"Guess she was mad," said the man.
"Quite likely. She sure wasn"t _glad_," returned the boy, drily.
"And I suppose you think," said Mr. Billson, scowling, "that she is doing all this for the Doyles to pay Rufus for his monkey-shines, eh?"
"No I never said such a thing," cried the indignant Chet.
"Then what? If folks have really got anything against Miss Hester, why don"t they come out square and say so? This hinting at things--going "all "round Robin Hood"s barn"--gets my goat--it does so!"
"I guess the girls of Central High feel a whole lot differently toward Hester than they did," admitted Chet. "At least, they talk differently."
And it was a fact. While Chet and Billson were talking the basketball team had gathered at the Belding house and had concocted another "round robin." But this one was couched in quite different language from the first that had been presented to their physical instructor.
This time both Lily Pendleton and Roberta Fish signed the paper, which was an unequivocal request that Hester Grimes be invited to take her old position on the team.
Hester had not come back to school yet; the doctor would not allow it.
But she was taking her lessons at home. Johnny Doyle was well on the way to recovery and all Hester needed was a little rest, the doctor said, to put her in as good condition as usual.
The round robin went to Mrs. Case and, after an interview with the princ.i.p.al, Mrs. Case went again to call on Hester at her home.
"Ain"t she the greatest girl you ever heard of, Mis" Case?" demanded Mrs. Grimes, fluttering about as she ushered the teacher into Hester"s presence. "Me and her father can"t do a thing with her when Hess is set on doing anything she wants to do. And this at the hospital--well, if we say a thing about it she gets that mad!"
"How-do, Mrs. Case?" yawned Hester, who had been reading, curled up in the window-seat. "Do take that easy chair. Mother! I declare--you have got a grease spot on that wrapper."
"Oh, excuse me!" exclaimed the simple Mrs. Grimes. "I"ll go change it for a fresh one."
Thus her daughter got her out of the room before Mrs. Case began to talk. And, indeed, it was Hester herself who began the conversation in her usual abrupt way.
"I don"t know how you feel towards me, Mrs. Case, but I know I was impudent to you when you were here before. But you said you could show me how to get back on the basketball team, and I guess I _do_ want to get back--if it isn"t too late?" she concluded, wistfully.
"That"s what I"ve come to talk about," said Mrs. Case, promptly. "The girls want you back----"
"Oh, no!" exclaimed Hester, in surprise.
"Oh, yes!" returned the teacher, smiling, and bringing out the paper the members of the team had signed. She put it into Hester"s hand; the girl read it quickly and then turned her face away so that Mrs. Case should not see her eyes for a moment.
"They say they need me!" Hester said, in a choked tone.
"Yes," returned the teacher, simply.
"That they can"t win the trophy without me," added Hester, devouring the writing again.
"Yes."
"And they don"t say a word about that foolish business at the hospital. Folks talk too much about that," said Hester, recovering her usual manner. "If these girls really want me to help the team, I"ll play."
"They want you, Hester, for just that purpose. If they have more kindly feelings toward you than they have had of late, that is between them and you. But as for your joining the team again----"
"Yes, Mrs. Case?"
"You must remember the rules and play the game in a sportsmanlike manner," declared the instructor firmly. "You understand me?"
"Yes, Mrs. Case," returned the girl, hanging her head.
"Then I shall expect you to appear for practice just as soon as Dr.
Agnew allows you to take up that work," said the teacher, rising briskly. "And I shall be glad to have you back on the first team," she added, giving Hester"s hand a hearty squeeze.
CHAPTER XXIII
CLIMBING UP
By the middle of the next week Hester was playing regularly in her old position on the basketball team. Roberta Fish had dropped back into the second team with all the grace of the sweet-tempered girl she was.
"I"m only too glad she"s come back," said Roberta, referring to Hester Grimes. "It"s much more important that Central High should win that beautiful silver trophy than for _me_ to have the honor of playing on the champion team."
"You"re a good sort, Roberta," said Bobby Hargrew, admiringly. "Now, I"d be _mad_ if they"d asked me to step down and let somebody take my place."
"No," said Laura. "You"d be loyal, too, Bobby."
"And that"s the A. B. C. of athletics, child," said Nellie Agnew, remembering very clearly what the doctor had said to her weeks before on the subject.
""A. B. C.," indeed!" sniffed Bobby. "You make me feel like a primary kid again, I declare!"
Jess Morse began to laugh. "Some of these primary kids, as Bobby calls them, are pretty smart. Allison Mapes--you know her?--who teaches the first grade, was telling of a little Bohemian boy in her cla.s.s. He is smart as a whip, but English is quite a paralyzing language to him.
She asked him the other day:
""Ivan, what is a calf?"
"And the boy answered: "Missis, that"s the child of a cow and the back of your leg!""
When the laugh over this had subsided Laura spoke seriously. They were talking in one of the small offices of the school, having retired to discuss the forthcoming games.
"It isn"t all plum cake and lemonade, girls, even to beat West High and Lumberport----"
"Oh, my!" croaked Bobby. "See what we did to West High last time without Hester."
"That was a fluke," declared the captain.
"Why, they"re babies!" said Josephine Morse, confidently. "And Lumberport as well."
"Don"t get the idea in your head that we are going to whip any team so easily. That"s when we are going to lose," urged Laura. "Being too sure is as bad as being careless in your play."
"Now she is. .h.i.tting _me_," grumbled her chum.
"Well, Jess, if the cap fits, put it on."