"I"ve been wretched about it!" said Muriel. "I never intended you to get blamed, but I daren"t confess it was mine."
"Who gave you the book?" asked Patty.
"Horace. He used it himself once, and those were his initials in it, H.
P. for Horace Pearson; and of course everyone believed it meant Patty Hirst, because the two letters were interlaced, and could be read either way."
"I"m sorry it was Horace"s. I thought better of him," groaned Patty.
"I"m afraid we"re neither of us as conscientious as you," said Muriel.
"I used to prepare my Latin with it. I don"t know how I could be so silly as to leave it lying about."
"Perhaps it"s as well you did," said Patty, gravely, "or it might never have been found out."
"I"m dreadfully sorry now," said Muriel. "I wouldn"t do it again. I"m so glad Miss Harper burnt it. It was most unfortunate it should be fixed upon you. I always told the girls you were innocent."
"I don"t think many of them believed it was mine."
"A few did, or at any rate pretended they did. Well, I"ll set it all straight when I get back to school. It"ll be hateful to tell Miss Harper, but it"s the one thing I can do to make up, and I will."
Another half-hour had pa.s.sed, and a slight breeze blowing from the sea began at length to disperse the fog, which, thinning a little, revealed the outline of the cliffs on the landward side. The sun had long ago set, but still showed such a bright glow on the western horizon, that it was light enough to see that the sandbank was almost clear, and the water flowing from it in broad channels.
"I think we might leave our rock now," said Patty. "Perhaps if we wade we could reach the sh.o.r.e before it gets quite dark. Can you manage if I help you?"
Muriel climbed painfully down, and taking Patty"s arm, began to limp her way over the sands.
"It"s half-past ten," she said, "and our train was to leave at half-past six. All the others will have gone home ages ago. I don"t know what we must do, even if we get to land."
"Somebody"s sure to be waiting for us," said Patty. "Why, I believe I can see a boat over there in the distance. Look! To your left, where the mist is blowing away."
"It is!" exclaimed Muriel, in much excitement. "A fishing boat, with three men in it. Let us call as loudly as we can."
The two girls joined in a wild "Halloo!" and to their great relief were at once answered by a shout in reply. The boat turned her course and made for the sandbank, and in a few minutes a bronzed old seaman had leaped over the gunwale and waded through the channel to their rescue.
"Why, little misses, you"ve got yourselves in a fine fix!" he said, by way of greeting. "Here we"ve bin a-lookin" for you for a matter of four hours; just hangin" about in the fog, we was, and shoutin" every now and then on the off chance of your hearin" us. I ne"er thought we"d find you safe and sound, I didn"t. Bin up the rock, you say? Ay, them rocks is never covered. If I"d only knowed you was there! We"d a" seen you long since, if it hadn"t a" bin for the fog."
He lifted Muriel in his arms, and, carrying her as easily as if she had been a baby, waded with her to the boat, returning afterwards for Patty.
"You"re nigh dead beat, both on you," he said, sympathetically. "It"s give you a rare fright, I"ll be bound, and us too! Your teacher"s half crazed after you, poor thing! She"ll be main glad to see you back, she will that!"
It was indeed with a feeling of intense relief and thankfulness that Miss Lincoln welcomed the missing pair as the boat drew up on the beach at Moorcliffe. The hours of their absence had been a time of such anxiety and suspense as she had not experienced before with any of her pupils. One look at her face showed them what she had suffered on their behalf.
"Thank G.o.d you are safe!" she cried, as she took them in her arms and kissed them.
All the school had returned to The Priory, only Miss Harper remaining with Miss Lincoln; and as the last train had left, the latter made arrangements to spend the night at the hotel. The girls were cold and wet, and much in need of food and rest; so they were only too thankful to be put to bed at once, instead of starting on a railway journey. The headmistress would allow very little talk that night about what had happened, reserving what she had to say for a future occasion; and Muriel, who knew there was a painful explanation in store for her, was not sorry that it should be deferred.
"I shall be in dreadful trouble to-morrow," she said to Patty as they lay in bed, "and I deserve it, I know. I"m going to make a clean breast of everything, the Caesar translation and several other things, and then perhaps I shall feel better, and make a fresh start. I haven"t said "Thank you" to you, Patty, because I really don"t know how; but you"ve been an absolute trump, and I shall tell Miss Lincoln so. I shan"t ever forget it. Good-night!"
CHAPTER XV
Speech Day
A night"s rest did much to restore the two girls after their terrible experience on the rocks. By next morning, though Muriel"s foot still hurt her when she walked, they were both well enough to return to school, where, as you may imagine, they had many things to relate to their companions, who were br.i.m.m.i.n.g over with eagerness to hear a full and detailed account of the whole adventure. Muriel had a long interview with Miss Lincoln in the library, from which she emerged with red eyes, and, escaping from her friends, retired to her bedroom, and, drawing the curtains of her cubicle, spent the afternoon alone. She was strangely softened and subdued; she said little when Vera, Kitty, and Maud stammered out their apologies for deserting her on the sh.o.r.e, and appeared so preoccupied and thoughtful at tea-time, that she scarcely noticed when the others spoke to her. Patty, who guessed what was troubling her cousin, took her aside before preparation for a few minutes" private talk.
"Never mind telling about the Caesar translation, Muriel," she said. "I don"t care in the least. No one believes now that it was mine, and you"d never do such a thing again, I know; so what does it matter to whom it belonged? It"s quite an old story now."
"I"ve told Miss Harper already," said Muriel, "and all the cla.s.s will know about it to-morrow. Yes, Patty, I"d rather, thank you, I would indeed."
"Then I shall go to Miss Harper," declared Patty, who wished to save her cousin the humiliation of a public confession. "You shan"t do this on my account!"
To her surprise, Miss Harper took quite a different view of the matter.
"No, Patty," she said, decisively. "It is generous of you to want to spare Muriel, but it is only right that she should bear the blame of what she has done herself, instead of leaving it on another"s shoulders.
She is making a very big effort, and we must not spoil her sacrifice. If she clears your reputation before all the cla.s.s, she will have made what reparation she can, and have taken a first step on the straight path. It is not always wise to shield people from the consequences of their own faults, however much we may wish to, and you will be doing her a greater kindness by helping her to keep certain good resolutions she has made.
I hope this affair may make a crisis in Muriel"s life, and that we may expect better things from her in the future. I am sure she is truly sorry for having allowed you to be misjudged. Just at first, I confess, I myself believed you to be guilty, though it was difficult to reconcile your ownership of the book with what I knew of you. Various circ.u.mstances, however, caused me to change my opinion, and I was convinced that a great injustice had been done to you, which I shall now be very glad to have the opportunity of setting right."
When the girls, therefore, were a.s.sembled on the following morning at nine o"clock, Miss Harper, before she dismissed the lower division, said that she wished to speak a few words to the whole cla.s.s.
"You will all recollect," she began, "a distressing affair which took place last term. A translation of Caesar was found by a monitress in this room, and I had reason to believe it was the property of a member of the upper division. Though we mentioned no names at the time, suspicion attached itself strongly to one girl, who has since borne the blame of the occurrence. I am glad to be able to a.s.sure you that this girl was perfectly innocent. The real offender has confessed her fault, and now wishes to tell you how sorry she is for the unworthy part which she has played. Yes, it is on Muriel"s behalf I am speaking," she continued, as the latter quietly left her seat and came, with a pale face, to stand by the teacher"s side. "I think you will all appreciate the attempt she is making to atone for the wrong which she has done, and that instead of reproaching her you will allow the subject to drop, and will unite in keeping up such a high standard for the future, that the reputation of the Fourth Cla.s.s may equal that of any other at The Priory. You may return to your place, Muriel, and I will trust to your school-fellows"
honour to treat your confession with the consideration it deserves."
Miss Harper did not appeal to the cla.s.s in vain. Though several girls congratulated Patty privately, none mentioned the matter in Muriel"s hearing, or made any alteration in their behaviour to her. It was evident that the cousins were now on very different terms with one another, and Patty had so won all hearts that, with the exception of Vera, everybody was delighted at the change.
"I always knew Muriel would be nice to you in the end," said Avis. "All the girls who were nasty have come round, even Kitty Harrison and Maud Greening. Ella Johnson told me how you stopped her and Doris and May from reading in bed, and how thankful they were afterwards to you, when Beatrice Wynne was found out at the same thing, and got into such terrible trouble. The only one who holds back is Vera, and that"s because she"s so jealous of Muriel; but I don"t believe Muriel will ever be really friends with her again: she can"t forgive her for what happened on the sh.o.r.e at Moorcliffe. She says Vera ran away and left her to be drowned, and you stayed and saved her life. I hardly expect they"ll have a bedroom together next term."
"I don"t want them to quarrel on my account," said Patty. "I"ve nothing against Vera."
"Well, whether she likes you or not doesn"t matter," said Enid. "I think you"re the sweetest girl I"ve ever met, and I don"t mind telling anybody so if they ask for my opinion. No, you needn"t blush, because it"s quite true, and everyone else in the school would say the same."
It was now getting very near to the end of the term, and all at The Priory were beginning to look forward to the long summer holidays.
Speech Day, always a great occasion, was this year to be of more than usual importance, as the prizes were to be distributed by Sir John Carston, the Member of Parliament for the County, whose wife was also to be present.
"And of course hosts of parents and friends," said Enid, "to clap and look pleased and say pretty things about us. My mother and my eldest sister are coming, and Avis"s father and mother, and Winnie"s aunt, and ever so many relations of other girls. They"re to stay at the Queen"s Hotel, and they"ll have quite a jolly time, I expect. They"re allowed to invite us to afternoon tea there the day before, if they like, so I shall get Mother to ask you with me, if none of your own people will be over."
"I"m afraid my father and mother will be too busy to come," said Patty, "but I believe Muriel expects Uncle Sidney and Aunt Lucy."
"Then they are sure to ask you, so I shan"t have a chance after all.
What a pity! I wanted you to meet Mother and Adeline. Never mind! It doesn"t matter, because---- But that"s a secret."
"What"s a secret?" enquired Patty.
"I shan"t tell. Yes, I think I must. I really can"t keep it bottled up any longer. I wrote home to ask Mother if she would invite you to come and stay with us during the holidays."
"Perhaps she won"t want me."