Naughtiest Girl 2: The Naughtiest Girl Again (12 page)

The two of them went Out of the room, and in a moment or two the front door banged. They were gone. Elizabeth hoped and hoped that they would be able to catch poor Kathleen before she went home. Now that the Heads knew everything she felt happier. Grown-ups always seemed to be able to put things right!

"Two things need to be put right, as far as I can see," said Miss Best. "The first thing is to put Kathleen right with herself, and make her see that running away never solves any difficulty at all, but only makes things worse. She thinks herself a failure, poor child, but no one need ever be that. If we can get that idea out of her head, things won't seem so bad to her,"

"And I know whit the second thing is," said Elizabeth in a low voice. "It's to clear Robert of blame. I do hate to think I accused him unjustly-and he really has been decent about it, I feel terribly ashamed."

"I am glad you feel ashamed, Elizabeth," said Miss Best, "We all know that you are just and honest by nature, but you will never do anything worth-while if you rush at things impatiently and lose your temper."

"No, I know I'm doing my best to learn that," said Elizabeth. "But yo u've no idea how difficult it is, Miss Best."

"Oh yes, I have!" said Miss Best. "I once had a hot temper too!"

She smiled her lovely smile, and the four children thought what a nice person she was. None of them could really believe that she had ever had a bad temper.

"Now what are we going to do with Kathleen if Mr. Johns is able to bring her back?"

said Miss Belle. "I almost think that William and Rita would be the best people to deal with her. She would not be so much in awe of them as she would be of me or of Miss Best or Mr. Johns,"

"She said she couldn't possibly face the School Meeting when they knew of her mean tricks," said Elizabeth. "She isn't very brave-though sometimes she argues in class in a way I simply wouldn't dane to do,"

"That isn't bravery," said bliss Belle, "It's a thing that weak, obstinate people often do-they are always so afraid of being thought poor things that they like to draw attention to themselves in some way-by arguing or quarrelling or boasting -anything that will make people listen to them and take notice of them! You will never find strong, wise people quarrelling or boasting on trying to get attention-only the weak ones. It's a sign of weakness of some sort-and in Kathleen's case it meant that she thought herself a failure and was trying to hide it from herself and from the rest of you. Now she can't hide it any more and she has run away-just what you would expect a weak person to do."

"Things seem sort of different when they are properly explained, don't they?" said Jenny. "I'd never have mimicked Kathleen as I did if I'd known why she was behaving like that, Now I feel so sorry for her that I'd do anything to get things put right."

"She's ashamed of her spots, even," said Elizabeth. "She's only got them because she eats so many sweets l She eats more than the whole form put together!"

"She looks nice when she smiles," said Joan. "I told her so.

"Good!" said Miss Best. "It seems to me that if only Kathleen would make herself neater and prettier, and get

rid of her spots, poor child, that would be a good beginning. William, do you think you and Rita can manage to

get some sense into her head? You have had some difficult problems this term, but I believe you will manage them all right!'

"And what about making her face the School Meeting?"

asked William,

"You and Rita must decide that," said Miss Belle.

"We leave that in your hands. If you think it best not to force her to be brave before she is ready, then you must just clear Robert of blame, and wait until Kathleen is brave enough to own up later on in the term. I am quite sure that if we handle her gently she will do the right thing in the future,"

It was surprising how much better everyone felt already, now than the matter had been plainly discussed and looked into. Kathleen's bad behaviour had grown from a very

simple thing-the feeling that she was a failure. If that feeling could be put right, most of Kathleen's troubles would go. And that would be pleasant for everyone!

There came the sound of wheels i n the school drive,

Then the sound of a car door banging. Surely it must he a taxi! Everybody waited anxiously to see if Mr. Johns and Rita had been able to bring back Kathleen-and everyone hoped they had.

Footsteps came down the passage to the drawing-room,

and the door opened. Only Mr., Johns stood there! No

Rita, no Kathleen!

"Didn't you find them?" asked Miss Best anxiously.

"Oh yes!" said Mr. Johns. "She was in the waiting room, poor child, cold and miserable, wishing that she hadn't run a way after all! When Rita went in and took her hand, she burst into tears, and came back with us quite willingly. Thank goodness the trains had been

delayed, and she had had time to think a little, lithe train had come in as soon as she had arrived on the platform, she would certainly have gone."

"Where is she?" asked William,

"Rita has taken her to her study," said Mr. Johns, "You go too, William. I think you'll be able to help her-let her talk all she likes, and get everything off her chest."

William went. The other four children got up to go too, "I'm going to find Robert now,"

said Elizabeth, "That's something I must put right-but I'm not going to enjoy it one bit!"

CLEARING UP A FEW TROUBLES.

ELSZABCTH was angry with herself as she went to find Robert. "I've done a really awful thing." she thought. "I've accused somebody in public of doing a whole lot of mean things and he didn't do one of them. I got him punished-just at n time when he began to try and turn over a new leaf too! Everybody has helped him-and I was the only one who must have made him feel angry and unhappy. I do feel disgusted with myself."

She couldn't find Robert anywhere. Then she met Leonard and he told her that the boy was out in the stables.

"Bess was limping a bit to-day," said Leonard, "and Robert is out there attending to her with the stableman. I saw him just now when I came in from the cow-shed You know, Elizabeth, Fanny and I see him every morning, and we think he's jolly nice.

He's doing all he can to make up to the youngsters for ill-treating them-I can't help admiring him."

"I admire him too," said Elizabeth. "But he won't admire me when he hears when I've got to tell him!"

"Why, what's that?" asked Leonard. But Elizabeth wouldn't tell him, It was dark outside, Elizabeth got her coat and put it on, She slipped out into the garden and went across to the stables. She heard Robert talking to the stable -man, and she put her head round the door.

"Robert," she said, "can I speak to you?"

"Who is it?" said Robert in surprise. "Oh, you, Elizabeth, What do you want?"

He came over to her, smelling of horses. It was a nice smell. His hair was untidy and his face was flushed, for he had been rubbing the horse's leg with oil, and it was hard work.

"Robert," said Elizabeth, "I made a dreadful mistake about you. It was somebody else who played those tricks, not you."

"Well, I told you that," said Robert. "That isn't any surprise to me."

"Yes-but, Robert, I told the whole School you'd done them," said Elizabeth, her voice beginning to tremble, "and I got you punished. I can't tell you how sorry I am. You've been mean to me, often, and I haven't liked you, but I've been much meaner to you.

And I do think you're a brick, the way you came to watch the match and told me it was bad luck it rained. I--I-I think you've been big, and I've been very small."

"Well, I think you have, rather," said Robert, taking her hand. "But I haven't been very big, Elizabeth-it was only that I was so happy to think I've been able to change myself, and to have the horses I love, and I really felt I hardly cared about the match-so you see it wasn't very difficult to come and watch, and tell you it was bad luck it 56

rained. But I'm glad you've found out it wasn't my fault that those tricks were played.

Who did them?"

"I can't tell you just at present," said Elizabeth. "But, as soon as I knew, I came to find you to tell you I was dreadfully sorry for what I'd said about you. I'd like you to forgive me."

"You needn't worry about that," said Robert, with a laugh. "People ha ve had to forgive me a lot more than I shall ever have to forgive you, Don't let's be silly any more. It's fun being enemies at first, but it soon gets horrid. Let's be friends. Come and ride Captain tomorrow morning before breakfast. I'll ride Bess if her leg is better. And do cheer up -you look all funny!"

"I feel all funny," said Elizabeth, swallowing a lump in her throat. "I didn't think you'd be so awfully decent to me. I do get wrong ideas about people. Yes, Robert-I'd like to be friends. I'll be up early to -morrow morning."

Robert smiled at her and went back to Bess. Elizabeth slipped away into the darkness. She stood in the cold wind and thought for a minute or two before she went in. How surprising people were! You thought some of them were so horrid, and believed all kinds of things about them-and then they turned out quite different and you wanted to be friends, "Well, next time I'll give people a chance before I believe beastly things about them,"

said Elizabeth to herself, "I really must think twice, three times, four times before I lose my temper or accuse people of anything. It's so funny-I just hated Robert, and now I simply can't help liking him awfully-and yet he's the same person."

But Robert wasn't quite the same person. He was different! He thought about Elizabeth too. It was brave of her to come and own up like that, She was a dreadful little spitfire, but he couldn't help liking her. It would be fun to ride with her and go galloping wildly over the hills in the early morning!

And meanwhile, what about Kathleen? Things had not been going too badly for her, for William and Rita had been wise and gentle, though quite firm end resolute. They had let the girl tell them every single thing.

"I felt awful when the train didn't come in," said Kathleen, crying into her handkerchief, which was already soaking wet. "I felt as if that was one more thing against me! I couldn't even run away because there wasn't a train!

"It's a good thing you couldn't run away," said William, "It's not a very brave thing to do, is it? You can't get rid of troubles by running away from them, Kathleen. They go with you"

"Well, what else can you do with troubles?" asked Kathleen, wiping her eyes.

"You can look them in the face and find out the best way to beat them," said Rita, "You were funny, Kathleen

-you were really trying to run away from yourself! Nobody can ever do that F'

"Well, you'd want to, if

you were like me," said Kathleen. "I'm so unlucky.

Nothing nice ever happens to me as it does to other children."

"And nothing ever will as long as you think and talk like that," said William. "It isn't our luck that makes good or bad things happen, Kathleen, it's just ourselves. For instance, you might say that Jenny has plenty of friends, so she is lucky. But she doesn't ha ve friends because she is lucky-she has them because she is kind and generous and happy. It is her own self that brings her lots of friends, not her luck."

"Yes--I see that," said Kathleen. "I hadn't thought of that before. But I'm not pretty and happy and generous like Jenny."

"Well, why not make the best of yourself?" said Rita, "You have a sweet smile, and you have a dimple that goes in and out, though we don't see it very often. If you brushed your hair one hundred times each night~ and morning as Jenny does, it would look silky and shiny, If you stopped eating so many sweets, your spots would go; and if only you'd go out for more walks and try to play games a bit harder, you would soon get rosy cheeks and happy eyes!"

"Should I?" said Kathleen, beginni ng to look more cheerful.

Rita fetched a mirror from the mantelpiece and put it in front of Kathleen's sad, tear-stained face. "Smile!" she said, "Go on, smile, you silly girl! Quick! Let me see that dimple!"

Kathleen couldn't help smiling, and she saw her miserable face change in an instant to a much nicer one-and the dimple came in her left cheek, "Yes," she said, "I do look nicer. But I'm so dull and slow too-and think of the mean, horrid things I've done!"

"You're dull and slow because you're not as healthy as you might be, and you're not happy," said William. "Give yourself a chance, do! As for the mean, horrid things you've done -well, you can always make up for those. We all do mean things at times"

"I'm quite sure you and Rita don't," said Kathleen.

"And anyway, William and Rita-please, please don't make me stay m Whyteleafe, because I simply couldn't get up in front of the whole School at the next weekly Meeting and say what I'd done, even to clear Robert. I'm a coward. I know I am, so it's no good pretending that I'm not. I shall lee ie tomorrow morning if you make me do that,"

"We shan't make you do anything," said William. "It's no good making people do things like that! They must want to do them themselves, if it's to be any good. Well, listen, Kathleen-we'll get Elizabeth to clear Robert of blame, but she shall not say who is to blame; but maybe later on you will feel differently about things, and then you eau talk to us again."

"1 shall never be brave enough to own up in front of everyone," said Kathleen, "But I'll stay at Whyteleafe if I don't need to do that, I've told Elizabeth and Jenny and that was herd enough."

"It was a good thing you did that," said William, "We will see that those children who know that it was you will not tell anyone else. So you need not be afraid that anyone is despising you. Do as Robert has done-turn over a new leaf-and smile as much as you can!"

"I'll try," said Kathleen, putting her wet hanky away. "I don't feel line smiling. I don't even feel like turning over a new leaf. But you've both been so kind to me that I'll try, just to please you?