early the next morning mrs. denvers was a good deal surprised by receiving a letter from miss sherrard. it ran as follows:
"dear mrs. denvers: i have just heard an extraordinary story from miss worrick with regard to kitty malone. she met kitty with your fred at a late hour last night just outside the 'spotted leopard.' she was not wearing an outdoor jacket, and had the college cap on her head. in consequence, she was spoken to impertinently by some men outside the public-house, and when miss worrick came up had just knocked one of them down. miss worrick says, further, that kitty showed her great impertinence; and, in short, that the whole affair was wrong and disgraceful. it is my painful duty to look thoroughly into this matter, and i should be glad if you would bring miss malone to middleton school this morning in order that i may do so.
"yours very truly,
"emma sherrard."
"my dear alice," said mrs. denvers, as her daughter entered the room, "what does this letter mean?"
alice read miss sherrard's letter hastily.
"it is exactly as i feared, mother," she said.
"exactly as you feared, alice! what do you mean?"
"i always told you that kitty would be certain to get into trouble sooner or later. well, she got into trouble last night."
"but what occurred?"
"what occurred!" said fred, who came into the room at that moment. "i thought you would be talking about poor kitty. i will tell you exactly what did occur mother; but first i want to say something else. kitty is just as nice a girl as we ever had in the house. she has not a low nor a small thought in her, but she is excitable, and she has high spirits; and yesterday evening, when i went into the drawing-room, i found her there alone, and in no end of a fret because one of her brothers in ireland had got into trouble. he had written to her; but she would not tell me what he said. for some extraordinary reason, which none of us know, it seems that elma lewis can get him out of his trouble, i cannot pretend to explain what this means; but such is the fact. poor kitty was wild to see elma, and she asked me if i would walk over to her house with her. of course i promised to do so, for it was difficult not to be good-natured to the poor thing."
"at what hour was this, fred?" interrupted mrs. denvers.
"it was rather late, i will own, mother—about half-past nine."
"go on, my dear boy. what happened then?"
"now it is alice's turn to get into your black books," continued fred, darting a malicious look at his sister. "she doesn't like kitty, and nothing that kitty can do or say is right in alice's eyes."
"fred!" interrupted alice—"mother, you have no right to listen to him."
"i am bound to hear both sides of this story, alice," said mrs. denvers.
"fred shall tell his side first. go on, my boy."
"when i arranged to go with kitty, she ran upstairs to the bedroom which she shares with alice to get her jacket and hat; but alice had locked the door, and wouldn't let her in. i heard her crying out and begging of alice to do so, or, at least, if she would not, to throw her hat and jacket out of the window; but no! good nature was not to be expected from my amiable sister. so then kitty ran down again, and said that as the night was warm it really didn't matter a bit; and she asked me to lend her a cap. i took one from the peg in the hall, never seeing that it was one of the college caps with the coat-of-arms in front, and kitty popped it on, and off we set. we neither of us gave a thought to her dress, and we walked as fast as possible, chatting and laughing all the way. all went well till we got in front of that horrid 'spotted leopard,' and there were several lads round the door. i suppose kitty's dress attracted them as well as her pretty face, and all in a minute they surrounded her. such awful cheek! but do you think kitty would put up with their impudence? i never saw a girl like her! she just aimed a blow straight at one of the fellows and knocked him over as if he were a ninepin. i can tell you she had the laugh on her side; and i don't believe we would have heard anything more about it if that mean, spiteful old cat, miss worrick, hadn't been coming round the corner. she ran up to kitty, and took possession of her, and marched her off home, and put her, forsooth, into alice's custody. that's the explanation of miss sherrard's letter, mother."
"dear, dear!" said mrs. denvers, "it was a most imprudent thing to do.
but of course, the poor child meant no harm."
"i should rather think she didn't," cried fred. "the one you ought really to blame is alice. no one would have looked at kitty, nor thought of her one way or the other, if alice had let her get her hat and jacket; but what was she to do when she was locked out of her own bedroom?"
"but she know very well that she was breaking rules," said mrs. denvers. "none of the middleton girls are allowed to go out so late in the evening except with a suitable escort; and she certainly ought not to have gone in the dress you have described, my boy. it was all thoughtlessness; but she will get into sad trouble, i fear."
"of course it was thoughtlessness," said fred; "and the poor thing was bothered, dreadfully bothered, about that brother in ireland."
"i see, mother," said alice, "that you are determined to take kitty's part, whatever happens. she has bewitched you, like all the rest of the household."
"whom have i bewitched now?" asked kitty, who entered the room just then.
"oh, my poor, dear child," said mrs. denvers, "you have got into a terrible scrape. see this letter which i have just received from your head-mistress."
kitty eagerly seized the letter. she was looking pale, and not like her usual self. there were heavy black lines under her eyes. the poor girl had spent most of her night crying. the thought of laurie was resting on her soul; she was very anxious about him, and, in consequence, very miserable.
"i always said that i hated england," she cried, coloring as she spoke. "oh, i know, dear mrs. denvers, that you are a jewel; and as to fred, he is no end of a darling; and mr. denvers is as nice as a man could be. but there's alice, and she doesn't like me; and miss worrick can't bear me; and half the girls at school don't understand me, and, for the matter of that, i don't care for them; and i don't understand your stiff, proper english ways. i am far and away too wild for england. in ireland we would only laugh at such a thing as happened last night. what does it matter what sort of dress i go out in and at what hour i go, if i am doing right all the time? i wanted to do something for laurie, for my dear, dear laurie, who is in terrible trouble. please, mrs. denvers, let me go home again. let us both go to miss sherrard this morning, and tell her that it is all no use; kitty malone was born wild, and wild she will remain to the end of the chapter. let me go home; please let me go home."
"my poor child, i must not yield to you," said mrs. denvers. "you have been sent to us to be made——"
"oh, don't begin it," cried kitty. "don't begin to talk about all the things you have got to make me, and which, to be plain, none of you will ever succeed in doing, for i was not half nor a quarter as wild in ireland. i was considered in some ways the steady one of the family; but here, why, i am provoked every minute of the day, and i—i can't stand it much longer."
"well, sit down now and eat your breakfast," said mrs. denvers, "for we must soon hurry off to school. miss sherrard will want to see us immediately after prayers."
kitty seated herself, but she had little appetite for her food.
"why don't you eat?" said fred, who sat next to her. "let me help you to some of this porridge; it's jolly well done this morning, and you always like it, don't you?"
"yes, yes; but i have got a lump in my throat and i can't swallow," answered kitty. "thank you all the same, fred. there are some chocolates in my room if you like to steal up in the middle of the day in case i am locked up, as twenty to one i shall be for this misdemeanor. there are some chocolates and some rock and toffee. you'll find them in my left-hand drawer in the corner. i spent a whole sovereign on sweets, as i told you a few days ago."
"oh, thanks. kitty, you are a brick," whispered fred back in return.
"you can take as many as you like, fred, old boy, for you are a comfort to me. i'll tell laurie about you when i go back to ireland."
"come, come, my dears, no whispering," said mrs. denvers. "kitty, if you don't care for your breakfast, perhaps you will go up to your room and make yourself tidy for school."
"oh, am i not tidy now?" asked kitty, jumping up and running to the glass in the overmantel to survey herself. "by the way, do you like my frock? it is quite new. don't you think this crimson cotton with the white sash very effective? it is cool, and yet it's gay. i belong to the tug—oh! i must not mention that. i never did know such a place for awful secrets as england. i am drawn up every minute by remembering that i must not mention something. but how do you like my dress, mrs. denvers?"
"well, dear, i prefer quieter colors; but we will say nothing more about it just now. get your hat, kitty; put on your outdoor shoes and your gloves, and come down immediately, for it is time for us to start."
as soon as kitty had left the room, alice turned to her mother.
"are you going to encourage her in all her follies?" she asked.
"my dear alice, i don't encourage her in her follies; but there is no use in pulling the poor child up short every moment. she expresses herself quite correctly when she says that she is wild; she is not broken in. but to break in kitty malone too thoroughly might also break her heart, and that would never do."
"break her heart! i don't believe she has got one," said alice. "but, there, i can't talk any longer on the subject."
it occurred to her that if she started immediately for school she might call for bessie challoner, and tell her what had occurred. bessie's sympathy would be very sweet, and alice determined to secure it if possible. accordingly she left the house, and at about a quarter to nine found herself at bessie's house. bessie was standing on the steps drawing on her gloves.
"why, alice, what has brought you?" she cried; "and where is kitty?"
"oh, don't mention kitty, if you don't want to rile me beyond endurance," said alice.
"i always do rile you when i mention her," answered bessie; "but where is she all the same?"
"with mother—she is coming to school with mother."
"with your mother—to middleton school! what do you mean?"
"only that mother has to bring her. she has got into no end of a row."
"has she? oh, i am sorry," said bessie.
"come out, bessie," said alice. "it is a little early to get to school, but we may as well walk slowly, and i will tell you all about it as we go along."
this alice did, enlarging much upon kitty's dress, her crimson blouse, her bare arms, the college cap on her head, and her little shoes with the buckles and rosettes.
"she must have looked very pretty," said bessie.
"bessie! you really are enough to distract any one. don't you see the impropriety of it? don't you see that this will get all over the place? people will say that a middleton girl dressed so unsuitably, so loudly, that—oh, don't you see it?"
"i don't see anything in it except a silly, foolish, girlish act, uncommonly like kitty malone," said bessie. "you are determined to make mountains out of molehills, alice."
"no, i am not," said alice. "anyhow," she added in a tone of triumph, "miss sherrard thinks it disgraceful, and so does miss worrick. i suppose you will not go against the opinions of your own mistresses, will you, bessie?"
"no, no; only i am sorry," said bessie.
at that moment the two girls reached the school. gwin harley was just driving up in her pony-chaise, and elma, as usual, was hovering near.
"come here, elma," said bessie. "we have something to tell you."
"what is it?" asked elma eagerly.
"it is this," cried alice. "kitty malone has got into the most awful scrape. she went out last night with fred in her red blouse—you know that silk blouse she is so fond of wearing?"
"i know; it is sweetly pretty," said elma.
"oh, there you are, praising everything she does! well, anyhow, she wore it, and her arms were bare to the elbow, and she stuck one of the college caps on her head. what will dr. butler say? she went with fred to see you, by the way, elma. she seemed in an awful hurry to find you. she was in trouble about her brother, and she said you could help her."
"oh, nonsense!" said elma. but she had an uncomfortable feeling as the words were said. her thoughts naturally flew to the eight pounds which kitty had lent her. was it possible that kitty wanted that lovely, that beautiful money back again? elma had felt almost as if she were living in fairyland from the time that money had been in her possession. she would part with it whenever the day came with extreme reluctance.
"well," she said, "i cannot imagine what she wanted with me; but what happened?"
"some rough boys outside the 'spotted leopard' were rude to her, and she knocked one of them down; then miss worrick came up and took her back to our house; and miss sherrard has written this morning to say that mother is to bring kitty up to school, and that she must have the whole thing explained. there's a nice state of things!"
at that moment the great gong was heard, and the girls were obliged to troop into the school. prayers were conducted as usual in the great hall, and elma, gwin, alice, and bessie looked in every imaginable corner for a sight of kitty malone. she was not present, however, and they were obliged afterward to go to their class-rooms without having caught sight of her beaming and brilliant face.
meanwhile mrs. denvers and kitty were waiting for miss sherrard in the head-mistress' private sitting-room. kitty went to the window and looked out.
"i like miss sherrard," she said, turning to mrs. denvers as she spoke. "i am really sorry to annoy her. it is about a fortnight ago since she spoke to me in this very room; she spoke so kindly, and told me that i had got talents. i was astonished, for i thought she meant cleverness, and i have always been told that i am a dunce; she said that she knew i had good abilities, and that besides i had plenty of other talents—nice dress, and good looks." kitty colored and flashed a half-defiant, half-roguish glance at mrs. denvers. "she also spoke about my money as a talent. oh, dear, i felt half-conceited, half-delighted when i left her, and i made up my mind that i would be good; but it seems useless, more than useless. oh, my poor money, my poor money! i have got none of it left now, or at least scarcely any."
"my dear child, no money!" exclaimed mrs. denvers. "impossible. when you spoke to me last you had about fifteen pounds. kitty, my dear, it is wrong for you to squander money in that fashion."
"but i haven't squandered it, mrs. denvers, not really. i have not got it with me, it is true; but most of it is safe, only i must not talk about that. there's another secret for you. what an awful place england is! oh, dear, dear! i am in a muddle about everything. i can't bear to stand in this room and remember miss sherrard's talk. fancy her saying that even my dress was a talent! now there's something in favor of my nice red cotton and my dear red silk blouse; and fancy her saying still more that my looks, my pretty face, was a talent! mrs. denvers, do you think me pretty, very, very, very pretty?"
"no, kitty dear, not so wonderfully pretty as that; but you have an attractive face. miss sherrard is quite right; beauty is a gift, although it used to be my old-fashioned idea that the less girls were told about their looks the better."
"oh, but that's all exploded, love," cried kitty. "in these days girls are told when they are pretty just as much as they are told when they are clever. now, i'm not clever, not a bit. i'm a dunce, an out and out dunce; but at any rate i've got a pretty face, and i promised that i would use my talents for—for the best—" here she lowered her face and a thoughtful and beautiful expression came into the great big eyes. "but it's no use," she added. "i am bothered entirely every day of my life, and i am just going from bad to worse."
"hush, kitty, you must not talk in that way hark! i think i hear miss sherrard's step." as mrs. denvers spoke the door was slowly opened and miss sherrard, accompanied by miss worrick, came in. miss sherrard was just about to speak; but before she could utter a word kitty rushed to her.
"i have failed, darling; i have failed entirely," she gasped out, "i meant to do right, but i did wrong; i have become worse and worse, although i cannot see the wrong myself. but miss worrick has found it out. i want to give up the school, darling, and to go back to old ireland. they don't think so badly of me in old ireland, and they'll let me dress as i like and go out when i like; and—and, i am not fit for england, dear. please write to dad and tell him so—tell him i am a failure as far as england is concerned. he'll understand, dear old man. he'll be sorry, but he'll understand. let me go home again, please, miss sherrard—let me go home!"
"no, kitty, i shall do nothing of the kind," answered miss sherrard. "you must not kiss me just now, my dear; no, i am not pleased at all. you did very wrong to go out as late as you did last night. you broke one of the strictest rules of the school, and have brought discredit upon us all. miss worrick, will you please relate exactly what occurred?"
miss worrick now stood up and made as much as she possibly could of poor kitty's little escapade in front of the "spotted leopard." the story so described made anything but a pleasant picture. miss sherrard who was tenacious with regard to the school, and most anxious that each and all of her girls should bear the highest character for quiet and orderly behavior, was deeply annoyed.
"kitty," she said, "i have always been strangely unwilling to punish you. i have never ceased to remember that you have not been brought up like most of the girls here—that you have enjoyed a freer, wilder life. on that account i have tried to be very patient with you, my dear; but i am sorry to say that i have no alternative now. i must punish you, and severely. for the next week you are to stay in during the morning recess, and after school is over will remain here day by day to learn different tasks which will be set you. further, my dear—and this, i am sure, will be the most severe part of your punishment—your school companions are absolutely forbidden to speak to you, and you must give your word of honor that you will hold no communication with any of them until the week has expired."
this very severe sentence made poor kitty quite collapse. she sat down on the nearest chair and her rosy face turned pale.
"oh, i cannot give my word of honor," she gasped. "i must speak. i must at least speak to elma lewis."
"you are not to speak to any of your companions, with the exception of alice denvers, in whose house you live," said miss sherrard. "kitty, if you disobey me, i shall have to expel you, and then indeed you will be disgraced for life. my dear you must bow to my authority—you are to speak to no girl in the school. i trust to your honor to obey me in this particular. if you are expelled—and it will certainly happen if i find that you are not keeping your word—you will be branded for life."
