Naughtiest Girl 2: The Naughtiest Girl Again (8 page)

"I am backing you up, if you only knew it," said Joan with a sigh. "I would be a poor friend to you if I said, 'Go to Robert and pull his hair out,' even before you really know for certain whether he is playing these horrid tricks, or not."

"Well, you've only got to see how pleased he is when I get into trouble to know that he's at the bottom of it all!" cried Elizabeth. "Oh, if only I could catch him bullying someone again. Wouldn't I love to report him at the very next Meeting!"

Elizabeth hadn't long to wait, She caught Robert the very next day!

MORE TROUBLE.

For some time now Robert had not bullied anyone or been unkind, because he really had been afraid of being seen by Elizabeth, He knew that she was watching to catch him and he did not mean to give her any chance to report him again.

But two or three weeks had now gone by and he

thought that she no longer bothered to watch, He did not know that she thought he had played the tricks on her and was watching very carefully indeed, Robert had to go and get some water for his painting after tea, Elizabeth saw him go out of the common-room and she looked at Joan.

"Joan! Do you think Robert has gone to take my books again, or do some horrid trick?" she said in a low voice. "Let's follow him and see."

So the two girls got up and followed Robert. He went down the passage, and ran down the stairs to the cloak room where the water-taps were. And running round the corner came small, cheeky Leslie, the boy who had complained that another was always borrowing things and not giving them back. He ran full.tilt into Robert, and made him double up in pain.

Leslie giggled. It was funny to see big Robert panting like that! Robert put out a hand and caught him, holding the boy's arm so tightly that it hurt, "Let me go," said Leslie.

Robert looked up and down the passage quickly. No one was about. He pulled Leslie into the wash-place and shook him hard.

"How dare you run into me like that!" he demanded.

"And I'll teach you to laugh at me, you little nuisance!"

"Robert, let me go!" begged Leslie again. He knew that Robert was a bully and he was afraid of him, "Say 'I humbly beg your pardon, and I will never, never do such a thing again!'" said Robert, Bat Leslie, although he was afraid, was not a coward. He shook his head. "I'm not going to be as humble as all that!" he said, "You let me go, you big bully!"

Robert was angry, He shook Leslie hard again. "You say what I told you to say, or I'll make you sit on the hot-water pipes!" he said, Hot-water pipes ran all round the wash-place to warm it. Leslie glanced at them fearfully. But he still shook his head,

"No, I shan't beg your pardon," he said obstinately. "If you'd been decent to me, as any other of the big boys would have been, I'd have said I was sorry like a shot. Let me go!"

"You'll sit on the hot pipes first!" said Robert in a rage, and he dragged poor Leslie towards the pipes. They were not terribly hot, but hot enough to make Leslie shout, Meantime, where were Elizabeth and Joan? They were just round the corner, listening to all that was said, and when they heard Robert pulling Leslie to the hot pipes they ran into the wash-place at once, Leslie was just shouting.

Robert pulled the little boy off the pipes as soon as he saw Elizabeth and Joan. He went red and looked very angry. To think he had been caught by those interfering girls-and one of them Elizabeth too!

"We've caught you nicely, you horrid boy," said Elizabeth scornfully. "Leslie, we are going to report Robert at the next Meeting. Just see you tell the truth and back us up in what we say."

"I'll do that all right," said Leslie. "I'm not a little coward like some of the others, who didn't dare to complain about Robert when they had the chance! As for Peter, you know why he didn't say that Robert was swinging him much too high, don't you?

Robert went to him

and threatened him with all kinds of punishment if he dared to say a word against him!"

"I did not," said Robert angrily, though he knew perfectly well that what Leslie said was true. "You wait till I get you alone again, that's all!"

"There you are, you see!" said Leslie, "You would like to do exactly the same thing to me again. But you won't get the chance! I'll report you at the Meeting all right, even if Elizabeth and Joan don't!"

The small boy marched off, Elizabeth turned to Robert. She spoke fiercely. "I know jolly well that it's you that has been playing those horrid tricks on me and on Jenny,"

she said.

"I did not," said Robert, this time speaking quite truthfully.

"Well, I don't believe you!" said Elizabeth. "You are mean enough for anything.

You're a perfectly horrid boy and I think you ought to be sent away from our school."

"Just as you ought to have been sent away last term, I suppose!" said Robert mockingly. He had heard all about Elizabeth's naughtiness during the summer term.

Elizabeth went red.

"Be quiet!" said Joan. "It was a good deal because Elizabeth wanted to be kind to me that she was disobedient and I won't have you sneering at her for that!"

"I shall say what I like," said Robert, and went off by himself, hands in pockets, whistling as if he didn't care about anything at all "Well, now that he knows we know he played those nasty tricks, he won't dare to play any more," said Elizabeth, pleased. "So that's something!"

But, of course, it was Kathleen who had tried to get Elizabeth and Jenny into trouble, not Robert-and she saw no reason why she should stop being horrid to the two girls whom she so much disliked, Both girls were pretty, clever, and amusing-three things that poor Kathleen was not-and she was jealous of their shining hair and bright eyes, their good brains and jolly jokes. She wanted to hurt the girls who had the things she hadn't, and yet so much wanted to have.

Elizabeth told Jenny that she was sure it was Robert who had taken her mice and put them in the desk, The mice had never been found again and Jenny had been sad ever since. Her eyes flashed when she heard Elizabeth say that it was Robert who had played the trick.

"And I suppose he blotted my French book too, so that f had to do the work again!"

said Jenny angrily. "And I shouldn't be surprised if he dirtied those garden tools of yours, Elizabeth-I could never understand that, you know."

"Well, I guess we shan't have any more tricks played on us, because Robert will he afraid we'll tell them all to the Meeting," said Elizabeth, "And we will too!"

But next day another trick was played on her and on Jenny too. On Wednesdays their monitor had to look at all their drawers and their hanging -cupboards to see that they were tidy. Nora was very strict about tidiness, and the girls in her dormitory had learnt to be very neat indeed-even Ruth, who was most untidy by nature, and found it difficult to keep any drawer neat, "It's awful!" she complained about three times a week, "I tidy my drawers so well-then I want a handkerchief in a hurry and can't find it, and turn the drawer upside down, and thea it's all untidy again!"

Elizabeth and Jenny were quite tidy, and they always made a rule on Tuesday night to tidy everything beautifully so that their chest and cupboard were ready for Nora to inspect the next day. They had done this as usual-so on Wednesday, when Nora went to pull open their drawers and found everything in a most terrible muddle, they were too astonished to say anything, "Jenny! Elizabeth! What have you been thinking of to get your things into such a disgraceful mess!" cried Nora, looking at their drawers. "Look-everything jumbled up-crumpled, untidy-honestly I've never seen such a mess. And you are usually so tidy, both of you. What have you been doing? Didn't you remember I always looked on Wednesdays?"

"Of course we remembered," said Jenny. "And we tidied them last night before we went to bed. Why, you must have noticed us, Nora."

"I didn't notice," said Nora, "I was at the other end of the dormitory."

The three girls looked into the drawers. Everything was upside down, Elizabeth and Jenny knew perfectly well they could never have got their things into tha t muddle, Somebody had played a hateful trick again, to get them into trouble, "It's Robert!" burst out Elizabeth. "He's always playing horrid jokes on us, Nora, He dirtied my tools, and took my books, and put Jenny's mice into Miss Ranger's desk, and.,."

"My dear girl, it couldn't have been Robert who did this," said Nora. "You know the boys never come into this part of the school. He would have been seen at once, because there is always somebody going up and down the ~passage outside."

"Well, it must have been Robert," said Elizabeth sulkily.

"If you're going to get anyone into trouble, for these untidy drawers, Nora, you ought to go and scold Robert."

"I'm not going to scold anyone," said Nora. "You're neither of you so untidy as all that! I think someone has been mean to you. Anyway, tidy your things, for goodness'

sake,"

The girls set to work. They were both angry. They did not notice how pleased Kathleen looked. "Ah." she thought, "so Elizabeth and Jenny thought that it was Robert who had played tricks! Good!" Nobody would think it was she, Kathleen, who had done them all. She felt much safer now.

The next School Meeting was not until Friday night. On Thursday something happened that disappointed Elizabeth very much. The Lacrosse Match was to be on Saturday. and she had been practising very hard indeed to be good enough to play in it. Only one of her form was to be chosen for the School team, and Elizabeth felt certain she would be the one.

But when she went to look at the notice-board, on which were pinned notices of matches, rambles, and so on, she found that Robert's name was set down for the match instead of hers!

There it was-"Robert Jones has been chosen from Form Three to play in the Lacrosse Match on Saturday against Kinellaa School"

There was a lump in Elizabeth's throat, She had tried so hard! She did so badly want to play, She was very good, really she was! And now that horrid, hateful Robert had been chosen instead of her, She could really hardly believe it, "Never mind," said Joan, "You'll get a chance next time, I expect~"

"I do mind!" said Elizabeth fiercely. "He will crow over me now, Oh, how I hope that the School Meeting will punish him well and say he's not to play in the match!"

Robert was delighted to see his name down, but for all his pleasure he was really very anxious indeed, He knew Elizabeth and Joan were going to report him at the Meeting and he was not looking forward to that, He was a little coward at heart, and he was afraid, So when Friday came, Robert looked rather anxious. If only the Meeting were after Saturday, so that he could play in the match first! How marvellous that he had been chosen and not Elizabeth! Serve her right, the interfering girl!

The time for the Meeting came, The children took their places, looking rather solemn, for they knew it was going to be a serious one, A VERY SERIOUS MEETING.

Even the smaller children felt rather solemn, as the whole School took their places in the big gym. Leslie had told everyone in his form that he was going to report the big boy, Robert, and some of the younger ones, who disliked Robert very much, had made up their minds that they too would tell about him if they had the chance, "I should have told the truth about him when I was asked at the other Meeting," said Peter. "He did swing me much too high and made me sick-and afterwards he came to me and said he would open the door of my guinea-pigs' cage and let them escape, if I dared to say anything against him. So I didn't dare. But I wish I had now."

William and Rita looked rather grave as they took their places at the table up on the platform. Rita had told William of the mean tricks that had been played on Jenny to get her into trouble, and the two Judges knew that they might have a rather difficult time trying to get at the botto m of things Still, Miss Belle and Miss Best, and Mr.

Johns too, were at the back of the room. They could help if things got too difficult, Robert looked pale. Elizabeth was red with excitement and so was Jenny. Joan was excited too, though she didn't show it, The usual business was done with the box of money. The two shillings were given to everyone, and extra was allowed to two children for something they wanted, Then the Meeting got down to the real business of the evening.

"Any complaints or grumbles?" asked William, tapping on the table with his hammer.

Up jumped Elizabeth and Leslie, both together."Elizabeth was first," said Rita, "Sit down, Leslie, Your turn will come later,"

Leslie sat down. Elizabeth began to speak, her words almost tumbling over one another in her haste.

"William and Rita, I have a very serious complaint to make," she said, "It's the same one as Leslie was going to make. It's about Robert,"

"Go on," said William, with a grave face,

"You will remember that I reported him for bullying Peter," said Elizabeth, "And because there wasn't enough proof of that, and because I lost my temper with Robert, the Meeting didn't punish Robert, and made me apologise to him. Well, listen to this!"

"Keep calm, Elizabeth," said Rita. "Don't get so excited,"

Elizabeth tried to speak calmly, but she did dislike Robert so much that it was difficult not to sound in a rage all the time, "Well, William and Rita, Joan and I actually raw Robert bullying Leslie," said Elizabeth. "He made him sit on the hot-water pipes! And another thing we have found out is that he made Peter promise not to complain about being swung so high, He said he would let all Peter's guinea-pigs out of their cage if Peter dared to say anything against him at the Meeting. I was quite right-he is a horrid bully!"

"Don't call people names like that," said Rita. "Wait till the whole Meeting has judged, Elizabeth, Have you anything more to say?"

"Yes, I have," said Elizabeth. "And it's this: Not only has Robert been unkind to the younger ones, but he has been perfectly horrid to me and Jenny too He has got us into all kinds of trouble by playing mean tricks on us."

"What tricks?" asked William, looking very worried,