though she had been crying.
‘Why don’t you give me “God’s greeting”?’ asked Joey laughingly. ‘I think it’s such a nice thing to say to anyone.’ She came closer. ‘Simone, why have you been howling? Aren’t you happy?’
‘I am ver’ ‘appee, zank you,’ replied Simone with dignity.
‘Then you don’t look it,’ retorted Jo, in her most downright manner. ‘If you’re happy, why don’t you chirk up a bit?’
Simone lifted tragic dark eyes to her face, but anything she might have said was lost, for Grizel came running in at that moment, followed in more stately fashion by Mademoiselle, and Simone promptly became muter than any oyster.
As a matter of fact, all that was wrong with her was that she was dreadfully homesick. She had never been away from her mother before in her life, and wanted her badly. She said nothing, because her people were poor, and had jumped at this chance of getting her educated so cheaply; for Mademoiselle insisted that the only return that she desired for her services was her small cousin’s education. To little Simone, it would have been terrible ingratitude for all Cousine Elise’s kindness if she had let her see that she was not quite happy. Then again, neither Grizel nor Jo wanted to leave her out of things, but they had a trick of referring to their past good times together which had the effect of making the little French girl feel that she was not wanted. Perhaps Grizel was the worst offender in this way. It was the natural reaction from the effects of her home-life. The pity was that Simone should be the sufferer. On this morning she slipped off again as soon as breakfast was over, while the other two were concluding an amicable wrangle as to which of them should practise on the sitting-room piano. Jo missed her presently as she went off, quite cheerfully, to what was, for the moment, known as the Junior form-room.
‘Slipped off again!’ she thought. ‘Well, my practice must just wait-though it’s a shame to be indoors on such a gorgeous day! But I must find her first. Simone! Si-mo-one!’ She raised her voice in a long melodious call, but no Simone answered it. ‘Si-i-i-mo-one! Where are you? Simone!’
No response came, so she dropped her music on to the nearest chair, and dashed upstairs-in complete defiance to rules-to see if the small girl had taken refuge in the dormitory. But when she pulled aside the pale yellow cubicle curtains, she found the cubicle quite empty. A scamper downstairs, and a hasty rush through all the living-rooms, helped her no further, for Simone was not there. Marie, when questioned, declared she had not seen the young lady since breakfast, and she was sure she was with neither Mademoiselle nor Fräulein Bettany, for they had gone off to Spärtz half an hour before. So that accounted for the fact that no one had wished to know why she was running about the house instead of practising, thought Jo, as she wandered out into the warm sunshine, and turned to gaze at the Bärenkopf, a mountain which greatly took her fancy, although they had not climbed it yet, since it was considered dangerous, at any rate for amateurs.
‘I’ll have a shot at that some day,’ she thought, as she looked at the bold, rugged outlines. Then she gave an exclamation, for among the trees which clustered at the foot of the slope of the Bärenbad, another mountain, she had caught a flash of the blue and white frock which Simone wore.
‘So that’s where she goes!’ she thought, as, practice now completely forgotten, she raced across the flower-besprinkled grass which lay between her and the woods. She soon reached them, but by that time Simone had disappeared, and although Joey shouted again and again, there was no answer. Finally, just as she had decided to give up the hunt and return home, she stumbled over the root of a large tree, and went headlong on to a nest of old leaves, and there was Simone, sobbing as if her heart would break. Joey had a
‘Why don’t you give me “God’s greeting”?’ asked Joey laughingly. ‘I think it’s such a nice thing to say to anyone.’ She came closer. ‘Simone, why have you been howling? Aren’t you happy?’
‘I am ver’ ‘appee, zank you,’ replied Simone with dignity.
‘Then you don’t look it,’ retorted Jo, in her most downright manner. ‘If you’re happy, why don’t you chirk up a bit?’
Simone lifted tragic dark eyes to her face, but anything she might have said was lost, for Grizel came running in at that moment, followed in more stately fashion by Mademoiselle, and Simone promptly became muter than any oyster.
As a matter of fact, all that was wrong with her was that she was dreadfully homesick. She had never been away from her mother before in her life, and wanted her badly. She said nothing, because her people were poor, and had jumped at this chance of getting her educated so cheaply; for Mademoiselle insisted that the only return that she desired for her services was her small cousin’s education. To little Simone, it would have been terrible ingratitude for all Cousine Elise’s kindness if she had let her see that she was not quite happy. Then again, neither Grizel nor Jo wanted to leave her out of things, but they had a trick of referring to their past good times together which had the effect of making the little French girl feel that she was not wanted. Perhaps Grizel was the worst offender in this way. It was the natural reaction from the effects of her home-life. The pity was that Simone should be the sufferer. On this morning she slipped off again as soon as breakfast was over, while the other two were concluding an amicable wrangle as to which of them should practise on the sitting-room piano. Jo missed her presently as she went off, quite cheerfully, to what was, for the moment, known as the Junior form-room.
‘Slipped off again!’ she thought. ‘Well, my practice must just wait-though it’s a shame to be indoors on such a gorgeous day! But I must find her first. Simone! Si-mo-one!’ She raised her voice in a long melodious call, but no Simone answered it. ‘Si-i-i-mo-one! Where are you? Simone!’
No response came, so she dropped her music on to the nearest chair, and dashed upstairs-in complete defiance to rules-to see if the small girl had taken refuge in the dormitory. But when she pulled aside the pale yellow cubicle curtains, she found the cubicle quite empty. A scamper downstairs, and a hasty rush through all the living-rooms, helped her no further, for Simone was not there. Marie, when questioned, declared she had not seen the young lady since breakfast, and she was sure she was with neither Mademoiselle nor Fräulein Bettany, for they had gone off to Spärtz half an hour before. So that accounted for the fact that no one had wished to know why she was running about the house instead of practising, thought Jo, as she wandered out into the warm sunshine, and turned to gaze at the Bärenkopf, a mountain which greatly took her fancy, although they had not climbed it yet, since it was considered dangerous, at any rate for amateurs.
‘I’ll have a shot at that some day,’ she thought, as she looked at the bold, rugged outlines. Then she gave an exclamation, for among the trees which clustered at the foot of the slope of the Bärenbad, another mountain, she had caught a flash of the blue and white frock which Simone wore.
‘So that’s where she goes!’ she thought, as, practice now completely forgotten, she raced across the flower-besprinkled grass which lay between her and the woods. She soon reached them, but by that time Simone had disappeared, and although Joey shouted again and again, there was no answer. Finally, just as she had decided to give up the hunt and return home, she stumbled over the root of a large tree, and went headlong on to a nest of old leaves, and there was Simone, sobbing as if her heart would break. Joey had a
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