The Camp Fire Girls' Larks and Pranks Part 23

"Oh, yes, you will," said Gladys; "and so will we all, but the next time we'll have a company of guides fore and aft."

"Wouldn't it be a better plan," suggested the Captain mildly, "to take us along with you wherever you go? I notice we generally have to come to the rescue, anyway."

And the Winnebagos promised to consider the matter.

CHAPTER XIV KINDLING THE TORCH

Hinpoha and Sahwah were patiently teaching Katherine hand signs one Sat.u.r.day afternoon when Gladys burst in with a tragic face.

"Girls," she cried, with extravagant emphasis, "have you heard the _news_?" Then, without waiting for reply, she continued: "Nyoda's going to be _married_!"

"We know she is," answered Hinpoha, "a year from this summer."

"No, not a year from this summer," said Gladys, swelling with the importance of the announcement she was about to make, "_this_ summer.

This very month!"

An incredulous exclamation burst from the three.

"It's true," continued Gladys. "Sherry's going to be sent away on a long trip and he wants to take her with him, so they're going to be married right away."

All four sat stricken, trying to realize that the evil day which they had dreaded so and which they had thought far in the future was actually upon them. Only two more weeks and their idolized Guardian, who for three years had been a part of nearly everything they did, would be gone from them. It seemed that the world was coming to an end.

In the days that followed gloom hung thick over the House of the Open Door. Now that Nyoda was to be in it no longer the Winnebagos lost all joy in its possession. Each article of furniture that she had helped to make, each sketch of hers on the wall telling in clever little pictographs the tale of some adventure or frolic, gripped them with a fresh pang. Plans for summer excursions and activities were dropped.

"And we were all going ca-camping togu-gether!" wailed Hinpoha, and damp weather prevailed for many minutes.

But this was the end of their Senior year in high school, crowded to the limit with all the bustle and excitement and festivity of Commencement time, and the Winnebagos were so busy with examinations and essays and clothes and songs and parties that there was no time to fold their hands and grieve. Katherine, as editor of the cla.s.s paper, was the star performer on Cla.s.s Night, although Miss Snively, who trained the speakers, had tried to sandpaper her speech of everything clever.

Katherine agreed to every change she suggested with suspicious readiness, and then when the night arrived calmly read her original paper, while the chandeliers dripped giggles and Miss Snively made sarcastic remarks about the cracked-voice orator. Somehow the story of Miss Snively's attempt to make a hero out of her fiance had gotten out, although Katherine always looked preoccupied whenever the subject was mentioned, and of late Miss Snively had found the seats in her recitation room occupied by rows of wise grins, which somewhat disturbed her lofty dignity. It was well that this was to be her last year of teaching.

One of the big events of the last week was the interscholastic track meet and athletic contest, to be held on the Washington High athletic field, in which ten big schools took part. The field was thronged with spectators, the grand stand was crowded, school colors floated from tree and pole, cheers burst from groups of students every few minutes and the air was electric with suppressed excitement.

First came the track events, and in these Washington High was tied with Carnegie Mechanic for second place. The Winnebagos were glad it was so, because now the Sandwiches could not crow over them. The Captain finished first in one of the hundred-yard dashes right in front of Hinpoha, where she sat in the grandstand, and he looked over the heads of the cheering boys straight at her. Hinpoha dared not applaud him, because he belonged to Washington's bitterest rival, but she smiled brightly, and he dropped his eyes, flushing suddenly.

The girls' events opened with a game of volley ball between Washington High and Carnegie Mechanic. Much to the surprise of the Winnebagos, they saw Katherine come in with the Washington players. Katherine was not on the team. But just before the game opened the girl's gymnasium director had spied Katherine sitting at one side of the field, unconcernedly shaking a pebble out of her shoe in full view of the grandstand, and hurried over to her. "Will you fill in this game?" she asked breathlessly. "One of our team can't come and we're short a girl."

"But I've never played volley ball," protested Katherine.

"Oh," said the gymnasium teacher disappointedly. Then she added in a kind of desperation, "Well, I don't know as it makes any difference. I don't seem to be able to find a girl who has played. Just stay in the background and strike at the ball with the palms of your hands every time it comes near you. Let the girls in front get it over the net."

Katherine uncurled her length from the ground and followed the gymnasium teacher obligingly. She was not in the least sensitive about being asked at the eleventh hour to "fill in," when she had not been asked to be on the team before. Washington's volley ball team was not a very strong one, and went all to pieces against the concentrated team work of the Carnegie Mechanicals. The score rolled up against Washington steadily. The deafening yells from the grandstand bewildered them, and they could neither volley the ball over the net nor return the Mechanicals' volleys.

They were helpless from stage fright.

Katherine dutifully stayed in the background, sending the ball to the girls at the net, her brow drawing into anxious puckers, as they fumbled it time after time. She began to comprehend the rules of the game and was "getting the hang of it." The Mechanicals, with fifteen points to their credit, had just lost the ball by sending it out of bounds. It was time to do something. Katherine had noticed that most of the Washington girls had been trying to volley the ball across the net from the back line, instead of pa.s.sing it on, as she had been doing, and had been falling short nearly every time. With a commanding gesture, she claimed the attention of her team.

"Get back on the volley line in a row," she ordered. They obeyed her like sheep. Then she took her place half-way between the volley line and the net, facing the girls. "Now," she said crisply, "whosoever's turn it is to volley, shoot the ball to me and not an inch farther. I'll get it over the net. The first one that shoots it over my head is going to get ducked in the swimming pool!"

In their surprise at this sudden rising up of a leader, they forgot the racket around them, and the triumphantly clamoring team on the other side of the net, and calmed down. The girl with the ball sent it straight toward Katherine, and with a windmill motion of her powerful arms, she hit it a sounding whack and sent it over the net like a meteor. There was no returning such a volley.

"One!" cried the scorekeeper, and the Washington corner of the grandstand gave its first yell of triumph.

"Now, everyone of you do just the same thing, one after another,"

commanded Katherine to the volley line. Her utter lack of excitement was bringing them out of their confusion. The next girl made an equally good throw and another loud whack announced that Katherine was volleying.

Backing the net, she could not see where it was going, but a squeal told her that the girl who should be returning the ball was fleeing it. Then the machine started to work. As long as one side scored it was privileged to keep the volley.

When in operation the machine sounded like this: "Next!" Whack! b.u.mp!

That was all. Katherine's command to the server; the impact of her palms on the ball; and the thump of the ball on the ground on the Mechanical side of the net. Up went the Washington score.

Two! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven! Eight! Nine! Ten! Eleven! Twelve!

"Washington Rah!

Washington Rah!

Katherine Adams, Rah! Rah! Rah!"

The atmosphere was rent with the yell.

Thirteen! Fourteen! Fifteen!

"Next!" Whack! b.u.mp!

SIXTEEN SEVENTEEN! EIGHTEEN! NINETEEN! TWENTY!

"WASHINGTON RAH!

KATHERINE RAH!

KATHERINE AD--"

TWENTY-ONE!

The umpire ran along the net, holding up her hands, and the teams broke ranks.

"Washington High winner in the volley ball game!" shouted the scorekeeper through her megaphone. "Score, twenty-one to fifteen!"

And the grandstand thundered at Katherine, who suddenly got stage fright when it was all over and stood pigeon-toed with her head hanging down.

Then she noticed for the first time that her middy was on hind side before and the long collar was down in front. Her horrified expression threw the spectators into convulsions. They had been laughing at it all through the game, but her amazing performance had made it a secondary consideration.

A few moments later she strolled nonchalantly into the grandstand and sat down among the Winnebagos. "That certainly is a strenuous game for a person with a dellyket const.i.tooshun like mine," she remarked ruefully, rubbing her swollen knuckles. Three fingers were sprained as a result of doing all the volleying for twelve girls, but she didn't think it worth while to mention the matter.

Thus pa.s.sed the days, filled to overflowing with fun and excitement.

Katherine, thoroughly uncomfortable in a crisp new white dress and blue sash, tripped blithely along the elm-shaded avenue in the glow of the late June sunset. It was the night of the cla.s.s banquet, and her mind was intent on the speech she was to make. Thus absorbed, she did not watch where she was going, and a sprawling root from a big tree tripped her unexpectedly and brought her to her knees on the soft lawn. Brought into such close contact with the ground, she spied something lying at the foot of the giant oak beside which she had fallen. It was a black leather bill fold, with a heavy elastic band around it.

"Daggers and dirks!" said Katherine, borrowing the Captain's favorite expression. "What's this?" She slipped off the elastic band and opened the bill fold. Across the inner flap there was a name printed in gold letters. Katherine squinted at the name and explored the inner recesses of the wallet. She took one look and hastily bound the wallet together again with its elastic and dropped it gingerly into her hand bag, as if it were red hot. Then she proceeded on her way, more absorbed than ever, but the thing her brain was intent on now was not her banquet speech.

Crossing the little park-like square, which lay on the way to school, she came upon Veronica walking slowly up and down the sidewalk, intently searching for something on the ground. She was very pale and showed signs of great agitation. It was the first time Katherine had met her face to face since she had left the group.

"Have you lost something?" asked Katherine abruptly.