Part 21 (1/2)

”The fire alarm, as all of you perhaps know, is six short taps of the gong--a pause--and six more. When the alarm rings, which of course it will do without warning, I expect every pupil in the school to get out of the building with as little noise and confusion as possible. Indeed I demand no noise at all and no confusion. No one is to go to her room for any purpose whatsoever if the fire alarm should ring while she is in cla.s.s or otherwise employed. If she should be in her room, she is to leave it as expeditiously as possible and not return to it until permission is given.”

”And let my deer skin and pictures burn up?” exclaimed Dum under her breath. ”Nit!”

”'Tain't a real fire, goosey!” said Dee.

”Yes, but it might be.”

”Silence!” tapped Miss Plympton. ”Now I have warned you of an alarm in the near future and I want to see who is to show the most presence of mind. I want to see who will be out of the building first but with no noise or confusion.”

”You notice she didn't say how she required us to get out of the building, by what route, I mean, and you watch me! I am going to get out my own way,” Dum whispered to me as we were dismissed to our cla.s.s rooms.

”Well, I'm game. I'll go any way you do.”

”Good! I bet you will, and of course Dee will, too.”

We feverishly awaited the threatened alarm and the fire drill that was to follow. Gresham was a big building and the 125 girls in it should be able to get out without any great confusion.

”If they only ring it while we are in our rooms we can work our scheme and beat all the girls to the open,” said Dum.

We had decided not to let Mary and Annie in on our plan as Annie was trying very hard not to get any demerits. Mr. Pore treated bad marks on a report very seriously, while our dear fathers did not look upon a bad mark as something that could not be lived down.

”DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG!” a pause and then six more dongs.

It was a few minutes before supper, so close to it, in fact, that for a moment we thought it was the gong for that frugal repast. We were just trying to doll up a bit after a very strenuous game of tennis, the first of the season as the courts had not been fit to use because of the many rains we had been deluged with. We had had some sheets tied together for days, ever since Miss Plympton had given warning about the fire drill.

We had determined to astonish and delight her by the quiet and orderly way we would get out of the building. Dum began rapidly taking down pictures and wrapping them up in her beloved deer skin, the one she had shot and Zebedee had tanned and made into a rug for her. Dee tied the sheets tightly to the radiator while I gathered up the bits of jewelry and knotted them in a handkerchief. This we had rehea.r.s.ed and knew how to do it in a moment. When Dee got the sheets tied, we were ready for the descent. Dum was to go first, as it was her scheme. With her bundle flung over her back by a strap, she grasped the improvised life line and slid safely to the ground. I followed, giggling so I came very near losing my grip. When I got to the end of the last sheet, I must say I hated to let go. I looked down and the ground seemed miles away. It was really only about six feet. Dee had taken up more in the knot she had tied around the radiator than we had allowed for in our calculations.

”Drop,” came hoa.r.s.ely from Dum. So drop I did, wrenching my ankle painfully in the fall.

Dee came down like a movie actress and then we scurried around the house in time to beat all the whole school out on the lawn. My ankle hurt like fury but I grinned and bore it. While Miss Plympton had not designated the manner of our exit from the building, we well knew that if she got on to our mode of egress we would hear from her and that not in endearing terms.

She was standing near the great front door on the gallery, but it was dusk and we were able to sidle close to the wall and have all the appearance of coming out of the building.

”Why, young ladies, you are very prompt,” she said approvingly. ”Are the inmates on your floor out of their rooms?”

”We--we--we don't know.”

”We reckon they are.”

”We did not stop to see.”

The girls by this time came trooping out, some of them half dressed, getting ready for supper as they were when the gong sounded. They were very gay until they saw Miss Plympton; then they sobered down.

Several of the more excitable ones were weeping, certain it was a real fire.

Mary and Annie were the very last to appear. They, it seemed, had lost much time trying to find us. They were sure we would not have gone without warning them and so would not desert us.

”We looked everywhere for you!” cried Mary when she spied us. ”Where on earth have you been?”

”Shhh! We'll tell you later!” I whispered.