when the rising bell rang, sue counted three, then kicked off the covers. she sprang out of bed to pull down the window leaving betsy shivering.
“cruel world.” betsy groaned wriggling further down in bed and reaching for the covers.
“cruel nothing,” sue retorted. “you fresh air fiends will be the death of me yet. pick the coldest night of the year to throw the window to the top.”
for two reasons betsy could hardly hear the last of sue’s tirade. she had covered up head, ears and all. sue had run in the bathroom to dress where it was warmer and had closed the door.
“what’s all the commotion?” mimi asked. the bell had awakened her but she had not stirred. if she moved out of her warm place she touched cold sheets.
“the greatest disaster in contemporary history,” came betsy’s muffled voice from the adjoining bed. “on this, perhaps the only friday morning of the year when we could miss breakfast and stay in bed our energetic friend, sue, has to sound a triple alarm and fire a nineteen gun salute! sue,” she yelled poking her head out, “i hope you’re freezing.”
“what’s this rot about not getting up?”
sue, fully dressed opened the bathroom door and entered, a glass of cold water in her hand.
“we’re not getting up! don’t tell me the fact that one may cut breakfast and enjoy a little free time today because of term-end failed to penetrate your skull?”
betsy was wide awake and chattering away just because she wished she were sleepy. all eyes fixed with dread on the glass of water; she, mimi, and chloe watched sue’s expression sag.
“woe is me! i did forget. move over betsy i’m coming back to bed clothes and all.”
sue set the glass on the floor took one jump and landed in bed. betsy swirled and spiraled and succeeded in wrapping all the covers around her. sue pulled and jerked without success.
“all right, i’ll get in with chloe and mimi. they’re not old meanies.”
but they were. they held tightly to their covers. sue went to the foot of the bed, loosened the covers and started reaching for their feet. the fight was on. zip-whizz! betsy threw a pillow barely missing sue’s bobbing head.
the five minute bell rang. sue gave up.
“three against one is no fair. i’m going to breakfast and i hope we have waffles and country sausage and maple syrup and pineapple juice and——”
blam!
mimi’s pillow struck sue’s retreating figure.
“go eat grits! scram!”
but sue had roused mimi. she jumped up.
“come on let’s go to breakfast. i could dress for my wedding in five minutes.”
when the last bell rang the three were within a half dozen steps of the dining room door. betsy was pulling the comb through her hair. chloe was straightening her tie and mimi was tugging at her stocking but they got in before the door closed.
“gee! i’m glad we came,” mimi sighed.
she was so full she could hardly speak. more than half the girls were taking advantage of their term-end privilege and had stayed away so there were seconds and thirds! of course, the menu wasn’t all sue had pictured but they did have pineapple juice for a change and mimi had two servings. while she was too full to do much talking, mimi could sit back and listen. she wouldn’t have missed miss bassett’s announcement for anything.
“may i have your attention, please?”
the girls turned toward miss bassett, anticipation in their faces. her announcements were always good news—game schedules, pep squad meetings, hikes or something enjoyable. the one she made today was one she had not made for four years! she might not get to make it for four more or longer because the winters were not as severe as they used to be.
“the manager of wildwood park has telephoned that the lake is frozen solid. the temperature is dropping steadily and the forecast for tomorrow is continued fair and colder. if there is six or more inches of good ice on the lake, we will have a skating party tomorrow.”
clap! clap! clap! cries of approval. mimi clapped loudest.
“i am going out to wildwood today to see for myself how the ice looks. in the meantime all girls interested in ice skating sign the sheet on the bulletin board. only those girls who are well and warmly dressed will be permitted to go. this is not a definite promise but know this. i want to go as badly as you do, maybe more.”
mimi never doubted the weather man an instant. she felt sure, too, that miss bassett would not have mentioned the party at all unless she was practically sure the ice would hold. mimi’s worry was not the temperature, it was getting some ice skates. here at last was a chance to learn how to do something she had always wanted to know how to do. she realized that there would be only a limited number of skates available and she would have to think fast. that she could borrow a pair was unlikely. any girl who liked skating enough to own a pair and lug them around with her when there was so little chance of skating in this climate, would be using her own. there was but one thing to do, buy a pair and buy them now before the hardware and sporting goods stores sold out. she had not done one extravagant thing since daddy and mother had been gone but she was going to spend practically her whole month’s allowance at one crack.
all this had flashed quickly through her mind. breakfast was over and in another few minutes the girls would start a mad search for skates. somehow she must get the jump on them. the college girls could go right on to town without permission. oh, dear! there seemed but one thing to do and mimi did it immediately and successfully.
slapping her napkin quickly to her mouth as if to suppress a hiccough she jerked her head and stood up. making signs to the hostess she excused herself. as she passed mrs. cole’s table, still pressing the napkin to her lips, she hiccoughed out loud. as soon as she passed out the double glass doors she dropped the napkin and ran.
she went as straight to the office as she could.
“please, please,” she pleaded breathlessly to the girl at the desk, “phone sweirs for me. here i’ll find the number.”
her fingers flew-p-q-r-s-sa-se-sw—sweirs—she could hear the girls now coming down the hall as she gave the number.
“please ask if they have any ice skates to fit a size five boot.”
the girl was so impressed by mimi’s excitement, it never occurred to her she did not have permission to telephone. but mimi knew she did not have; that was why she was having the girl call for her. hurry! hurry! how long did it take sweirs to answer? they must be terribly busy—probably selling all their skates.
“sweirs are sorry. they have no ice skates.”
mimi groaned.
“then we’ll call the hardware stores.” she was fumbling through the directory again.
“look in the classified section in the back,” the girl suggested.
h-hardware. there. she had another number.
“yes, size five please,” the girl was saying. “just a moment.”
putting her hand over the transmitter she turned to mimi.
“he has some. what shall i say?”
“have him send them out collect—and special delivery.”
ten or twenty-five cents more wouldn’t matter. mimi couldn’t wait.
“bring your money to the office now so that i can pay the boy.”
“thank you. thank you so much.”
the money. mimi was down to earth again. she was taking one problem at a time and doing splendidly but she was up against something now. she had only one dollar and seventy-five cents in her purse and that was not enough. she had forgotten about buying three cans of heat, the brown sugar and the movie magazines.
knowing full well that no girl in school is as despised as one who borrows, she risked her popularity to raise the money. everywhere it was the same. term end was a time of celebration and each girl mimi asked needed all she had and more.
there was but one thing left to do. she went back to tumble inn and taking the key from around her neck she unlocked the secret drawer of her trunk where she kept her diary. she took out one of the blank checks daddy had left her for emergencies. it would be the first one she had used and she was spending it on something frivolous but after all, daddy wanted her to have a good time. he’d be the first person to say, “go ahead and get them, honey.” she felt very important as she made out the check in the office. in her best writing she signed dr. j. s. hammond by mimi. her name ran sideways off the bottom of the check.
the thirty minutes she loafed around where she could see the office entrance and pounce upon the messenger and grab her skates, she had time to think.
she had been very selfish. she had thought only of getting skates for herself. what about her suite mates? she could have ordered theirs at the same time. one special delivery fee would have brought them all. sorry that she had been so thoughtless she raced upstairs to make amends and was not in the office when the skates were delivered.
“did you ever hear of anything grander?” betsy asked as she dangled a pair of rusty skates. “jill says if i’ll clean them, i can use them. she is going on that sketching party chloe is going on.”
“you mean you’re not going skating, chloe.”
“is that so strange? i’m going hiking all right and will be in on the food but while you all skate, some of us are going to sketch, if our fingers aren’t too numb. you might be posing for me for all you know.”
“i’m not going skating either,” sue declared. “olivia had already invited me to the matinee and had gotten special permission. she is giving a movie party. five of us are going and—without a chaperon!”
“well blow me down!” mimi declared. “imagine doing anything else when one could ice skate, especially an ordinary thing like seeing a movie.” she slapped her hands together in front of her.
“betsy, outside quick—idea!”
they whispered together, then dashed off.
“oh, if only miss bassett hasn’t left yet!” mimi cried. miss bassett was still in her room and she listened to their plan with interest. mimi’s enthusiasm was always contagious. to hear her talking with miss bassett, her suggested menu of bean hole beans for the skaters tomorrow would be the most sumptuous feast mortals ever ate. here was the plan she and betsy had hatched up.
it was friday morning now. the skating party was slated for midday tomorrow. mimi and betsy posted a notice of a surprise dinner—price fifteen cents a skater. they delegated madge and janice to collect. miss bassett advanced money for purchase of supplies. she postponed her trip to wildwood until the girls could buy the beans and put them to soak. then armed with hand axe, shovel, matches and a hand full of kindling to make sure, they drove out to wildwood to dig the bean hole.
“gee! it’s grand riding. i haven’t been in a car since thanksgiving,” mimi avowed. “hadn’t ridden in one then since september. can you imagine?”
“i’m glad you’re enjoying it. but about the beans. mimi, you know that if they are not good the whole party will be spoiled and i should hate that.”
“you go ahead and talk to the man, miss bassett. leave the beans to us. they’ll be good, i can promise.”
the way mimi declared herself miss bassett knew she could depend on her. dumping the girls and their “field artillery” as they called it, she went on her own errand.
mimi was in her glory. she had on her boots and old breeches and three sweaters and was giving betsy orders right and left. she was working hard herself. while betsy gathered wood and searched for flat stones, mimi dug the hole. she selected an open place where there would be no danger of damaging a tree or starting a fire. after a half hour of digging in the frozen ground she had finished a hole the size of a card table. it was deeper than the ten gallon kettle the beans were soaking in and it was deeper in the center. while she rested, betsy lined the center of the hole with flat stones. on top of these betsy built a fire.
“stack it loosely so it can get plenty of air to burn. light it on the windward side.” mimi had to let betsy know how much she knew about fire lore. she hoped, however, she did not act like jean and wear a show-off, i-have-been-to-camp-before manner.
“why the windy side?”
“the wind will blow the fire under and it will catch all through. there. see? now put on plenty of big wood so that we will have lots of good live coals when we get back. we’ll ask the man to watch it while we are gone.”
“isn’t that some fire?”
“perfect. i just love fire.” she meant this kind you could warm by and cook over; not the destructive, terrifying kind she was to know soon. mimi stretched out her hands to it. “i never see it without repeating to myself, ‘the ode to fire.’ i was saying it as you kneeled to light this one.”
“i love that too.”
“there comes miss bassett. let’s go meet her so she won’t have to get off the drive. these frozen ruts are rough.”
all the way to town mimi kept wondering if the beans were softening. she preferred to soak them all night but as cissy so often said, circumstances alter cases. she had left them in warm, soft water. that would help. it would be better to soak them less and cook them longer rather than take a chance on cooking them in the morning and hoping they’d be done by noon. long slow cooking was best.
back at sheridan and in the kitchen, mimi took charge again.
first she drained the water off of the beans. then she poured part of them into a crock. she sliced the salt pork in thin chunks and laid it in carefully. then she sprinkled a layer of brown sugar, ripe tomato ketchup and salt. more beans—meat, sugar, salt, ketchup. on and on until the great kettle was half full and the crock was empty. then she poured in hot water until the kettle was full. the beans had not softened much. mimi was worried; she had given miss bassett her word.
“i’ll tell you what we’ll do; leave them on the stove to simmer until miss bassett blows for us. that way they’ll be hot through and through and will get a good start.”
“do you suppose any one has caught on?”
“i hope not.”
no one found out, although several wondered what betsy and mimi were doing, going out with miss bassett for the second time. what could be in that huge kettle which was so heavy one of the kitchen negroes had to lift it on the running board?
miss bassett drove slowly but mimi held her breath. mustn’t “spill the beans” she cautioned. she had the window rolled down and was holding on to the handle. once or twice on curves the pot pulled and swung out dangerously near slipping off but eventually they managed to deposit the kettle near the bean hole.
the fire had died to glowing embers. mimi must be careful. she shoveled them out of the hole and piled them to one side. then handing betsy a thick pad, she took one herself and together they settled the pot on the hot stones. making sure the lid was clamped down tight, mimi covered the pot with a wet grass sack. then she shoveled the hot coals on top of the sack and over them, threw the loose dirt.
“looks like a new grave,” betsy teased.
“why betsy! you should be ashamed! besides, you never saw a grave with little wisps of smoke curling out.”
“ready, girls? you know it’s friday and we dress for dinner.”
mimi paid little attention to her toilette that evening. of course, it was always a relief to get out of her uniform but she had put on her boots to try on her skates. she volunteered to be last in the bathroom and spent her time trying to balance herself on them until the last minute. when she finally started to dress her suite mates had dressed and gone. there was no one to pull her boots off. she tugged and tugged. for the second time that day she entered the dining room just as the doors were being closed.
after dinner she went to the sing song but only her body was there. all her interest was simmering in a bean hole at wildwood. she did do one thing that was fun. after the sing song she linked arms with betsy and they strolled up and down the hall passing and repassing the open double doors into the parlors. they were looking in on the friday night “dates.”
“even if i could and some boy wanted to come, i wouldn’t have a date like that for anything.”
“you won’t have one because you don’t like boys.”
“yes, i do,” mimi declared. “better than girls in lots of ways, but if you mean i’m not boy crazy, thanks. i’m not and hope i never am.”
“well, i’d have at date, even like that, if some one would ask me,” betsy concluded as they went up to tumble inn.
mimi retired early so that tomorrow would come more quickly. morning came almost too soon, for mimi awakened much earlier than usual and thought the rising bell would never sound. in the still hour of dawn, as in moments when she wakened in the night, she wondered about chloe and prayed brief, but tenderly sincere prayers.
up and dressed she paced up, down, and around from the time breakfast was over until the party was off. she made at least six trips up and down the steps. she turned in money to miss bassett. she lost and found her skate key. but at last, at eleven o’clock, she arrived with the party at wildwood park.
even now she was afraid something would happen to interfere with the skating. she watched miss bassett strap on her skates and with the man beside her glide across the ice stopping here and there and tapping with a heavy stick. contrary to the forecast, it was not as cold as it had been yesterday and the sun had been bright all morning. miss bassett looked a bit worried when they returned to the bonfire and although the manager insisted the whole lake was safe, miss bassett drew a dead line.
“not doubting your word at all, but i can keep up with half a lake full of girls better than a whole lakeful.”
“just as you say. i’ll stretch ropes.”
mimi was the first to get her skates on, but having them on she sat helpless on a log. one by one the girls put their skates on and hobbled past. no one dreamed mimi could not skate. she could do everything else athletic outdoors and indoors, too, it seemed.
she watched miserably. finally madge saw her. frail little madge was swooping and dipping and swirling like a brown bird. she beckoned to mimi. “come on.”
“i don’t know how.”
“come on. i’ll help you.”
after two bad starts mimi hip-hopped over to the lake’s edge and held out her hands to madge. “steady.”
“i hope i don’t pull you down.”
“you won’t.”
“i can skate well on roller skates and if you hold me till i get the hang of it, i’ll be all right.”
“sure you will. now—skim, don’t push.”
under madge’s patient direction, she was gaining poise and balance. but the first venture she made alone was disastrous.
they had tried to keep to the edge of the crowd and were so absorbed in mimi’s strokes, that by the time mimi was ready to let go madge’s steadying hands, they were within a few feet of the rope.
“now see if you can go by yourself,” madge said giving mimi a good shove to start her.
mimi took four uncertain strokes, crashed into the rope and fell hard. she slipped several feet beyond where she had hit the ice so hard. speeding behind to assist her, madge caught her toe in the crack where mimi had hit. at the second impact the ice gave way.
madge did not fall all the way through. mimi could tell that from where she was sprawled. raising quickly, she tore off her skates and started running toward madge. she took two steps and halted. if the ice were thin it would crack more under her added and greater weight. madge, who was in no immediate danger, had not cried out. she was wedged in a hole, one leg through the ice, her head and body above.
“help,” mimi screamed. “help. bring a plank.”
instead of getting a board, most of the skaters darted toward madge. quickly, mimi ran a wide circle around her and headed them off. this accident so far was not bad but unless they were cautious it could be.
madge was sobbing now.
“my leg is freezing.”
“we’ll have you out in a minute,” mimi called reassuringly. “be as still as you can, so you won’t make any more cracks. stop, girls! miss bassett, please keep them back,” mimi pleaded. “here comes dit with a plank and we’ll have her out in a jiffy.”
mimi helped dit slip the board along the ice until madge could clutch it with her numb little hands.
“can you pull out or shall i ease out and help?”
“i-can-make it—i think—”
madge was pulling hard but her heavy clothes made her clumsy. mimi stretched out on her stomach and inched closer. she held out one hand to madge and clung to the board with the other. dit was holding the board. miss bassett had sent for her car and was watching the rescue tensely. at the slightest misstep she would interfere.
“i’ve got you, madge. steady. you pull and i’ll pull.”
as madge’s leg finally came up, there was a sickening rip and cracking; the ice around her had given way. girls screamed as the dark water became visible through the rapidly widening cracks. madge was submerged to the neck but she held desperately to the board and mimi had her firmly by the wrist. calling directions to dit about the board, mimi lifted with all her might as dit jerked the board. out came madge skidding across the crackled ice toward them, leaving a trail of slush behind. her brown suede jacket, her brown pants and boots soaked, she looked like a baby seal. she was more helpless.
quickly miss bassett rolled her in a blanket and lifting this frailest of the preps in her arms she carried her to the car. the engine was running. mimi and dit followed panting.
“we can take care of her, miss bassett. let me drive her in. mimi can help. you stay and see to the others.”
“thank you, dit. will that be all right, madge?”
“sure. i’m not hurt. i’m just c-c-cold and wet.”
“betsy can serve the beans,” mimi called back as an after thought. beans seemed as far away as germany. she was pulling off madge’s wet boots and rubbing her numb foot and leg.
“thawing up?”
“little bit.”
“i feel like a clumsy ox! making you fa’ down and go boom!”
“i should have been watching.”
“i’d have died if anything had have happened to you,” mimi shuddered.
“don’t say anything about death,” madge gasped. she was so white around the mouth, mimi feared she might faint. it was different from the purple splotches from being cold. there was a haunted look in her eyes. she lowered her voice so dit couldn’t hear.
“i knew something awful was going to happen today,” she confided.
“how did you know?”
mimi was thinking of cissy and her spooky premonitions. the very thoughts of them made goose bumps on mimi.
“ever since last night when i hear those”—her voice sank to a stricken whisper—“death bells!”
there was horror and conviction in her voice.
“what on earth are death bells?”
“sh-sh-sh—i’ll tell you some time—maybe.”
was sheridan a boarding school or a lunatic asylum, mimi wondered as they neared the winter stripped campus and stopped before prep hall.
