First Term at Malory Towers (9 page)

“You know I didn't mean anything that time in the pool,” she said. It was just a joke. You've often seen the others being ducked. I'm sorry I ducked you so hard. I didn't realize you were so frightened.”

There was something very determined about Gwendoline, when she had made up her mind about anything. Mary-Lou didn't know how to get away. So, as usual, she surrendered.

“Well,” she said, hesitatingly, “Well—if you
really
didn't mean to hurt me, that time in the pool, Gwendoline, I'll be friends. But I'm not going to talk against Darrell or Alicia.”

Gwendoline gave her arm a squeeze, bestowed another honeyed smile on the perplexed Mary-Lou and walked off to think out her suddenly conceived plan in peace.

“It's marvellous!” she thought. “Everyone knows how fed- up Darrell is with Mary-Lou, because she's always tagging after her, and soon everyone will know how cross Alicia is because she has broken her mother's photograph. So, if
I
start playing a few tricks on Mary-Lou, everyone will think it is Darrell or Alicia getting back at her! And oh goody, goody. Alicia has to sit by Mary-Lou now! That makes it easier still.”

She sat down in the Court and thought out her plan. She meant to revenge herself on the three people she disliked. She would scare Mary-Lou to death—but she would make everyone think it was Alicia and Darrell! Then they would be blamed, and punished.

“And if I make close friends with Mary-Lou nobody would ever think
I
had anything to do with things,” thought Gwendoline, in delight. “Really, I'm very clever. I bet no one else in the whole of the first form could think of a plan like this.”

She was right. They couldn't—but not because they weren't clever enough—but just because they weren't mean enough. Gwendoline couldn't see that. She couldn't even see that she was doing a mean thing. She called it “giving them all a lesson!”

She laid her plans very carefully. She would wait her time, till Alicia or Darrell were carrying out the duty of tidying the classroom and filling the vases with water. Then everyone would know they and they only had been in the classroom and so had the opportunity of slipping anything into anyone's desk, or taking something out.

She would pop a black beetle into Mary-Lou's desk—or a few worms—or even a mouse if she could get hold of it. But no—Gwendoline quickly ruled out mice because she was so scared of them herself. She didn't much like black-beetles or worms either, but she could manage to scoop those up into a matchbox or something.

She could do that. And she could remove Mary-Lou's favourite pencils and hide them in Alicia's locker. That would be a cunning thing to do! She might put one or two of Mary- Lou's books in Darrell's locker too. And how sympathetic she would be with Mary-Lou when she found out these tricks!

Gwendoline began poking round the garden to see what insects she could find. Jean, who was a good gardener, and liked to give a hand with the school garden at times, was most amazed to see Gwendoline poking about in the beds with a trowel.

“What
are
you doing?” she asked. “Looking for a bone you've buried?”

“Don't be silly,” said Gwendoline, angry that Jean should have come across her. “Can't I do a little gardening? Are you to be the only one?”

“Well, what gardening are you doing?” demanded Jean, who always liked to know the ins and outs of everything that aroused her curiosity.

“Just digging,” said Gwendoline. “Making the earth a bit loose. It's so dry.”

Jean gave a snort. She had a wonderful variety of snorts, which she kept mainly for Gwendoline, Sally and Mary-Lou. Gwendoline dug viciously with her trowel, wishing she could put a worm down Jean's neck. But probably Jean wouldn't mind, anyway.

Gwendoline didn't like to look for worms after that. She decided to look for spiders. But when she saw a large one in the woodshed she almost ran out helter-skelter herself. Still, it was
such
a large one, it would be just the thing for Mary- Lou's desk. It would come running out marvellously!

Somehow Gwendoline caught it, though she shivered as she clapped a flowerpot over it. She managed to get it into a little cardboard box. Then, feeling very clever, she slipped away to the common room, meaning to hide the spider in its box away in her locker until the right moment came.

She led the conversation round to spiders that evening. “I got my head caught in a web in the shed today,” she said. “Oooh, it did feel horrid. I don't like spiders.”

“My brother Sam once had a tame spider,” began Alicia, who could always be relied on to produce a bit of family history of any moment. “It lived under a fern in our greenhouse, and it came out every evening for a drink of water, when Mother watered the ferns.”

“Oooh! I should have hated to see it!” said Mary-Lou, with a shudder. “I'm terrified of spiders.”

“You're an idiot,” Alicia, still cross over the broken photograph. “Terrified of this, scared of that—what a life you lead, Mary-Lou. I've a good mind to catch a large spider and put it down your neck!”

Mary-Lou turned pale. The very thought made her heart jump in fright. “I should die if you did that!” she said, in a low voice.

“Cowardy custard,” said Alicia, lazily. “Well—wait till I get a spider!”

Gwendoline said nothing—but how she rejoiced! Could anything be better! Alicia had said more than she could possibly have hoped she would say—and what was more, every North Tower first-former had heard it. It was marvellous!

“I'll wait till Monday, when Alicia and Darrell are on duty in the classroom,” she thought. “Then I'll do the trick. It will teach them all a lesson!”

So, when Monday came, Gwendoline watched for her moment. She and Mary-Lou went about everywhere together now, much to the surprise and amazement of Darrell and Alicia and Betty. How could Mary-Lou chum up with that awful Gwendoline, especially after that cruel ducking? And why was Gwendoline sucking up to Mary-Lou? It seemed very queer to the first-formers.

Gwendoline's chance came, and she took it. She was told to go and fetch something from her common room, ten minutes before afternoon school. She tore there to get it, then raced to the first-form classroom with the cardboard box. She opened it and let the great, long-legged spider run into the desk. It ran to a dark corner and crouched there, quite still.

Gwendoline hurried away, certain that no one had seen her. Two minutes later Darrell and Alicia strolled in to fill the flower-vases with water. Ah, luck was with Gwendoline just then!

THE first lesson that afternoon was mental arithmetic. The girls groaned over this, except the quick ones, like Irene, who delighted in it. But it meant that there was no need for anyone to open a desk, because it was all oral work.

Miss Potts was lenient with the girls, for it was a very hot afternoon. Darrell was glad that Miss Potts was not as exacting as usual, for arithmetic was not her strong point, especially mental arithmetic.

The next lesson was to be taken by Mam'zelle Dupont. It was to be a French conversation lesson, in which the girls would endeavour to answer all Mam'zelle's simple questions in French. Miss Potts left, and Mam'zelle arrived, not quite so beaming as usual, because of the heat. She was too plump to enjoy the hot weather, and little beads of perspiration shone on her forehead as she sat down at the big desk, opposite the rows of girls.

“
Asseyez-vous
,” she said, and the girls sat down thankfully, feeling that the only lesson they would really enjoy that weather would be a swimming lesson.

The lesson proceeded slowly and haltingly. The flow of French conversation was not at all brisk on the girls' part, and the constant pauses began to irritate Mam'zelle.

“Ah!” she cried at last, “it is too hot to make conversation with such stupid ones as you are this afternoon! Get out your grammar books and I w ill explain a few things to you that will help your conversation if you can get them into your so-stupid heads!”

The girls opened their desks to get out their grammar books. Gwendoline watched eagerly to see what would happen when Mary-Lou opened hers. But nothing did happen. Mary Lou had neither seen the spider nor disturbed it. She shut her desk.

All the girls opened their grammar books at the page Mam'zelle commanded. Then Mary-Lou found that she had her English grammar instead of her French one. So she reopened her desk to get the right book.

“
Que faites-vous
, Mary-Lou?” demanded Mam'zelle, who hated desks being opened and shut too often. “What are you doing?”

Mary-Lou stuffed her English grammar into the back of her desk and pulled out the French one. The spider, feeling itself dislodged by the book, ran out in a fright. It ran almost up to Mary-Lou before she saw it. She let the desk-lid drop with a terrific bang and gave a heart-rending scream.

Everyone jumped in alarm. Mam'zelle leapt to her feet, sending a pile of books clattering from her desk to the floor. She glared at Mary-Lou.

“
Tiens!
What is this noise! Mary-Lou, have you gone mad?”

Mary-Lou couldn't speak. The sight of the enormous spider apparently running straight at her had completely undone her. She scraped her chair away from her desk, and stared at it as if she expected the spider to jump through the lid.

“Mary-Lou!” thundered Mam'zelle. “Tell me what is the matter with you? I demand it!”

“Oh, Mam'zelle—there's a—there's a simply enormous—giant—spider in my desk!” stammered Mary- Lou, quite pale.

“A spider?” said Mam'zelle. “And you make this fuss, and call out so loudly that we all jump in fear! Mary-Lou, be ashamed of yourself! I am angry with you. Sit down.”

“Oh—I—I daren't,” said Mary-Lou, trembling. “It might come out. Mam'zelle, it's enormous.”

Mam'zelle wasn't quite sure whether she really believed in this spider or not. What with Alicia's deafness last week and one thing and another...

Irene giggled. Mam'zelle fixed her with a glare. “We will see if this spider exists or not,” she said, firmly. “And I warn you, Mary-Lou, if this is again a trick, and there is no spider, you will go to Miss Potts for punishment. I wash my hands of you.”

She advanced to the desk. She threw open the lid dramatically. Mary-Lou drew in her breath and got away as far as she could, looking at the inside of the desk with scared eyes.

There was no spider to be seen. It had, of course, retreated to the darkest corner it could find again. Mam'zelle swept the desk with a searching glance and then turned on poor Mary-Lou.

“Bad girl,” she said, and stamped her foot. “You, so quiet and good, you too deceive me, the poor Mam'zelle! I will not have it.”

“Mam'zelle,
do
believe me,” begged Mary-Lou, in despair, for she could not bear to be scolded like that. “It
was
there— an enormous one.”

Mam'zelle rummaged violently among the books in the desk. “No spider! Not one!” she said. “Tell me, where has it gone, if it is still in there?”

The spider was alarmed by the violent rummaging. It suddenly hurried out from its hiding-place, and ran on to Mam'zelle's hand and up her arm.

Mam'zelle stared at the enormous thing as if she really could not believe her eyes. She gave a shriek even louder than Mary-Lou had given! She too was scared of spiders, and here was a giant specimen running over her person!

Irene exploded. That was the signal for the class to enter into the fun, and one and all scrambled over to Mam'zelle.

“Ah, where is it, the monster? Girls, girls, can you see it?” wailed Mam'zelle.

“It's here,” said wicked Alicia and ran a light finger down Mam'zelle's spine. She gave a scream, thinking that it was the spider running there. “Take it off! I beg you, Alicia, remove it from me!”

T think it must have gone down your neck, Mam'zelle,” said Betty, which nearly made Mam'zelle have a fit. She immediately felt sure that it was well all over her, and began to shiver and tremble.

Alicia tickled the back of her neck and she leapt in the air. “Oh, la la! Oh, la la! What a miserable woman I am! Where is this monster? Girls, girls, tell me it is gone!”

There was now a complete uproar in the first-form room. Miss Potts, again in the second-form room, was amazed and exasperated. What
could
her form be doing now? Had Mam'zelle left them alone, and had they all gone mad?

“Go on with your maps for a minute,” she said to the second form, who were glancing at one another in astonishment, as they heard the noise from the first-form room. She left the room and went rapidly to the door of the first form.

She opened it and the noise hit her like something solid. Worse than Break, she thought grimly. At first she could not see any mistress there at all, and thought that the girls were alone. Then she caught sight of Mam'zelle's head in the middle of a crowd of girls. What
was
happening!

“Girls!” she said, but her voice went unheard. “GIRLS!” Irene suddenly saw her and started to nudge everyone. “Look out here's Potty,” she hissed.

The girls flowed back from Mam'zelle as if they were water! In a trice every one was by her desk. Mam'zelle stood alone, trembling, wondering what was happening. Where had that monster of a spider gone?

“Mam'zelle, really!” said Miss Potts, almost forgetting the rule the staff had of never finding fault with one another before the girls. “ I simply cannot think what happens to this class when you take it!”

Mam'zelle blinked at Miss Potts. “It was a spider,” she explained, looking up and down herself. “Ah, Miss Potts, but a MONSTER of a spider. It ran up my arm and disappeared. Ah-h-h-h-h! I seem to feel it everywhere.”

“A spider won't hurt you,” said Miss Potts, coldly and unfeelingly. “Would you like to go and recover yourself, Mam'zelle, and let me deal with the first form?”

“Ah non!” said Mam'zelle, indignantly. “The class, it is good—the girls, they came to help me to get this monster of a spider. So big it was, Miss Potts!”

Miss Potts looked so disbelieving that Mam'zelle exaggerated the size of the spider, and held out her hands to show Miss Potts that it was at least as big as fair-sized frog.