it was immediately after this that peachy, who was always doing imprudent things and running risks, went a little too far and caught a severe chill. she was moved into the sanatorium, a room at the top of the house, and spent three quite happy days in bed, reading books and magazines, and drinking hot lemonade, which was miss rodgers' favorite remedy for a cold. when she was certified as free from any infection, a few of her special chums were allowed to visit her. she petitioned specially for jess, delia, and irene. they found her propped up with pillows, and looking very charming in a pale pink dressing-jacket and her hair tied back with a broad ribbon.
"thanks very much. i'm sitting up and taking nourishment," she grinned, in reply to their commiserations. "i'm going to have some more fun before i pop off! joking apart, i've had the time of my life here. it's been blissful just reading and resting, with a big jug of lemonade at my elbow."
"we've been talking about you downstairs. didn't your ears burn?" asked jess.
"not more than usual. what were you saying about poor little me?"[114]
"we had a special meeting of the camellia buds, and passed a vote of sympathy, for one thing. i suppose i ought to 'convey' it to you in the orthodox fashion."
"highly gratified, i'm sure," chirped peachy. "how do i return thanks, please? i can't get up in bed and bow. what next?"
"well, the next is that nobody can think of anything original for the transition to do at the carnival, and everybody said 'ask peachy,' so we've come to you for a suggestion."
"whew! that's a big order," groaned the invalid. "we've had almost every kind of stunt that's practically possible. what are the seniors getting up this time?"
"something musical, to judge from the practicing we hear. it sounds like operetta. and the juniors are having a fairy play. miss morgan is teaching them. what we want is something utterly and entirely different."
"exactly!" agreed peachy, taking a drink of lemonade.
"if you don't have a brain-throb we shall have to descend to an ordinary concert."
"or a scene from shakespeare."
"or a tableau vivant."
"and those have been done simply dozens of times."
"i know," frowned peachy. "we had 'the trial scene' from the merchant of venice our[115]selves last carnival. we couldn't give the same stunt again. oh, don't bother me! let me think. how can i get ideas when you're all talking at once?"
peachy put her fingers in her ears and buried her head temporarily in the pillow, from which she appeared to draw inspiration, for in a few moments she sprang up with a bounce of rapture.
"got it!" she announced cheerily. "let's do a toy-shop. you shall all be dressed up as toy animals and be wound up to work. oh, i see ever such possibilities. the seniors never had that at any rate."
"good!"
"it sounds prime!"
"what a mascot you are."
"don't breathe a word outside the form," warned peachy. "i'll plan it all out and we'll have a rehearsal when i'm downstairs again. i guess we'll give them a surprise. hand me my writing-pad, somebody, and a pencil. i want to get busy sketching costumes. i can see the whole thing in my mind's eye and it ought to be great."
every year in the month of march the pupils at the villa camellia celebrated a carnival of their own. it coincided with a local festival at fossato, on which occasion the inhabitants were wont to make merry, dressing themselves in fantastic costumes, parading the streets, and letting off fireworks. originally the girls had been taken to see the gay doings, but the town was often so rough that miss rodgers[116] had decided it was an unsuitable entertainment for young ladies, and, to prevent disappointment, made the happy suggestion that they should keep the festival in their own grounds. so each spring the three divisions of the school vied with one another in producing some fresh surprise, and had a very interesting and amusing afternoon in the garden or gymnasium, and were too busily occupied to feel any regret at being deprived of the sight of what was going on in fossato.
canon and mrs. clark and a few of miss rodgers' and miss morley's friends, who lived in the neighborhood, were generally invited to swell the audience of teachers. the juniors were given a little assistance by their form mistresses, but the seniors and the transition managed their own affairs. now it was a most unfortunate circumstance that at present the two sororities in the transition were in direct opposition. each was, of course, aware of the other's existence, but each society kept its own secrets. the camellia buds did not even know the name of their rival, though they could guess at its list of members. peachy, recovered from her cold, came downstairs bubbling over with plans for a due celebration of the festival. she submitted them gleefully to the assembled girls, after french class. much to her surprise about half of the form demurred.
"we're going to do something of our own," announced bertha airily. "we don't want your stunt."[117]
"of our own? what d'you mean?" asked peachy, her gray eyes snapping.
"i mean what i say. some of us have arranged a little private performance—we're going to keep it to ourselves."
"and leave out the rest of us?"
"you can have one of your own."
"well, i like that!" flamed peachy. "you're dividing the form into two stunts. we've never done that before. besides, who sent up a message asking me to think of something fresh and original? i certainly understood it was from all of you."
peachy, in huge indignation, glared into several conscious and guilty faces, while her allies backed up her arguments by cries of "shame!" bertha turned rather red but bluffed the matter out.
"we changed our minds. we can't always do everything all in a lump. as i said before, we've got our own stunt, and you camellia buds can have yours."
camellia buds! if bertha had dropped a bomb in the classroom she could not have caused greater consternation among the opposition. so the rival society knew the name of their sorority. a suppressed "o-o-h!" arose here and there. evidently much enjoying their confusion bertha and her confederates retired, leaving the poor camellia buds to hold an indignation meeting. everybody talked at once.
"how did they find out?"[118]
"has anybody sneaked?"
"it's the absolute limit!"
"i couldn't have believed it!"
"it gives me spasms!"
"of all mean things!"
"it makes me tingle!"
then jess, who was practical, made a suggestion.
"i vote we take an oath of every member that she hasn't betrayed us."
"'o wise young judge!'" quoted agnes. "that's the best thing anybody's said yet. let's stand round in a row and swear 'honest injun.'"
if the camellia buds sustained doubts of one another's integrity these were absolutely dispelled by the fervency with which each pleaded her innocence.
"somebody must have been eavesdropping at one of our meetings, i suppose," sighed agnes gloomily. "it's horrid to think they know our secrets and we don't know theirs. i'd give worlds to get even."
"where do they meet?" asked delia. "i've never been able to find out."
"they're very clever in hiding themselves."
"yes, i expect they keep watch, and scoot whenever they see one of us."
"that's it, of course," said irene. "well, what we've got to do is to catch them off their guard. i vote we get the kids to help us. they detest bertha and mabel. they'd just adore to track them for us. we needn't exactly tell them why."
"good for you, renie beverley. those kids will[119] do a turn for their fairy godmothers. we'll call another candy party and put them on the scout. i've a box of peppermint creams that will just go round. one apiece ought to be enough for them to-day."
the juniors were fond of peppermints, and even a limited candy party was in their opinion better than none at all. they had never received sweets of any description from bertha or mabel; indeed they regarded them as arch-enemies. the idea of keeping a watch over their movements appealed to them.
"we'll shadow them, you bet!" grinned little jean hammond. "there isn't much going on in the school that we don't know."
"i'm afraid there isn't. you're rather imps. but you'll be doing a good deed if you find this out for us. the first who brings news shall have two chocolates."
the camellia buds felt no more compunction in employing the juniors on this quest than a government that organizes a secret service department. the enemy had betrayed them shamelessly and deserved reprisals. it was désirée after all who won the chocolates. she haunted house and garden with the persistency of a small ghost, and at last proudly made the announcement:
"they've called a meeting by the big greek jar to-day at five. i heard ruth tell callie. what are you going to do about it?"[120]
that was exactly the question which puzzled the camellia buds. it was one thing to obtain information and quite another to act upon it. if they went and interrupted the rival meeting they would have the satisfaction of routing the enemy but would be none the wiser. it was peachy's diplomacy that pointed out a way.
"the greek vase!" she said meditatively. "yes, it's enormously big and i think i can manage it. now, my dearies, don't you want to be real philanthropic this afternoon and give up your turns at the tennis courts to other folks? why? because i've a little scheme on hand. i want to keep those girls well away from the lemon pergola until it's time for their precious meeting. then they'll run up all unsuspecting, poor innocents, and find——"
"what will they find?"
"'a chiel amang them takin' notes!'" chuckled peachy. "in other words yours truly will be hiding inside the big jar."
"peachy! you can't!"
"can't i? great scott! do you think i'm going to let this beat me? you can just bet your last nickel i shall. renie and jess shall help to hide me, and the rest of you must watch the coast's clear till i'm safely inside. i tell you i'm crazy to try it. it'll be the frolic of my life."
there was certainly no plan too madcap for peachy to undertake. she revelled in anything venturesome or bizarre. the camellia buds did as she[121] decreed, and resigned the courts that afternoon to bertha, mabel, elsie, ruth, rosamonde, winnie, monica, and callie, who fell readily into the trap prepared for them. leaving this double set busy at tennis they fled to the opposite end of the garden.
the lemon pergola was a sheltered walk that led down a flight of marble steps to a small fountain. there was a shady nook here with bushes of bamboo, and a tree with a sweet flower like honeysuckle, and little red roses, and a border of parma violets, and a seat made of bright green tiles—altogether a very retired and pleasant and suitable spot in which to hold a committee meeting. exactly behind the seat stood an enormous jar of terra-cotta, colored red, and decorated with greek figures in black silhouette, rather blurred and rubbed off, but still distinguishable. no doubt its original use had been to store water, wine, or olive-oil, but nowadays it was merely an ornament to the garden. a plant pot full of scarlet geraniums rested on its head, and an arbutula twined up the sides.
peachy climbed up the bank behind, and with the help of jess removed the pot of scarlet geraniums; then very cautiously and carefully she let herself down inside the jar. it was just big enough to contain her, and she lay concealed like one of the forty thieves in the story of ali baba. she had one advantage, however, over the famous brigands. there was a little round hole broken in the front of the[122] jar, and by putting her eye to this she had an excellent view of her surroundings.
"are you all right?" asked irene anxiously.
"fixed splendidly, thanks. stick that flower-pot back on the top and nobody'll ever guess i'm inside. now scoot, quick, for it won't do for them to see you haunting round. the place must look absolutely innocent when they arrive."
"we won't go too far. shout for us if you get so you can't bear it any longer," said jess, putting the geraniums on like a stopper, and dragging irene away.
peachy's position was certainly not one of comfort, squatting at the bottom of the great jar, and she was relieved that she had not long to wait before the rival sorority arrived to hold its meeting. the girls came scurrying, flushed after their games of tennis, and flung themselves down, some on the marble steps and some on the tiled seat. bertha, as the camellia buds had suspected, was evidently the high priestess, and opened the ceremony without delay.
"members of the starry circle," she began hurriedly, "repeat your oath."
"we vow to be loyal to one another and to our president, and never to reveal the secrets of our society," recited seven voices in reply.
("aha!" chuckled peachy to herself, in the depths of the gigantic jar. "got the name of your precious sorority slap-bang off!")[123]
"we've met together this afternoon," continued bertha, "to settle finally what parts we're going to take at the carnival. ruth, just look round, please, and be sure none of those wretched camellia buds is anywhere about."
bertha paused, while ruth made a tour among the bushes, and seemed slightly puzzled when the latter reported:
"coast clear."
"it's a funny thing," commented the president, "but i declare i can smell that particular strong lily-of-the-valley scent that peachy is so fond of. i suppose it's only fancy?"
"i can smell it too," confirmed elsie, sniffing the air.
"are there any lilies-of-the-valley out anywhere near?" asked mabel.
"no, it's too early for them."
"then somebody else must have the same scent, or have picked up peachy's mouchoir by mistake."
a general examination of handkerchiefs followed, but each girl disclaimed all responsibility for the delicate odor.
"queer! i can't understand it. however, let's get to business. our waxworks are absolutely going to take the shine out of their stupid old toy-shop. the only trouble is how we're going to get hold of the right costumes. there's queen elizabeth now—i can manage her skirt, but i want something for her farthingale. what can we raise?"[124]
"peachy has a lovely flowered silk dressing-gown," remarked mabel. "it would be just the thing."
"suppose she uses it herself though."
"i won't give her a chance. i'll take it out of her cubicle the night before and hide it."
"o-o-h! you will! will you?" exploded a voice from the interior of the greek jar. "we'll just see about that."
the fact was that peachy's crouching position had grown intolerable. she was bound to move and reveal herself, and her indignation at mabel's cool suggestion flamed forth through the peep-hole.
the circle sprang up in much alarm, and some of them squealed as the pot of geraniums fell with a crash from the top of the big jar, and peachy's pink face and fluffy hair appeared instead. her flashing gray eyes certainly held no love light in them.
"you mean things!" raged peachy. "call yourselves stars, do you? i can't see anything very star-like about you. have your old waxworks if you like, but i can tell you beforehand you won't take the shine out of us. you've copied my idea shamelessly, and if you're going to steal our properties too—yes, you may well scoot. don't ever dare to show your faces to me again."
for the members of the starry circle had broken up their meeting, and were running away down the lemon pergola in the direction of the house, immensely upset to find there had been a secret listener[125] in their midst. once they were out of sight peachy cooeed for jess and irene, who appeared bursting with laughter and demanding details, having witnessed the rout of the enemy from a distance.
"i'll tell you presently if you'll help me climb out of this wretched thing," said peachy, who found it a far more difficult matter to extricate herself from the jar than it had been to drop into it. "how'm i going to manage? oh, don't pull my arms so, you hurt!"
it was indeed somewhat of a problem, and peachy was beginning to feel seriously alarmed, when, fortunately, one of the gardeners came to the rescue, and tilted the jar over so as to allow her to crawl out.
"i feel like a released slave of the lamp, or a freed dryad, or something fairy-taley or mythological," she declared. "it was worth it, though, to see those girls' faces. thank you, giovanni! i'm ever so much obliged. sorry if i've spoilt your bed of violets. is that delia calling us? coming, dearie. where are the rest of the camellia buds? i may as well tell my story to the whole bunch of you together. then you'll see the sort of thing we're up against. they've taken our idea, and they're trying to beat us on our own ground. that's what it's all about."
