Part 28 (1/2)

Her one great, overmastering pa.s.sion was for Independence! She envied none of her mates anything but _that_.

Now she fell under temptation, and this was the way of it: Ruth belonged to the picked cla.s.s that the physical instructor had chosen for exhibition gymnasium work at the mid-winter entertainment. This year there were to be important visitors at the school, and Mrs. Tellingham wished to make the occasion a more than ordinarily successful entertainment.

The cla.s.s of twenty girls, selected from the best of the seniors and juniors, was to drill, dance, and go through other gymnastic exercises.

And it was agreed among them that each girl should have a brand new costume, although this was no suggestion of either the teacher or Mrs.

Tellingham.

The cla.s.s invented this idea itself. It was agreed--nineteen in favor, at least--to appear at the entertainment in a brand new outfit. And how could Ruth say ”No?”

Every girl in the cla.s.s but herself had only to write home for money and order the uniform. As it chanced, Ruth had plenty of money to pay for a costume. Helen, who was one of the number, knew Ruth had that fifty dollars in gold that Uncle Jabez had given the girl of the Red Mill the day she left home.

This was the temptation: Ruth had promised herself never to use that money. She had a small sum left from her vacation money, and she was making that do for incidentals, until she could earn more in some way.

She was already tutoring both Nettie Parsons and Ann Hicks in their more advanced textbooks, and they were paying her small sums for this help.

But she could not earn enough in this way--nor in any other--to buy the new gymnasium costume. And there were the five ten-dollar gold pieces lying in a little jeweler's box in the bottom of her trunk.

She went with Helen to the dressmaker in Lumberton, when Helen ordered _her_ new costume. ”Why don't you let her fit you now, too, Ruth?”

demanded Miss Cameron.

”Oh, there is plenty of time. Let us see first how well she makes yours,” Ruth returned, with a forced laugh.

She knew she could not wear her usual costume with the picked cla.s.s without looking odd. The girls had decided on crimson tr.i.m.m.i.n.g on the blue skirt and blouse, instead of the regulation white. Nineteen girls with crimson bands and one with white--and that soiled!--would look odd enough.

It would fairly spoil the picture, Ruth knew. She was worried because of this, for she did not want to make her mates look ridiculous. Never had Ruth Fielding been so uncertain about any question since she had been old enough to decide for herself.

She was really so troubled that her recitation marks were not as high as they should have been. The teachers began to question her, for Ruth Fielding's course at Briarwood had been a triumphant one from the start!

”You are not ill, Miss Fielding?” asked Miss Gould. ”I am surprised to find that you are going below your past averages. What is the matter?”

”I am sure I do not know, Miss Gould,” declared Ruth. Yet she feared that the reply was not strictly truthful. She _did_ know; night and day she was worrying about the new gymnasium costume.

Should she order one, or should she not? Could she buy a little of the crimson ribbon and put it on her old uniform and thus pa.s.s muster? What would the girls say, if she did that?

And what would they say if she appeared at the exhibition in her old costume? Was she purely selfish in trying to get out of buying the new dress? Was her reason for not wis.h.i.+ng to break into that roll of coin a bad one, after all?

Those questions kept coming to Ruth Fielding, and got between her and her books. Mrs. Tellingham called her into the office early in October and pointed out to her that, unless her averages increased, her standing in her cla.s.s would be greatly changed.

”You are doing no outside work, Miss Fielding?” inquired the princ.i.p.al.

”No, Ma'am.”

”I hear you are helping two of the other girls--in a perfectly legitimate way, of course. It is not taking too much out of you?”

”Oh, no, dear Mrs. Tellingham!” cried Ruth, fearful that her tutoring would be forbidden.

”You are not working too hard in the gym.?”