14 ellen has a bad idea

nobody missed ellen very much. she hadn’t any of darrell’s high spirits or friendliness, none of alicia’s mischief or fun, she hadn’t even the shyness and timidity of mary-lou, that made her missed when she wasn’t there.

“you don’t much notice mary-lou when she’s there under your nose—but you do miss her when she’s not,” said darrell once. and that was true.

darrell was missing mary-lou quite a lot these days, for mary-lou was attaching herself firmly to daphne. nobody could quite understand it. nobody believed that daphne wanted mary-lou’s friendship—she only wanted her help in french. even when darrell pointed out that it was almost cheating for mary-lou to do such a lot for her, she would hardly listen.

“i can’t do much to help anybody,” said mary-lou. “it’s only in french that i’m really good—and it’s so nice to help somebody who wants it. and besides—daphne does really like me, darrell!”

“well, so do i like you, and so does sally,” said darrell, really exasperated to think that mary-lou should attach herself to such a double-faced person as daphne.

“yes, i know. but you only put up with me out of the kindness of your heart!” said mary-lou. “you’ve got sally. you let me tag along behind you like a nice puppy—but you don’t really want me, and i couldn’t possibly help you in any way. but i can help daphne—and though i know you think she’s only using me for her french, she’s not.”

darrell was certain that daphne only put up with mary-lou because of the french—but she wasn’t quite right. daphne was very fond of mary-lou now. she couldn’t quite think why, because it wasn’t like her to be fond of anyone—but mary-lou was so unobtrusive, so shy, so willing to help in any way. “she’s like a pet mouse, that you want to protect and take care of!” thought daphne. “you can’t help liking a mouse.”

she poured out her tales of wealth to mary-lou, and mary-lou listened in the most gratifying manner. the younger girl was proud that someone as grand as daphne should bother to notice her and talk to her and tell her things.

ellen was away from school eleven days and had worried terribly the last six or seven because jean had not been allowed to bring her lesson-notes or to tell her about the lessons. now she came back, pale, a little thinner, with an obstinate look in her eyes. she was going to catch up somehow! if she had to get up at six in the morning, and learn her lessons under the sheets by means of a flashlight, she would!

she asked miss parker if she would be kind enough to give her extra coaching in what she had missed. miss parker refused in a kindly manner.

“no, ellen. you’re not up even to your ordinary work at the moment, let alone taking extra coaching. i shan’t expect much from you, nor will anyone else. so don’t worry.”

ellen went to mam’zelle dupont and even to mam’zelle rougier. “i do so want to know what i’ve missed so that i can make it up,” she said. “could you give a little extra coaching?”

but neither of the mam’zelles would. “you are not yet quite strong, mon enfant!” said mam’zelle dupont, kindly. “no one will expect you to do brilliantly now this term. take things more easily.”

so poor ellen was quite in despair. nobody would help her! they all seemed to be in league against her—matron, doctor, miss parker, the two mam’zelles.

and in ten days’ time the tests began! ellen usually liked exams, but she was dreading these. she couldn’t think how it was that the girls joked about them so light-heartedly.

then an idea came to her—a bad idea, that at first she put away from her mind at once. but it came back again and again, whispering itself into her mind so that she had to listen to it.

“if you could perhaps see the test-papers before they were given out! if you could read the questions and know what you were going to be asked!”

ellen had never cheated in her life. she had never needed to for she had good brains and she knew how to work hard. people didn’t cheat if they could do as well or better without cheating! ah, but when you couldn’t, when something had gone wrong, and you didn’t know your work—would you cheat then if it was the only way to gain a good place?

it is not often that a test like that comes to a person with good brains, who has always scorned cheating—but now it came to ellen. it is easy not to cheat if you don’t need to. it is easy not to cheat if you do need to? when that test comes, you will know your character for what it is, weak or strong, crooked or upright.

ellen could no longer push the thought out of her mind. it was always there. then one day she was in miss parker’s room and saw what she thought was a test-paper on her desk. miss parker was not in the room. it needed only a moment to slip round and look at the paper.

ellen read swiftly down the questions. how easy they were! then, with a shock she saw that they were questions set for the first form, not the second. her heart sank.

before she could look for the second-form questions and see if they were there she heard miss parker’s footsteps and slipped round to the other side of the desk. she must never let anyone guess that she was thinking of doing such a dreadful thing.

ellen was always slipping into miss parker’s room, or miss potts’ room after that. she chose times when she knew they would not be there. she even went through miss parker’s desk in the second-form room one morning after school hoping to find something there in the way of test questions.

alicia found her there and looked surprised. “what are you doing?” she said. “you know we’re not supposed to go to that desk. really, ellen!”

“i’ve lost my fountain pen,” mumbled ellen. “i wondered if perhaps miss parker had . . .”

“well, even if she had got it, you shouldn’t go sneaking in her desk,” said alicia, scornfully.

then another time darrell found her in miss potts’ room, standing at mam’zelle’s empty desk, running her fingers through the papers there. she stared in surprise.

“oh—er—mam’zelle sent me here to find a book for her,” said ellen, and was shocked at herself. she had always heard that one sin leads to another, and she was finding out that this was true. she was trying to cheat—and that made her tell untruths. what next would it be!

“well, i must say ellen isn’t much improved by being away for nearly a fortnight,” said betty, one evening in the common-room, when ellen had snapped someone’s head off, and gone out sulkily. “she’s just as snappy as ever—and she doesn’t look a bit well yet.”

“bad temper’s her trouble,” said alicia. “i’m fed up with her. always frowning and sighing and looking miserable!”

gwendoline came in, looking bothered. “anyone seen my purse? i’m sure i put it into my desk, and now it’s gone. and i put a ten-shilling note in it only this morning, because i wanted to go out and buy something! now i can’t!”

“i’ll help you to look for it,” said daphne obligingly, and got up. “i bet it’s still in your desk somewhere!”

but it wasn’t. it was most annoying. gwendoline screwed up her forehead and tried in vain to think if she had put it anywhere else.

“i’m sure i didn’t,” she said at last. “oh, how sickening it is. can you lend me some money, daphne?”

“yes. i’ve got my purse in my pocket,” said daphne. “anyway i owe you some. i meant to have paid you before. i got some money yesterday from my uncle.”

she felt in her pocket and then looked up, a dismayed expression on her face. “it’s gone! there’s a hole in my pocket! blow! wherever can i have dropped it?”

“well, i must say you’re a pretty pair!” said alicia. “both of you losing your purses—just when they are full of money too! you’re as bad as irene or belinda!”

belinda had lost a half-crown only the day before, and had crawled all over the form-floor looking for it, much to mam’zelle’s amazement. she hadn’t found it and had demanded her games subscription back from jean. she hadn’t got it, however, for jean maintained that once the money had gone into her box, it was no longer the giver’s—it belonged to the games’ secretary, or the school, or whatever fund it was meant for.

the two purses didn’t turn up. it was annoying and rather mysterious. two purses—full of money. gwendoline looked at daphne and lowered her voice. “you don’t think somebody’s taken them, do you? surely there couldn’t be anyone in our form that would do a thing like that!”

alicia was very curious about the purses. into her mind slid the memory of ellen going through the mistress’s desk in the second-form room. why should she do that? she had said she had lost her fountain pen—but she hadn’t, because alicia had seen her using it at the very next lesson. well, then . . .

alicia determined to keep an eye on ellen. if she was doing anything dishonest or underhand it ought to be reported to sally. it was tiresome to think that sally would have the right to hear about it and settle whether or not it should go before miss parker. alicia felt the usual stab of jealousy when she thought of sally as head-girl.

ellen didn’t know that alicia was keeping an eye on her, but she did know that she was suddenly finding it very difficult to be alone, or to go into either miss parker’s room, or miss potts’ room, or even the form-room when nobody else was there. alicia always seemed to pop up and say:

“hallo, ellen! looking for somebody? can i help you?”

daphne borrowed as usual from somebody, but gwendoline didn’t. gwendoline had been taught not to borrow, and she had written to ask her people to send her some more money to get on with. daphne borrowed some from mary-lou and then offered half of it to gwendoline.

“oh no,” said gwendoline, a little shocked. “you can’t lend other people’s money to me, daphne! i know you borrowed that from mary-lou. why don’t you do as i’m doing and wait till you get some more from your people? that’s the worst of being as rich as you are—i suppose you just simply don’t understand the value of money!”

daphne looked a little surprised, for this was the first time she had ever had any kind of criticism, even slight, from her faithful gwendoline. then she slipped her arm through her friend’s.

“i expect you’re right!” she said. “i’ve always had as much money as i wanted—i don’t really know the value of it. it’s the way i’ve been brought up. don’t be cross, gwen.”

“i don’t know what would happen to you if you were ever in real need of money!” said gwendoline. “you would be miserable without your yacht and your cars and your servants and your beautiful house! how i wish i could see them all!”

but daphne did not say, as gwen always hoped she would, “well, come and stay with me for the holidays!” it rather looked as if gwendoline would not be seeing her grand friend during the christmas holidays, or attending parties and pantomimes with her. it rather looked as if she would have to put up with her own home and adoring mother and worshipping governess!