they were standing, and asleep in it was a strange old man with long white beard and hair, and in his arms, warmly wrapped up in an old deerskin, was the Robin. Both recognised her black curls at once, and both made for the group immediately. Rufus followed them, barking vociferously.

The noise woke the strange bedfellows, and the Robin sat up, holding out her arms to the girls, while the man lay where he was, gazing at them with wild blue eyes in which there was something which Grizel mentally described as “uncanny.”

“
Herzliebchen!
” Johad caught the baby to her. “Little beloved! How could you run away like this and leave us? Are you cold,
Bubchen
?”

“But no, Joey, I am very warm,” replied the Robin, rubbing her curls well into Jo’s mouth as she snuggled to her. “This gentleman, Herr Arnolfi he is, and he has kept me so warm. He was taking me to see where the fairies live, and we got tired, so we sat down to rest.”

Grizel turned to the old man, seeing that Joey was too busy hugging the fond lamb to trouble with him.

“Why did you take her off?” she demanded in German.

He chuckled in a meaningless manner, rising slowly to his feet. “It is the queen of the fairies, my little lady. I was but taking her back to her own realms.”

With a little gasp of horror Grizel realised that they had to do with a madman. He might be harmless, but none the less he was insane. If he chose to resist them they were only two girls, and she had read stories which told her of the strength of insanity. Somehow they must get the baby home without frightening her, if they could manage it. She was a sensitive little creature, and the head-girl knew well that such a scene as might ensue, if he chose to oppose them, would have a bad effect on her. Choosing her words carefully, she answered, “It is the wrong time of year, Herr Arnolfi. Now, the fairies are all asleep till the spring shall come. Then she may go back, but now, she would be alone without attendants to wait on her. You would not be so cruel as to condemn a queen to that, would you?”

He looked at her, a madman’s cunning in his eyes, that wandered restlessly over them. “How do I know that you mortals will let her go? I am of the fairy-folk myself. Give me the little queen, and I will be her faithful attendant until the spring shall come.”

“But it is not fitting that she should go thus,” persisted Grizel, all her wits bent on getting them away before his insane anger should break out. “She is not robed as befits a queen. Neither has she jewels.” In English she added, “Joey! Get her wrapped up, and away! Put her on Rufus’s back.”

Jo at once lifted the child on to the back of the great dog, who was well able to take the light weight, and had often acted the part of horse before. But she made no attempt to move. She had grasped what was the matter, and she had no intention of leaving Grizel to face the maniac by herself. The Robin, not realising, simply took the dog’s fur in her hands, prepared for a merry ride on his back.

“Get off with her,” said Grizel urgently. “
Quick
, Joey!”

“And leave you to this lunatic? It’s likely, isn’t it?” remarked Jo scornfully.

“Then tie her on, and send Rufus home. He can carry her easily. But get her away from here!”

Joey obeyed promptly, tying the Robin as well as she could with gym. girdle and scarf. “Hold tight, darling,” she murmured. “Tell them to let Rufus bring them here when you get home.”

The lunatic had watched their movements with increasing suspicion. Now he turned to Grizel. “The queen has her steed, so she enters well into her kingdom. But you must go. It is not fitting that mortals should behold the court of the fairies. Go, I tell you! Go!”

He was plainly becoming excited. Grizel nodded to Jo, who guessed what it meant. Flinging out her arm in the direction in which they had come, the younger girl cried, “Home, Rufus! Home, boy!”

The gallant animal at once set off, loping along easily. The Robin was very small and light for her age, and he felt no discomfort from his burden. The instincts of his great race were aroused, and he seemed to realise that it was a question of life and death. As he sped off the madman gave vent to such an eldritch yell as terrified the two girls left behind, and he made off after the great dog, tearing over the snow with gigantic bounds, that, it seemed, must bring him up to Rufus in no time. But Rufus was alarmed, and he quickened his pace, the Robin clinging with terrified grip to him.

“Come on, Jo!” shrieked Grizel, catching Joey’s hand. “
Run
!”

They set off at their best pace, running down the slope away from the cleft. The lunatic was still pursuing Rufus and his precious burden, but even his insane strength was running out, and already he was losing ground. Grizel realised that as soon as he saw this he would probably make for them, to wreak his vengeance on them, and she made no attempt to follow the dog’s tracks. Instead, she ran steadily out from them, trusting that the shape of the valley would bring them to some well-known path sooner or later.

As for Jo, she couldn’t even think. She simply ran blindly on, clinging to Grizel in a blind faith which was their salvation, for had she known that they were not following Rufus, the chances are that she would have argued the point. As it was they tore on, breathless, terrified, and well- nigh blind with fear. Finally, Jotripped up over a buried tree-trunk and fell headlong, dragging Grizel after her.

They were up in a moment and dashing on with bursting lungs, but the fall had broken their headlong flight, and in less than three minutes they knew that they could not go on. Their run fell to a walk, and, finally, Joey sank down on the ground, her hand at her side where the cruel stitch was catching, and fighting for breath. Grizel was not in much better case, but she was able to realise that they must not stay there. The cold was cruel, and was becoming more intense as night stole on. Already the stars were beginning to show in the skies, and they had no means as yet of knowing where they were.

The head-girl bent down and pulled Jo to her feet.

“Come on, Joey! We can’t stop here. Hang on to me, old thing, and I’ll haul you along.”

“I can’t!” gasped Jo. “Grizel, I can’t! Let me alone! Let me alone!”

But Grizel persisted. In spite of her own weariness she managed to drag Jo along with her, though it was a slow progress, and she was terrified in case they were going round in a circle, and should come up with the old madman again. She scanned the skies eagerly for the North Star; but it had not risen yet, so they were forced to go on as straight as they could. Joey was becoming a dead weight and was ceasing to protest against being made to walk. Grizel knew that she herself could not go on much longer, and she shuddered inwardly as she thought of what might happen if they had to go much farther.

Mercifully, help was nearer at hand than she had supposed. Just as she was beginning to decide that she could not move another foot, the sound of voices came to them from amongst the trees, and there were lights to be seen moving in their direction. With a final effort the head-girl let go her hold of Joey and called as loudly as she could. Then she, too, sank down on the ground, utterly exhausted. The three men who had come over the great Tiern Pass from Germany found them there two minutes later when they left the trees, and had to carry them to Lauterbach, the little hamlet at the Austrian end of the pass. Neither of them recovered consciousness till they were safely in one of the little chalets, where the rescuers dosed them with brandy, bringing them to effectually. It was some time before they could recover their wits sufficiently to say where they came from, and by that time the Chalet people, led by Dr. Jem and Rufus, had succeeded in tracking them to the hamlet.

Both were so completely done that they had to stay where they were for the night, and when they were brought home next day they were put straight to bed and kept there for the rest of the week. Joey was in the worst case. Grizel was strong as a young pony, and, except for a stiffness which soon wore off, she recovered from her fright and exertion rapidly.

Jo, on the other hand, was so worn-out that it was decided to separate her from everyone, and she was taken to her sister’s little bedroom, where she stayed for ten days, finally coming downstairs looking white and big-eyed, and inclined to be easily upset. Of the three the Robin came off best. She had been frightened by the old man’s chasing of her and Rufus, but they had soon got away from him, and they had not gone far before meeting the search party from the Chalet, which had set out as soon as Eva had found Mademoiselle and given her Grizel’s message. It had been quite by accident that they had gone in that direction at all, but the baby was quickly taken from her perch and carried home in Miss Durrant’s arms, and bathed and put to bed.

Her story, when they got it from her, was that she had finished her afternoon nap, and had got up, dressed herself, and gone out into the playing-field, as she was permitted to do on fine days. She had been running along by the fence when the old man had suddenly appeared at the other side, and had called to her and told her to come with him, for he would take her to Fairyland. She had never thought of its being naughty, but had gone off quite happily, and he had been very good to her. When she had grown tired he had offered to carry her, but she had refused, for she wanted to be a real school-girl, and she was a Brownie, anyway, and Brownies don’t fuss over trifles. At last, when they had reached the cleft, he had picked her up, and told her that now he was going to take her through it to Fairyland, where she would be queen. Only he was tired and must rest. So he had sat down and taken her in his arms.

The next thing she knew, Joey and Grizel and Rufus were there, and then they had put her on Rufus’s back, and sent him home with her, and the old man had been very angry – but very, very angry. He had run after them, but Rufus had run faster, and then Miss Maynard and Miss Durrant and Miss Wilson had come, and Miss Durrant had carried her home. And she was very sorry. Please would they forgive her.

“You were very naughty, my child,” said Mademoiselle, “for only think! You are not permitted to leave the school by yourself. Poor Joey and Grizel had a terrible time, and now they are in ill in bed because you were so naughty.”

The Robin wept bitterly. She adored Joey, who was her ideal in everything, and she was not allowed to go near her beloved. Grizel, too, had been very kind to her. They could have inflicted no worse punishment on her than she had brought on herself, and after a little more talk Mademoiselle consented to forgive her, and kissed her. But that escapade of the Robin’s was to have much further reaching results than they yet realised.

They thought it was at an end, and, after Grizel had been gently told that she should never have gone off as she did, nothing more was said. In Jo’s case, scolding had to be put on one side. Her nerves had received a severe shock, and she was not herself all the rest of the term. As for the old man, he had vanished as completely as if he had never existed. If it had not been that all three girls told the same story, and told it independently, those in authority would have decided that he had been a figment of imagination. The Briesau people had another explanation of him. They said that he was a devil who had vanished by the aid of Satan, and that the children had had a narrow escape from being carried off to hell!

THE REST of that term passed quietly and quickly. The girls busied themselves with their preparations for the sale, and Joey managed to content herself with her fretwork.

She remained very quiet, and was still easily upset, even when the end of term came, so that the staff were thankful that in a few days she would be safely in her sister’s care.

Madge had had to bear all about the adventure, of course, and she had been horror-stricken at the thought of the peril in which all three girls had been. She had come down to the school post-haste, and had stayed there for a week, spending her time with Jo, who clung to her sister. When she had gone back, she had gone with the promise that none of them would venture beyond the fence without a mistress in charge. As a matter of fact, no one was given the chance. Nothing had been heard about “Herr Arnolfi,” and Mademoiselle lived in a perpetual state of fear lest he should come back and try to take the Robin away again, either by cajolery or force.

Rufus, who had proved himself such a hero, was well on the way to being spoiled, for everyone petted him, and he was rewarded with tit-bits dear to his doggish heart, and some of the middles nearly came to blows over the question of who was to look after him while his mistress was absent from him. It was finally settled by the prefects themselves, who undertook to see to his grooming and baths, and so saved the school from what looked like some promising feuds.