First Term at Malory Towers (17 page)

“Just what I thought,” she said in a low voice. “Too much of a ninny even to get the life-belt!”

“HELP!” yelled Darrell, and two or three of the other girls, thinking she was really in trouble, swam strongly up the pool.

But somebody else reached Darrell first! There was a resounding splash, and into the water, fully dressed, jumped the scared Mary-Lou, doing her best to remember the few swimming strokes she knew. She managed to reach Darrell, and put out her arms to her, to try and save her.

Darrell, popping her head out of the water for the second time was filled with the utmost amazement to see Mary- Lou's wet head bobbing beside her! She stared as if she couldn't believe her eyes.

“Hold on to me, Darrell, hold on to me!” panted Mary- Lou. “I'll save you.”

THEN up came the other two or three swimmers and called out sharply. “What's up, Darrell? Get out of the way, Mary- Lou.”

But Mary-Lou couldn't. She had made her great effort, jumped into the water and swum a few strokes—but now her strength was gone and her clothes were weighing her down. One of the swimmers took her safely to the side, where she clutched a bar, panting, looking anxiously over her shoulder to see if Darrell was safe.

She had apparently quite recovered from the cramp, for she was swimming over to Mary-Lou with strong, quick strokes, her eyes gleaming.

“Mary-Lou! You jumped right in to the water, and you hardly knew how to swim! You're an idiot, but you're the pluckiest idiot ever I knew!” cried Darrell.

Somebody helped the shivering, astonished Mary-Lou out of the pool. Miss Potts came down the cliff at that moment and was amazed to see a fully dressed and soaking Mary- Lou scrambling out, with girls crowding round her, clapping her on the shoulder and praising her.

“What's happened?” said Miss Potts, in wonder. “Did Mary-Lou fall in?”

Eager voices told her what had happened. “She jumped in to save Darrell! Darrell had the cramp and yelled for the life belt. But Mary-Lou jumped straight in to save her—and she can hardly swim!”

Miss Potts was as astonished as everyone else.
Mary-Lou!
But Mary-Lou screamed if she saw an earwig! What an amazing thing.

“Why didn't she throw the life-belt?” asked Alicia.

“It w-w-w-wasn't there,” answered Mary-Lou, her teeth chattering partly from cold and partly from excitement and shock. “It's g-g-g-gone to be m-m-m-mended. Didn't you know?”

No. Nobody had noticed that it w as gone from its place. So Mary-Lou had not been stupid. She had known the lifebelt was not there to save Darrell, and she had done the next best thing—jumped in herself. Well, who would have thought it?

Miss Potts hurried the shivering Mary-Lou up the cliff. Darrell turned to face Alicia, her eyes shining.

“Well—who was right? Sally or you? Why, Mary-Lou was
brave
. It isn't as if she liked the water or even knew how to swim properly! She was as brave, no, braver than any of us, because she must have been so afraid!”

Alicia could be generous even when she was proved to be in the wrong. She nodded. “Yes. She was jolly brave. I never thought she had it in her. But I bet she wouldn't have done it for anyone else but
you!
”

Darrell could hardly wait to tell Sally. She rushed to her after tea, her face glowing. “Sally! Your idea was marvellous! Simply wizard. Do you know, there wasn't a life-belt there this afternoon, so Mary-Lou jumped straight into the water with all her clothes on and everything, to try and save me!”

“Gosh!” said Sally, and her face too began to glow. “I never thought of
that
—did you? Darrell, that's marvellous. You'll be able to tackle Mary-Lou properly now.”

“What do you mean?” asked Darrell.

“Well—tell her how brave she is, and how no one ever guessed it, and now she knows it herself she'll be able to be brave about lots of other things,” said Sally. “Easy! Once you can make anyone believe in themselves, they're all right.”

“You
are
a funny, wise person,” said Darrell, admiringly. “I never think of things like that. All right. I'll do my best, and when Mary-Lou comes to see you, you tell her a few things, too!”

So Mary-Lou, to her enormous surprise and delight, became the heroine of the hour, for soon it had gone all up and down the school how she had jumped into the pool, fully- dressed, to try and save Darrell.

“It's no good you shrinking away into a corner any more, or screaming yourself blue in the face because you've seen a spider!” said Darrell. “Now we know how brave you are, we shall expect to see a bit more of your bravery!”

“Oh, yes,” said Mary-Lou, beaming. “I'll try. Now I know I can be brave, it's different. It's when you know you can't be, that things are awful. I never, never in my life thought I would dare to jump into the deep end like that—and yet I did! I never even thought about it. I just did it. It wasn't really brave, you know, because I didn't have to screw up my courage or anything”.

The only person who had no word of praise for Mary- Lou was Gwendoline. For one thing she was really jealous of all the fuss made of Mary-Lou. Even the teachers made quite a to-do about it, for one and all realized that this was their one chance of making Mary-Lou realize that she
could
do things if she wanted to. Gwendoline hated all the fuss— especially as it was
Darrell
that Mary-Lou had jumped in to save.

“Fancy anyone wanting to do
her
a good turn!” she thought, remembering the hard slaps she had once had from the angry girl. “I'd have left her to struggle. Stupid Mary- Lou! I suppose she will get all conceited now.”

But Mary-Lou didn't. She remained her own rather shy, quiet self, but now she had more confidence, and stood up for herself better. She had been proved and had not been found wanting. She was pleased and proud, though she did not show it, as a girl like Gwendoline would have done.

For one thing she stood up to Gwendoline better, and this annoyed and exasperated Gwendoline intensely. And when Sally came back into school again, as she did in two weeks” time, she too seemed changed, and would stand no nonsense from Gwendoline. She stood up for Mary-Lou, and ticked Gwendoline off in a way that irritated her and made her long to snap at Sally.

The term went on, more and more quickly now. Only three more weeks till the holidays! Darrell could hardly believe the time had flown by so quickly.

She was working much better now, and twice she had been fifth from the top in her weekly marks. Gwendoline was the only one steadily at the bottom. Even Mary-Lou had crept up a place or two. Darrell wondered how Gwendoline was going to persuade her parents that she was top in everything at the end of the term, when she took home her report. Because her report would certainly show up Gwendoline's appalling work.

Darrell spoke to her one day about it. “Gwendoline, what will your mother and father say when they see on your report how badly you've done in your formwork?” she asked, curiously.

Gwendoline looked very startled. “What do you mean— my report?” she asked.

“Golly, don't you know what reports are?” asked Darrell, in surprise. “Look, I'll show you an old one of mine. I've got my last one here, from my old school. I had to bring it with me to show Miss Potts.”

She showed the report to Gwendoline who stared at it in the utmost horror. What! A list of all the subjects taken, with their marks, and position in form, and comments on the work done! Gwendoline could quite well imagine some of the comments that would be on hers!

“French. Very backward and lazy.

“Maths. Does not try in the least. Could do with some coaching in the holidays.

“Games. Disgraceful. Has no sense of sportsmanship or team-work at all.”

And so on. Poor Gwendoline. It really had never occurred to her for one single moment that her bad and lazy work would be reported in this fashion to her parents. She sank down in a chair and stared at Darrell.

“But Gwendoline, did you
never
have a report on your work before?” asked Darrell, in surprise.

“No,” said the crest-fallen Gwendoline. “Never. I told you I had never been to school before I came here. Only my governess, Miss Winter, taught me—and she never made out reports, of course. She just told Mother how well I was getting on, and Mother believed her. I didn't know I was so backward till I came here.”

“Well, I should think your parents will get a terrific shock when they see your report!” said Darrell, heartlessly. “I should think it will be the worst one in the school. You'll be sorry you told so many fibs to your mother and Miss Winter at half-term, when you take your report home for the holidays!”

“I shall tear it up!” said Gwendoline, fiercely, feeling that she wouldn't be able to bear the astonishment, dismay and anger of her parents when they saw her report.

“You can't,” said Darrell. “It goes by post. Ha ha! I'm jolly glad you'll be shown up at home. Mary-Lou told me some of the idiotic things you told your mother and Miss Winter at half-term. Fancy boasting like that, when you've no more brains than a mouse, and what you have you don't use!”

Gwendoline was speechless. How
dare
Darrell speak to her like that? And HOW DARE Mary-Lou repeat to the others the things she had overheard her say to her mother at half- term? Nasty, sly, disgusting little meanie! She would jolly well pay her out. She would take her fountain pen and stamp on it! She would—she would... Oh, there was no end to the things she would do to that beastly, ungrateful Mary-Lou!

“After I've been friends with her, too!” thought Gwendoline, angrily. “There's disloyalty for you! I hate her.”

Then she began to think about her report. She felt afraid when she thought of her father reading it. That was why he had sent her away to school—because he had said she was lazy and vain and too pleased with herself. He had said some horrid things. Gwendoline tried to forget them, but they came back into her mind at odd times.

She could tell what untruths she pleased, she could boast all she liked—but if in her report there were the words “lazy, unreliable, irresponsible, conceited, stupid”—words she knew she richly deserved—well, her boasts and fibs would all be wasted.

“Only two or three weeks more,” thought Gwendoline, frantically. “Can I possibly make my report any better in those few weeks? I shall
have
to try!
Why
didn't I know there were school reports before? I could have worked a bit harder. Now I shall simply have to SLAVE!”

And, to the intense astonishment of Miss Potts, and the no less intense surprise of Mam'zelle, Gwendoline began to work! How she worked! She pored over her books. She wrote endless compositions and then rewrote them in her best writing. She was the most attentive one in the class.

“
What
has happened to Gwendoline?” asked Miss Potts of Mam'zelle. “I begin to believe she has a few—just a few— brains at last!”

“I too,” said Mam'zelle. “See this French exercise? Only one mistake! Never has this happened before to Gwendoline. She is turning over a new stalk.”

“New
leaf
, you mean,” said Miss Potts. “Well, well, surprising things happen. There's Darrell working much better too—and Sally Hope quite a new child. And Mary- Lou has blossomed out tremendously since she jumped into the pool. But, Gwendoline is really the most surprising one. She wrote me quite a passable composition yesterday, with only six spelling mistakes. Usually she makes at least twenty. I shall be able to put ““
Can
use her brains “on her report, instead of “
Never
uses her brains!”

Gwendoline did not enjoy working so hard. Darrell laughed at her, and told the others why there was such a sudden change in the lazy Gwendoline.

“She doesn't want her people to know she told such fibs to them at half-term,” she said. “Does she, Mary-Lou? That's what comes of boasting, Gwendoline. Sooner or later you have to eat your words.”

Mary-Lou laughed too. She was much bolder nowadays, though only when Darrell or Sally were there. Gwendoline scowled at her. Horrid little turncoat!

Gwendoline had her chance of paying Mary-Lou out the next day. She went into the common room when there was no one else there—and in Mary-Lou's locker was her precious fountain pen! Gwendoline saw it at once.

“That's the end of
that!
” she said, spitefully, and threw it on the floor. She stamped on it hard, and the pen smashed, spilling ink all over the wooden floor!

IT was Jean who saw the smashed pen first. She came into the common room to get a book, and stopped short when she saw the ink on the floor, and the bits and pieces of the blue pen.

“Golly!” said Jean. “Who's done that? What a mean trick!”

Emily and Katherine came in. Jean pointed to the pen. “Look,” she said. “There's a nice little bit of spite for you.”

“It's Mary-Lou's pen,” said Katherine, in distress. “What a mess. Who
could
have smashed it? It's not an accident.”

Mary-Lou came in with the quiet Violet. When she saw her pen, she stood and wailed aloud. “Oh! Who's done that? I had it for my birthday from Mother. And now it's all smashed!”

All the girls gathered round. Darrell and Sally and Irene were astonished to see such a silent circle when they came chattering in. They joined it, and were not surprised when Mary-Lou's wails broke out again.

“What will Mother say? She told me to take great care of it if I took it to school.”

Alicia came whistling in, and she too was amazed to see the smashed pen, surrounded by its pool of deep violet ink. What a hateful thing to do to anyone!

“Who did it?” she demanded. “It ought to be reported to Potty. I bet it's Gwendoline—spiteful little beast.”

“Where
is
Gwendoline?” asked Katherine. Nobody knew. Actually she was just outside the door, about to come in and pretend to be surprised and disgusted at the broken pen too. But, hearing the angry voices of the girls, her heart failed her. She stood hesitating and listening.