"I"d like some real fun and gayety, and think that I must stay all alone here."
"There will be five girls to keep you company."
"But there"s no fun or parties or anything. Oh, let"s cut the cake. I shan"t enjoy it when I am alone."
It was a real treat, and the nuts and sweets were a feast. They had not much appet.i.te for luncheon.
"But did you ever see anything so idiotic as that lovely frock for such a girl and a place like this where you do not go to high-up parties,"
said one of the girls in a group, afterward. "And what it must have cost! It really ought to be returned as very unsuitable."
"What can the mother be like, and isn"t the father a politician or a contractor?" with a laugh.
"No," returned Phillipa. "I asked father to find out about them. Mr.
Nevins is a reputable banker, a very good judge of loans and is rated quite highly in London. Then he buys curios and pictures, so he must have some taste. Think what that silly girl will have, enough to make any three girls of us fancy ourselves heroines of the Arabian Nights; but the mother can"t have any sense."
"I think the modistes are largely to blame. No doubt the mother ordered a handsome evening dress, and the woman made it handsome and expensive and quite useless. You don"t see Zay Crawford with any such things!"
"Zay is beauty unadorned."
"And Miss Nevins is ugliness intensified. I am really sorry for her, though she has improved a very little. But when you think of the place she might take in society--"
"And the journeys!"
"Still, I wouldn"t want such a mother."
Phillipa went to her room to finish her Latin verses.
"Though why you should be compelled to write Latin verses when you can"t make decent English rhymes I don"t see," she grumbled.
She was almost through when the door flew open and shut again with a bang and Louie Howe threw herself on the floor clasping Phillipa"s knees, her eyes distraught with terror.
"Oh, isn"t it horrible!" she almost shrieked. "Those boys had malignant scarlet fever! That one was dying the girl held up, he was choking awfully, and at nine o"clock the other one died. It"s all in the morning"s paper. I think they hid it away. Miss Vincent picked it up in the library. Oh, what can we do?"
"You can stop screaming and get up." Phillipa fairly dragged her up and shook her violently. "Hush! hush!" she commanded. "You"ll have the whole faculty in here, and we"ll be bundled out bag and baggage. Have a little regard for Zay and me if you have none for yourself."
Phillipa drew up the willow rocker and pushed Louie in it. "Don"t have hysterics if that is what you"re aiming at or I"ll douse you with cold water until you"re half drowned."
Louie was sobbing now. "I can"t help it, and think of the dreadful risk we ran! That woman ought to be sent to prison."
"That woman was going on with her business, earning her living. We were the fools! How did they know it was scarlet fever?"
"Well, she thought it was measles and was doctoring them, but one of them grew so much worse she sent for Dr. Lewis and he was so busy he didn"t get there until five, just as the boy died, and the other one hadn"t seemed so bad, but he died at nine, and the youngest girl has the fever. Dr. Lewis sent for the undertaker right away and they put something on the bodies and sealed up the coffin and they were to be buried this morning and the clothes to be burned and the house fumigated. Oh, isn"t it horrible! The woman ought to go to prison."
"After losing her two children?"
"Well, to give us all scarlet fever, malignant scarlet fever?" with emphasis.
Phillipa was quivering in every nerve. But she _must_ control Louie.
"Well, we shouldn"t have gone there. I think she ought not have let us in but just said she couldn"t admit customers. Now, what are you going to do?"
"I--I--what _can_ I do? I s"pose I"ll have scarlet fever--"
"You can give the thing away and be sent home in disgrace. You"ll lose your watch and perhaps not get in another school. You can spoil Zay Crawford"s life for the present, just when it has reached the loveliest point of all--"
"And you?"
Louie stopped sobbing and studied her companion in wonder.
"I"m not going to have scarlet fever. Those children haven"t been sick a week. Scarlet fever is taken from the little flakes that peel off when the skin begins to dry up. We surely didn"t get any of those. We went right out in the fresh air and I breathed in a big supply, the room had been so close. Two of mother"s children had scarlet fever and she took care of them. None of the others had it. It"s half fright; just pull yourself together and don"t be an idiot and you"ll come through all right."
"Oh, Phil! I wish I had your courage."
"You have courage enough only you won"t use it. Just feel certain nothing is going to happen and you"ll come out all right. We"re going home so soon that for our sakes you might summon a little courage. If you go on this way Louie you"ll be--what is it they call hysterical people? Neurasthenics, I believe. I mean to have a jolly good time with plenty of lovers and dances and fun and get married. I"m not going to be a sighing, whimsical old maid, borrowing trouble."
"Oh, dear!" and she fell to sobbing again.
"Now, Louie, let me give you some ammonia and you lie here on my bed while I finish this exercise. Get asleep if you can."
"Oh, how good you are in real trouble, Phil."
"Humph! You don"t know what real trouble is. To be smashed up in a railroad accident or run over by a trolley or bitten by a mad dog, such things might make your hair turn white. There now, don"t let me hear another word out of you."
She settled Louie on her bed and covered her over with a shawl, listening every few moments. The sighing breath became more regular, there were two or three gentle snores. Phillipa rose presently, went cautiously to the door and placed the key on the outside, then locked it softly. Louie might sleep half an hour.
Just as she turned Zay ran into her arms. "Oh Phil--we"ve just had word.
The steamer will be in this evening. Aunt Kate has sent over and I am to be dismissed. We go to New York tomorrow morning. Oh, it seems too blessed to be true, but mother hasn"t lost any ground. What a lovely Christmas we shall have!"
"And I"m glad enough for your sake, Zay. I"ve teased you about looking like that Boyd girl, and I dragged you off into danger, but if anything should happen to you I never could forgive myself."
"I don"t believe we were in any great danger. I hunted up father"s big medico-something and read about scarlet fever. You don"t take it very easily, but oh, wasn"t it dreadful for the poor woman! Only I think she oughtn"t have let us in. The town authorities are going to send them away as soon as they can. Oh, good-by--but I"ll see you when we come back."
"I"ll keep tab on Louie. We must just hold together. It won"t do for the thing to leak out. I was a ninny to propose such a thing." They kissed each other and walked down stairs together. Most of the girls were in the school room discussing the newspaper account. The town was clean and in excellent shape, there were no fears of an epidemic and even now Dr.
Lewis was not quite sure but it"s origin was measles, since the little girl had a decided case. The strictest watch would be kept. The clothes and some rubbish had been burned. The clairvoyant"s knowledge of the future was held up to withering ridicule.
Louie Howe had a long, refreshing nap and woke up in much better heart.
The short day ended by a little gymnasium practice but all the girls were rather nervous over the affair.
"Why, I had the scarlet fever once," announced Miss Nevins, "and mamma would have three doctors!"
"And you lived through all that?" laughed some one. "Then scarlet fever can"t be dangerous."
"I don"t remember being very sick, and then father sent us to Bermuda.
It was when the lilies were in bloom. It"s such a lovely place!"
"Young ladies," began Mrs. Barrington as they rose from the table, "as our work is about done I have decided to dismiss school. Some of your parents may see this sensational account, and everything does get so exaggerated. There is not the slightest fear of an epidemic, but you will all be glad of a little longer holiday. I hope you will all return in good health and the resolve to do your best towards finishing your year in the best possible manner."
"You believe there isn"t real danger?" asked Miss Kingsland.