19 a dreadful morning for jo

it was soon quite clear that it was jo and deirdre who had done the shopping. everything came out bit by bit. matron told how she found the five pound notes and knew that they belonged to jo. jo had never claimed them.

the second-formers related that jo meant to buy food for a birthday feast. miss parker added the bit about deirdre going out with a second-former, and how she had not been able to make that second-former own up. “but,” she added, “there is no doubt at all but that it was jo.”

“yes,” said miss grayling, seeing the whole miserable story now. jo had gone to matron’s room to get back her own money and had taken more than she meant to—and then had been too afraid to put it back. then trouble had come, and fear and misery had caused jo to run away. silly, ill-brought-up, spoilt little jo!

“mostly her parents’ fault, of course,” said miss grayling to matron. “nothing to be done there, i’m afraid. they’re no help to her.”

there was a knock at the door. bill and clarissa were outside.

they had remembered the two figures they had seen near the old shack the morning before. could they have been jo and deirdre?

“quite likely,” said miss grayling. “they may have hidden their food there, and be camping out. do you know the way?”

“oh yes,” said bill. “we often ride out there. we thought it would really be quickest for us to ride out on thunder and merrylegs, miss grayling, and see if the two girls are there.”

“miss peters can go too, on her horse,” said miss grayling. “if the girls are there, she can bring them back.”

miss peters looked inside the shack

so the three riders set off, and rode over the fields and hills till they came to the bridle path that led near the shack. jo and deirdre, sitting inside the shack, having their fourth “snack” that morning, heard the hooves. deirdre peeped out.

“it’s bill and clarissa,” she said, darting back, looking scared. “and miss peters.”

“they can’t guess we’re here,” said jo, in a panic.

but they had guessed, of course, and very soon the three of them dismounted, and miss peters walked to the shack. she looked inside. she saw jo and deirdre, looking very dirty and untidy and frightened, crouching in a corner.

“so there you are,” she said. “what a pair of idiots. come out, at once, please. we’ve had enough of this nonsense.”

like two frightened puppies, jo and deirdre crept out of the shed. bill and clarissa looked at them.

“so it was you we saw yesterday,” said bill. “what are you playing at? red indians or something?”

“bill! shall we get into awful trouble?” asked deirdre, looking rather white. she had not enjoyed the night in the shack. a wind had blown in, and she had felt cold in the early morning. she had awakened and had not been able to sleep again. also there seemed to be rather a nasty smell of some sort in the shack—perhaps it was mice, thought deirdre, who was terrified of them.

bill looked at the pale deirdre and felt sorry for her. she was only a first-former, just thirteen years old, and a timid, weak little thing—just the type that jo would pick on to boast to, and persuade to do wrong.

“look, deirdre—you’ve been an idiot, and you might have caused a lot of worry and trouble, if it hadn’t happened that clarissa and i spotted you the other day, when you were here,” said bill. “it’s a mercy it hasn’t got into the papers yet. the best thing you can do is to be absolutely straight and honest about it, and to be really sorry, and promise to turn over a new leaf. then i dare say you’ll get another chance.”

“shall i be expelled?” asked deirdre, panic-stricken at the thought. “my father would be awfully upset. i haven’t got a mother.”

“i shouldn’t think you’d be sent away,” said bill, kindly. “you’ve not got a bad name, so far as i know. come on now. you can get up on thunder, behind me.”

deirdre was frightened of horses, but she was even more frightened of disobeying bill, and getting into further trouble. she climbed up on thunder, and jo was taken on miss peters’s horse. miss peters said only a few words to the dirty, bedraggled jo.

“running away from things is never any good,” she said. “you can’t run away from difficulties. you only take them with you. remember that, jo. now hang on to me and we’ll go.”

they got back just about break. the sound of hooves was heard as they came up the drive, and the girls ran to see if jo and deirdre were being brought back. they looked in silence at the dirty, bedraggled, sorry-looking pair!

the two were taken straight to miss grayling. deirdre was now in a state of utter panic. however could she have gone with jo! what would her father say? she was all he had got, and now he would be ashamed and sorry because she had brought disgrace on the fine school he had sent her to.

tears streamed down her cheeks, and before miss grayling could say a word, deirdre poured out all she was feeling.

“miss grayling, i’m sorry. don’t tell my father, please, please, don’t. he trusts me, and i’m all he’s got. miss grayling, don’t send me away. i’ll never, never do such a thing again, i promise you. i can’t think why i did it. if only you’ll give me another chance, i’ll do my best. miss grayling, please believe me!”

miss grayling knew real repentance when she saw it. this was not someone trying to get out of trouble, it was someone shocked by what she had done, someone thinking now of the effect it might have on somebody she loved—someone with an earnest desire to turn over a new leaf!

“i’ll show you that i mean what i say,” went on deirdre, beseechingly, rubbing away her tears with a very grubby hand, and streaking her face with dirt. “give me all the hard punishments you like, i’ll do them. but please don’t tell my father. he’s a sailor, and he would never run away. he’d be so ashamed of me.”

“running away never gets us anywhere,” said miss grayling, gravely. “it is the coward’s way. facing up to things is the hero’s way. i shall think what i am to do with you, and tell you later on in the morning. i am sure that whatever i decide you will accept, and face bravely.”

she turned and glanced at matron, who was sitting quietly knitting in a corner of the big room.

“will you take deirdre now?” she said. “she wants a bath, to begin with, and clean clothes. don’t let her go into class this morning. give her some job to do with you, will you? when she’s in a calmer state of mind i’ll talk to her again.”

matron, calm, kindly and efficient, put her knitting into her bag. “come along, my girl,” she said to deirdre. “i’ll soon deal with you. i never did see such a grubby first-former in my life. a hot bath and clean clothes will make you feel a lot better. and after that you can help me to tidy out my linen cupboard. that’ll keep you busy! keep you out of mischief too!”

she took the girl’s arm in a kindly way, and deirdre heaved a sigh of relief. she was always scared of matron, but suddenly she seemed a real rock, someone to lean on—almost like a mother, thought deirdre, who had missed a mother very much indeed. she kept close to matron as she hurried her away. she longed to ask her if she thought the head would expel her, but she was afraid of the answer. poor deirdre. she was not meant for escapades of any sort.

jo had been standing silent all this time, fearful of saying a word. miss grayling looked at her. “i am expecting your father in ten minutes’ time,” she said, “or i would send you to have a bath too. but it would be better to wait now, till he comes.”

jo’s heart lifted. so her father would soon be here. he wouldn’t be cross about this. it would tickle him. he would laugh and joke about it, and tell all his friends about the latest thing his jo had done. he would put things right!

jo heaved a sigh of relief. “sit down,” said miss grayling. “we will discuss this miserable affair with your father when he arrives. i sent for him as soon as i heard from bill and clarissa that they knew where you were hiding.”

miss grayling began writing a letter. jo sat still. she wished she didn’t look so dirty. she had a great hole in her tunic, and her bare knees were filthy.

in ten minutes’ time an enormous car roared up the drive. “daddy!” thought jo. “he hasn’t been long!” the car came to a stop with a screeching of brakes. someone got out and the car door was slammed loudly.

soon the maid brought mr. jones to the drawing-room. he came in, beaming. “so you found that rascal, did you?” he said. “why, here she is! just like you, jo, to go off like that. she’s a scamp, isn’t she, miss grayling!”

“won’t you sit down?” said miss grayling, in a remarkably cool voice. “i want to discuss this matter with you, mr. jones. we take a serious view of it, i am afraid. it is fortunate that it did not get into the papers.”

“yes, but look here—what’s so serious about it?” exploded mr. jones. “it was just a bit of fun—jo’s a high-spirited girl—nothing wrong about her at all!”

“there is a lot wrong,” said miss grayling. “so much so, mr. jones, that i want you to take jo away with you today—and i regret to say that we cannot have her back. she is not a good influence in the school.”

mr. jones had never in his life had such a sudden and unpleasant surprise. he sat with his mouth falling open, hardly able to believe his ears. jo—jo expelled! they wanted him to take her away and not bring her back? why? why?

jo was shocked and horrified. she gave a gulp and stared at her father. he found his voice at last.

he began to bluster. “yes, but look here, you can’t do that—you know it was only a bit of fun. i grant you jo shouldn’t have done it—caused a lot of trouble and all that—and she shouldn’t have taken the other kid with her either. but—but you can’t expel her for that, surely!”

“we could, mr. jones, if we thought she was an undesirable influence,” said miss grayling. “it doesn’t often happen, of course—in fact, very, very rarely. but in this case it is going to happen. you see—it isn’t only the running away—it’s a little matter of the taking of some money.”

jo covered her face. she could have dropped through the floor. so miss grayling knew all about that too! her father looked dumbfounded. he stood up and looked down at miss grayling, and his voice shook.

“what do you mean? you can’t say my jo is a thief! you can’t! i don’t believe it. she’s always had heaps of money.”

miss grayling said nothing. she merely indicated jo, who still sat with her face covered, bending forward with tears soaking between her fingers. her father gazed at her, aghast.

“jo,” he said, in a voice that had suddenly gone hoarse. “jo—you didn’t, oh you didn’t! i can’t believe it!”

jo could only nod her head. that awful, awful money! there was still the rest of it up her knicker-leg. she could feel it rustling when she moved. she suddenly bent down and pulled out a pound note and a ten shilling note. she put them in front of miss grayling. “that’s all that’s left,” she said. “but i’ll pay the rest back.”

“let me pay everything, everything—i’ll double it!” said mr. jones, in the same hoarse voice. “to think of jo—my jo—taking money!”

both the bold brazen jo and the once blustering bumptious man looked at miss grayling miserably and humbly. she was sorry for them both.

“i think there is no need to say any more,” she said, quietly. “i don’t want any explanations from jo. you can get those from her, if you wish. but you will see, mr. jones, that i cannot keep jo here any longer. she had a fine chance at malory towers, and she didn’t take it. and i think i should say this to you—her parents are partly to blame. you didn’t give jo the backing up and the help that she needed.”

“no, you didn’t, dad!” cried jo, sobbing. “you said it didn’t matter if i was bottom of the form—you always were! you said i needn’t bother about rules, i could break them all if i liked. you said so long as i had a good time, that was the only thing that mattered. and it wasn’t, it wasn’t.”

mr. jones stood still and silent. he turned suddenly to miss grayling. “i reckon jo’s right,” he said, in a voice that sounded astonished. “and i reckon, miss grayling, that you might have given jo another chance if you’d thought i’d seen things the right way—and i didn’t. come on, jo—we’ve got to get things straight between us—come on home, now.”

he held out his hand, and jo took it, gulping. mr. jones held out his hand to miss grayling and spoke with unexpected dignity.

“good-bye, miss grayling. i reckon i’m the one that’s really at fault, not jo. you won’t spread this matter about, will you—for jo’s sake. about the money, i mean.”

“of course not,” said miss grayling, shaking hands. “and mr. jones—however much you make a joke of this escapade to your friends, and gloss over the fact that jo has been expelled—i do beg of you not to make a joke of it with jo. this is a serious thing. it may be the turning-point in her life, for good or for bad—and she has a right to expect that her parents will show her the right road.”

in a few minutes’ time the big car roared off down the road. jo was gone—gone for ever from malory towers. one of the failures, who perhaps in the future might be a success, if only her parents backed her up.

“how important parents are!” thought miss grayling. “really, i think somebody should start a school for parents too!”