"It's stamped with the maker's name, though I thought of breaking it,
and preserving a portion as 'Roman Glass'," replied Katrine. "I'm going
to write a book on collecting, next. I shall call it 'From Nine to
Ninety, Reminiscences of the Fads of my First and Second Childhoods, by
a Centenarian'. The introduction will contain 'Early Natural History
Instincts--Preservation of Earth Worms and Dissection of Flies at the
Age of Two'. It's to be published by subscription, 7_s._ 6_d._ per
volume. Anybody who likes can give me the money now."
"We'll wait till we see the proofs, thanks!" tittered the girls.
"I like Simon de Montfort's shoe best," declared Githa; then drawing
Gwethyn aside, she asked, "Where did Katrine get that little cupboard?"
Githa had been away from school for a few days, on the sick list, and
had only returned that morning. She had heard the girls teasing Katrine
about her oak treasure, but had not seen it until now. She examined it
with much attention.
"Kattie bought it from Mrs. Stubbs," answered Gwethyn. "I believe she
got it at a sale--a Miss Jackson's things."
Githa nodded.
"I know. She died last month. It used to be ours. The R and L are for
Richard Ledbury. It stood on a table in the library at the Grange.
Grandfather had promised it to me. He often called it 'Githa's
cupboard'. I suppose Uncle Wilfred put it in with the rest of the things
at the sale, and Miss Jackson must have bought it. I always wondered
what had become of it. It's such a dear little cupboard."
"Oh! I'm sorry if we've sneaked it away from you."
"Never mind. It's not your fault; I'd rather Katrine had it than anyone
else. I'm glad to see it again, and to know that somebody's got it
who'll value it."
CHAPTER XI
Waterloo Day
The girls at Aireyholme were nothing if not patriotic. They followed the
course of national events with keenest interest. In common with most
other schools they had sent their quota of knitted garments to the
troops, and they kept collecting-boxes for both Prince of Wales and
Belgian Relief Funds. These enterprises were good as far as they went,
but not nearly sufficient to satisfy their martial spirit.
"We're not making any sacrifices," declared Viola Webster impressively.
"We don't realize the war enough. We're letting our Allies outstrip us.
If we were Serbian or Russian we should be doing far more."
"What sort of things?" queried Hilda Smart. Hilda was practical to a
fault, though Viola liked vaguely to generalize.
"Oh! patriotic things, you know." (Viola was rather cornered when it
came to matter-of-fact explanations.) "Tearing up our gymnastic costumes
for lint, and--and--helping to make bullets, and all the rest of it."
"I thought bullets were made by machinery at ordnance works? And it
would be rather silly to tear up our gym. clothes. They wouldn't make
good lint, either!"
"Well, if not exactly that, we ought to be doing something."
"We have drill, and flag-signalling."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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