Part 10 (1/2)
”I'll tell her all about last year the minute we get into the house this noon,” resolved Marjorie. ”When she knows how badly Mignon behaved toward Connie----” The little girl drew a sharp breath of dismay. Into her mind flashed her recent promise to Constance Stevens. She could tell Mary nothing until she had permission to do so. That meant that for the day, at least, she must remain mute, for Constance was not in school that morning, nor would she be in during the day. She had received special permission from Miss Archer to be excused from lessons while her foster father was at Gray Gables.
It was a very sober little girl who wended her way to the French cla.s.s, her next recitation. Out of an apparently clear sky the miserable set of circ.u.mstances frowned upon her dawning soph.o.m.ore year. But it must come right. She would go to Gray Gables that very afternoon and ask Constance to release her from her promise. Connie would surely be willing to do so, when she knew all. Comforted by this thought, Marjorie brightened again.
”_Bon jour_, Mademoiselle Dean,” greeted the cheerful voice of Professor Fontaine as she entered his cla.s.sroom. ”It is with a great plaisure that I see you again. Let us 'ope that you haf not forgottaine your French, I trost you haf sometimes remembered _la belle langue_ during your vacation.” The little man beamed delightedly upon Marjorie.
”I am afraid I have forgotten a great deal of it, Professor Fontaine.”
Marjorie spoke with the pretty deference that she always accorded this long-suffering professor, whose strongly accented English and foreign eccentricities made him the subject of many ill-timed jests on the part of his thoughtless pupils. ”I'm going to study hard, though, and it will soon come back to me.”
”Ah! These are the words it makes happiness to hear,” he returned amiably. ”Some day, when you haf learned to spik the French as the English, you will be glad that you haf persevered.”
”I'm sure I shall,” smiled Marjorie. Then, as several entering pupils claimed the little man's attention, she pa.s.sed on and took a vacant seat at the back of the room.
Professor Fontaine had begun to address the cla.s.s when the door opened and Mignon La Salle sauntered in. She threw a quick, derisive glance at his back, which caused several girls to giggle, then strolled calmly to a seat. A shade of annoyance clouded the instructor's genial face. He eyed his countrywoman severely for an instant, then went on with his speech.
Marjorie received little benefit that morning from the professor's gallant efforts to impress the importance of the study of his language on the minds of his cla.s.s. Her thoughts were with Mary and what she had best say to conciliate her. She had as yet no inkling of the truth. She did not dream that jealousy of Constance had prompted Mary's outburst.
She believed that the whole trouble lay in whatever Mignon had told Mary.
She was more hurt than surprised when at the last period in the morning she failed to find Mary in the chemistry room. Of course she might have expected it. Nothing would be right until she had chased away the black clouds of misunderstanding that hung over them. Still, it grieved her to think that Mary had not trusted her enough to weigh her loyalty against the gossip of a stranger.
The hands of the study hall clock, pointing the hour of twelve, brought relief to the worried soph.o.m.ore. The instant the closing bell rang she made for the locker room. It would be better to wait for Mary there, rather than in the corridor. If Mary's mood had not changed, she preferred not to run the risk of a possible rebuff in so prominent a place. There were too many curious eyes ready to note their slightest act. It would be dreadful if some lynx-eyed girl were to mark them and circulate a report that they were quarreling.
Arrived at the locker-room, she opened her locker and took out her wraps. A faint gasp of astonishment broke from her. Only one rain-coat, one hat and one pair of rubbers were there, where at the beginning of the morning there had been two. Mary Raymond's belongings were gone.
CHAPTER XI
CHOOSING HER OWN WAY
Marjorie stood staring at her locker as one in a dream.
”Hurry up, Marjorie!” Jerry Macy's loud, matter-of-fact tones broke the spell. Behind her were Irma Linton and Susan Atwell. The faces of the three were alive with suppressed excitement. Jerry caught sight of the tell-tale locker and emitted an indignant snort.
”Mary took her advice, Susie! If I were the President of the United States I'd have that Mignon La Salle deported to the South Sea Islands, or Kamchatka, or some place where she couldn't get back in a hurry. It would be a good deal farther than boarding school, I can just tell you,”
she ended with an angry sputter.
Marjorie faced the battery of indignant young faces. ”What is the trouble, girls?” She tried to keep her voice steady, though she was at the point of tears.
”What's the matter with your friend, Mary Raymond, Marjorie?” continued Jerry in a slightly lower key. ”Has she gone suddenly crazy or--or----”
Jerry hesitated. She could not voice the other question which rose to her lips.
”Girls,” Marjorie viewed her friends with brave, direct eyes, ”you know something that I don't about Mary. What is it?”
”It's about Mignon,” blurted Jerry. ”Susie says that the minute she landed in her seat she began talking to Mary.”
”I made signs to Mary to pay no attention to her,” broke in Susan Atwell, ”but she didn't understand what I meant and I couldn't explain, with Mignon sitting right there. The next thing I saw, they were walking down the aisle together as though they'd known each other all their lives.”
”Yes, and they came into geometry together, too,” supplemented Jerry.
”But that's not the worst. Tell Marjorie what you overheard, Susie.”
”Well,” began Susan, looking important, ”when I came back to the study hall just before the last cla.s.s was called, they were both there ahead of me. Just as I was going to sit down at my desk I heard Mignon tell Mary she'd love to have her share her locker. Mary was looking awfully sober and pretty cross, too, as though she were mad about something. I heard her say, 'How can I get my wraps?' and Mignon said, 'Go to Marcia Arnold and see if you can borrow Miss Stevens' key for a minute. If she hasn't come back to school yet, very likely Marcia has it. Tell her you want to take something from it and don't care to bother Miss Dean. You can easily do it, because you haven't a recitation at this hour. I'd get it for you, but I haven't any good reason for asking her for it.' I couldn't hear what Mary said, but she left her seat and I saw her stop at Miss Merton's desk. Miss Merton nodded her head and Mary went on out of the study hall. Mignon saw me looking after her and smiled that hateful smile of hers. I was so cross I made a face at her. Then the third bell rang and I had to go to cla.s.s. I wasn't sure whether Mary did as Mignon told her to do until we saw you staring into your locker and Jerry called my attention to it.”