CHAPTER XXIV--THE FIRST FIELD DAY

The girls of Central High had looked forward to this open-air exhibition of dancing and field athletics with great expectations. The pretty folk dances were enjoyed by the girl pupils of Central High in assembly. All of the girls who were physically able were expected to take part in such exercises, and Mrs. Case had trained her classes, separately and together, in several of the Morris dances, in the Maypole dance of England, and in the Italian Tarantella.

Besides these general dances there was a special class that danced the Hungarian Czardas and the Swedish Rheinlander as exhibition dances. The gymnasium dresses of the girls of Central High were a dark blue with white braid. In the special dances the class going through the exercises changed costumes in the bath houses and appeared in Hungarian and Swedish peasant costumes.

With these general exercises at this first field day of the school were also relay races--a simple relay, shuttle relay and potato relay. Following which the champion basket-ball team of the school would play a scrub team, although the field was not a really first class place for a basket-ball court.

For a finale the girls were to repeat the Maypole dance and then break up into running and skipping groups over the greensward of the field, the groups as a whole forming a picture pleasing and inspiring to the eyes of the spectators, who could view the proceedings from the grandstand that had been built along one side of the field.

Sprightly little Bobby Hargrew was a beautiful dancer, and enjoyed the exercise more than she did anything else in athletics. She had been one of Mrs. Case's prize dancers before the unfortunate occurrence that had cut her out of the after-hour fun.

Of course, she took the exercises the physical instructor put into the regular work of the classes; but, forbidden by Mr. Sharp, she could not hope to take part in any of the events on the field. She would be obliged to sit in the stand and look on.

And this deprivation hurt the girl's pride. She hated, too, to have it said that of all the girls of Central High, she was the one singled out for such punishment. It seemed hard, too, when she knew she was not guilty of the offense of which she stood accused.

However, she needed nobody to point out to her that her own thoughtlessness and love of joking had brought the thing about. Had she not deliberately set out to annoy Miss Carrington, her teacher, by appearing to smoke a cigarette, the Chinese punk would never have been in Mr. Sharp's office. Then they could not have accused her of setting the fire.

It seemed to the fun-loving girl, however, that the punishment did not "fit the crime." The punishment was so hard to bear! She began this last week before the Field Day in a very despondent mood, for her--for Clara Hargrew was not wont to despond over anything.

To her surprise, on Tuesday morning, however, she was called to Miss Carrington's office. The teacher looked very seriously through her thick spectacles at the girl, and her face was a little flushed, Bobby thought.

"Miss Hargrew," said Gee Gee, "you have proved to my satisfaction during the last few weeks that you can behave yourself almost as well as any other pupil in our school--if you so wish. Ahem!"

"Yes, ma'am," said Bobby, demurely.

"And if you can behave so well for these weeks, why not all the time?"

"I don't know, ma'am," admitted Bobby.

"Can't you?"

"Sometimes I fear I shall burst, Miss Carrington," said the girl, bluntly.

"Well! you have improved," admitted the teacher. "But you are not willing to say anything further about the fire?"

"I didn't set it," said Bobby, doggedly.

"And you did not go near that waste basket?"

"I did not."

"Well! it is perfectly ridiculous. The fire could have been set in no other way. There was not a soul in the room but yourself. And the punk was afire when we all left you. That is so; is it not?"

"Yes, ma'am," admitted the girl, with a flash in her eye. "But I want to repeat to you that Hester Grimes never saw me throw that match into the basket----"

"Wait!" observed Miss Carrington, holding up her hand reprovingly. "Do not say anything you would be sorry for about Hester."

"I guess anything I'd say about her I'd not be sorry for," declared Bobby, bluntly.

"But you would. Hester has done a very brave thing. And she has helped you in--er--Mr. Sharp's estimation and--and in my own."

"What's that?" demanded the amazed Bobby.

"She has come to me and confessed that--out of pique--she made a mis-statement," said Miss Carrington, gravely. "She admits that she did _not_ see you put anything in the basket. She said it because she was angry with you----"

"Well! I declare!" burst forth Bobby. "Who ever knew Hessie to do a thing like that before?"

"Why, Miss Hargrew, you seem to be ungrateful!" cried the teacher. "And you do not appreciate what a sacrifice your school friend has made for you. Her conscience would not let her remain silent longer. She had to tell me. She came to me yesterday morning----"

"All her lonesome--by herself, I mean?" demanded Bobby.

"Certainly."

"And nobody made her tell the truth?"

"Her conscience only."

Bobby had been thinking hard, however. She was amazed at this outcome of the matter, but she was not so glad that she could not see some reason for the change of heart on the part of Hester Grimes. "I bet a cent," thought Bobby, to herself, "that Laura had something to do with it. She ran out and spoke to Hessie and her mother Saturday. She _had_ something on Hessie, and made her do this."

But the girl saw it would not be wise to indicate her suspicions to Gee Gee. Besides, Laura evidently wished to keep the matter a secret.

"Of course, Clara," said the teacher, stiffly, "this does not reinstate you in the school. It merely gives you a further chance. We have nothing but circumstantial evidence against you. The fire must be explained, however, before Mr. Sharp can pass upon your name as a member of the junior class for next year."

"Oh, dear, Miss Carrington!" cried Bobby. "He won't suspend me?"

"He will have no choice," said the teacher, rather hardly. "It will be expulsion. You may take your place in the field exercises on Friday and, later, you will have your part in the graduation exercises of your class. He will make that concession. But unless the matter of that fire is cleared up, you cannot return to Central High next fall."

The decision gave poor Bobby little comfort. To be denied the privilege of the high school--which Mr. Sharp would have a perfect right to do considering the seriousness of the offense supposed to have been committed by the grocer's daughter--was an awful thing, to Bobby's mind. Perhaps her father would have to send her away to private school. All the fun of Central High would be denied her. Worse still, she must go to a strange school with the stigma of having been expelled from her local school. Bobby did something that she seldom did--she cried herself to sleep that night.

She could not help taking Laura into her confidence, and telling her all about it. Laura saw that Hester Grimes had taken the opportunity of putting her fault in the best light possible before Miss Carrington. Indeed, Hester's conduct really seemed to redound to her own credit in that teacher's opinion.

But Laura was not one to go back on her word. She had assured Hester that if she told the truth about Bobby's affair, she, Laura, would remain forever silent about the mystery of the haunted house. And Laura would keep faith.

She saw, however, that Mr. Sharp had conceded all he possibly could to the girl under suspicion. Bobby might take part in the Field Day exercises; but when the term was ended she would cease to be a member of the school and therefore could not take part in any of the further athletics of the girls of Central High.

"It's a hard case, Bobby," was all she could say to the troubled girl. "Let us hope something may turn up to explain the mystery of that fire."

"You try and turn it up, then, Laura," begged Bobby. "I know you can find out about it, if you put your mind to it. Do, _do_, DO!"

And Laura promised. But she had no idea what she could do, nor how she should go about hunting down the clue which might lead to the explanation of that most mysterious blaze.

The eventful Friday came, however, and Laura had made no progress in poor Bobby's trouble. It was a beautiful day, and the Central High girls marched to the athletic field right after the noon recess. They carried a banner, and were cheered along the short march by their neighbors and friends.

So many people wished to get into the field to see the games that the school authorities had to be careful about the distribution of the tickets. But Laura noted that Colonel Swayne had a prominent seat in the grandstand. She smiled as she saw the old gentleman, and she hoped with all her heart that what the wealthy man saw of the athletics of the Girls' Branch that day would open the "way to his pocket-book," as Jess Morse had expressed it.