Читать книгу The O'Sullivan Twins - Enid blyton - Страница 6

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The first real excitement of the term was Tessie’s birthday. Tessie was a lively girl in the second form, fond of tricks and jokes. She and Janet were a pair! The girls often laughed when they remembered how the term before Janet had thrown fire-works on the schoolroom fire, and given poor Miss Kennedy such a fright.

“And do you remember how Tessie hid the big black cat in the handwork cupboard, and it jumped out at Miss Kennedy and made her rush out of the room?” giggled Doris. “Oh, golly—I’ve never laughed so much in all my life.”

Miss Kennedy had gone, and in her place was Miss Lewis, a first-class history-teacher. The girls liked her very much, except for one thing—she would not allow the slightest inattention or cheekiness in her classes. Even free-tongued Janet was a model of good behaviour in Miss Lewis’s classes. Only surly Margery seemed to care nothing for anything the history teacher said.

Tessie had great ideas for her birthday. She knew she would have plenty of money sent to her, and plenty of good things to eat. She was a generous girl, and wanted every one to share.

But there would not be enough for every one. If Tessie put all her things on the table at tea-time there would only be a tiny bit for each of the forty or fifty first- and second-formers.

Tessie thought about it. She talked to her great friend, Winnie Thomas.

“Winnie, don’t you think it would be better to share my things amongst a few of my best friends—and not give every one only a taste?” said Tessie.

“Yes, I do think that,” said Winnie. “But when can we give the party? We can’t very well just ask a few of the ones we like, and leave the rest to stare jealously!”

“Well, we’ll have to have the party when there’s no one there except the ones we ask,” said Tessie. “And that means—at night! On my birthday night!”

“But we can’t have it in the dormitory,” said Winnie. “The others would know then. We must keep it a secret. It won’t be any fun if we don’t.”

“We won’t have it in the dormitory,” said Tessie. “But where in the world can we have it, without being found out?”

“I know! We’ll have it in that little music-room not far from our dormitory!” said Winnie, her eyes shining. “It’s just the place. No one ever goes there at night. If we pull down the blinds, and shut the door no one will ever know we are there. We mustn’t make much noise though—it’s rather near Mam’zelle’s study.”

“It’ll be all the more fun if we mustn’t make much noise,” giggled Tessie. “How can we warm that room? It’s awfully cold in there. I know, because I had to practise there last week.”

“Let’s borrow an oil-stove out of the cupboard downstairs!” said Winnie. “Some of them have oil in, I know, because they’re not emptied when they are put away in that cupboard.”

“Good idea!” said Tessie, who liked everything to be as perfect as possible when she planned anything. Then a thought struck her—“Oooh, Winnie—do you think we could fry sausages on top of the oil-stove if I could buy some? I could get some of those tiny little sausages—I forget what they’re called—the kind people often have to put round chickens?”

Winnie stared at Tessie in delight. “I don’t believe any one has ever fried sausages at a birthday party in the middle of the night before!” she said. “Not any one. It would be a most marvellous thing to do. Can we get a frying-pan?”

“You bet!” said Tessie. “I’ll ask young Gladys, the scullery-maid, to lend me one for the night. She’s a good sport and won’t tell. And if I can’t borrow one, I’ll jolly well buy one!”

“Tessie, this is going to be awful fun,” said Winnie, dancing about. “What do you suppose you’ll have for your party—besides your birthday cake and the sausages?”

“Well, Mother always sends me a big fruit cake, a ginger cake, sweets, biscuits and home-made toffee,” said Tessie. “And I’ll have plenty of money to buy anything else we want. I’ll get some tins of peaches. We all like those.”

The two girls went into corners and whispered excitedly every day. Mam’zelle noticed their inattention in class and scolded them for it.

“Tessie! Winnie! Do you wish me to send you down into the first-form? You sit there staring out of the window and you do not pay one small piece of attention to all I am saying! What mischief are you planning?”

This was so near the mark that both girls went red. “It’s my birthday soon, Mam’zelle,” said Tessie, meekly, knowing that Mam’zelle usually understood an excuse like that.

“Ah, I see—and I suppose it is dear Winnie’s birthday also?” said Mam’zelle. “Well, unless you both wish to write me out a ver-r-r-ry nice composition in your best French all about birthdays you will please pay attention to me.”

The two girls decided to ask only six more girls to the party. Tessie didn’t see why they should all be from the second-form. “You know, I like those O’Sullivan twins awfully,” she said. “I’d like to ask them. They’re good sports.”

“Yes—but for goodness’ sake don’t ask that awful cousin of theirs, always strutting about like a peacock,” said Winnie.

“Of course not,” said Tessie. “I simply couldn’t bear her. No—we’ll ask Pat and Isabel—and Janet. And out of our own form we’ll ask Hetty, Susan and Nora. What do you think of that?”

“Yes—fine,” agreed Winnie.

“We’ll have to be careful not to let that sneaky Erica guess about our party,” said Tessie, thoughtfully. “She’s such a Paul-Pry—always sticking her nose into things that don’t concern her. She’s an awful tell-tale too. I’m sure she sneaked about me to Miss Jenks, when I lost that lacrosse ball.”

“We’ll tell every one to keep it a close secret,” said Winnie. “I say—won’t it be fun?”

Tessie got hold of the twins that day and took them to a corner. “Listen,” she said, “I’m having a small birthday party on Thursday—just you and five others. Will you come?”

“Oh, yes, thanks,” said Pat, pleased at being asked by a second-former.

“What time?” asked Isabel.

“Twelve o’clock at night,” giggled Tessie. The twins stared in surprise.

“Oh—is it a midnight feast, like we had last term?” asked Pat, eagerly.

“No—not quite,” said Tessie. “It’s not going to be held in the dormitory, like a midnight feast—we are going to have it in that little music-room not far from my dormitory. You know the one I mean?”

“Yes,” said Pat. “I say—what fun! It will be a proper midnight party, all by ourselves. Who else are you asking?”

“Four from my form, not counting myself,” said Tessie, “and you two and Janet from your form. That’s all. Now mind you come at twelve o’clock. And oh—I say!”

“What?” asked the twins.

“Don’t say a word to any one, will you,” begged Tessie. “You see, I can’t ask every one, and some of the girls might be a bit annoyed they haven’t been asked.”

“Of course we won’t say a word,” said Pat. The twins went off together, and waited until Tessie had told Janet. Then the three of them whispered together excitedly about the twelve-o’clock party! It was fun to have a secret. It was fun to be asked by a second-former—chosen out of all the girls in their form!

Alison was very curious, for she knew quite well that her cousins had a secret. She kept badgering them to tell her.

“Oh, shut up, Alison,” said Pat. “Can’t we have a secret without telling the whole form?”

“It wouldn’t be telling the whole form, if you only told me,” said Alison, opening her blue eyes very wide and looking as beseeching as she could.

“My dear Alison, telling you would be quite the quickest way of telling the whole school!” said Pat. “You can’t keep your mouth shut about anything. You just go round and bleat out every single thing.”

This wasn’t very kind but it was perfectly true. Alison couldn’t keep anything to herself at all, and had so often given away little things that the twins had told her that now they left her out of all their secrets.

Alison went away, pouting. Erica, from the second form, saw her and went up to her. She was just as curious as Alison about other people’s plans and secrets.

“It’s a mean trick, to have plans and keep every one in the dark,” said Erica. “I know Tessie and Winnie have got some sort of plan too—it’s about Tessie’s birthday, I think. I wish we could find out about it. That would just serve them right.”

Alison didn’t like Erica. Few people did, for she really was a sneak. Not even the mistresses liked her, for they much preferred not to know what was going on rather than have Erica come telling tales.

So Alison would not take Erica’s hint and try to find out what was up, though she really longed to do so. Erica asked her again and again if she had discovered anything, but Alison stubbornly shook her head. Silly little vain thing as she was, she was not going to find out things to tell Erica.

Hetty, Susan and Nora kept their mouths shut too, about the party. Winnie, of course, did not say a word to any one except the four in her form who knew. So it was very difficult for Erica really to find out anything much. She guessed that it was to do with Tessie’s birthday—and she guessed it was a party—but how, where and when she had no idea.

The plans went steadily forward. Gladys, the little scullery maid, giggled when Tessie asked her for the loan of a frying-pan. She put one under her apron and went to find Tessie. On the way she met Erica.

“Whatever are you hiding under your apron, Gladys?” said Erica, with the high and mighty air that the servants so much disliked. Gladys tossed her neat little head.

“Nothing to do with you, miss,” she answered pertly. Erica was angry. She pulled Glady’s apron aside and saw the pan.

“Oho! For Miss Tessie’s party!” she said. It was only a guess—but Gladys at once thought Erica knew.

“Well, miss, if you knew, why did you ask me?” she said. “I’m to take it to the little music-room near Miss Tessie’s dormitory.”

Erica watched Gladys slip inside the music-room and put the pan into a cupboard, under a pile of music. It was Tessie’s birthday today. So the party was near—probably at night. The inquisitive girl burned with curiosity and jealousy.

Tessie was having a marvellous birthday. She was a popular girl, for she was amusing and lively. The girls gave her small presents and wished her many happy returns of the day. Tessie handed round a big box of chocolates to every one in her form. Her grandmother had sent it for her—and Tessie meant to share something with all her friends, even though she could not share her party with every one.

Erica kept as close as she could to Tessie and Winnie that day, hoping to find out something more about the party. She saw Tessie go to the cupboard where the oil-stoves were kept—and fetch out a big stove!

She did not dare to ask Tessie what she was doing with it, for Tessie had a sharp tongue for Erica. But she hid behind a door and watched Tessie through the crack.

Into the music-room went Tessie, carrying the heavy stove. Erica’s eyes shone with delight. She felt sure that the party was to be held there. “It will have to be after eleven,” thought the girl. “I know pretty well everything now—serves Tessie right for leaving me out! Nasty, sharp-tongued creature! I’ve a good mind to spoil the party!”

It is quite likely that Erica would have done nothing more, now that she was satisfied she knew the secret, if Winnie and Tessie had not caught her taking a chocolate from the big box that Tessie had handed round. Tessie had left it in her classroom, meaning to ask Miss Lewis, the history teacher, to have one. Erica had seen it there, and had not been able to stop herself from lifting the lid to look at the layers.

She could not resist taking one of the chocolates and popping it in to her mouth. After all, there were plenty! But just at that moment Tessie and Winnie came running into the room.

They stopped in amazement when they saw Erica hurriedly shutting the lid of the box. It was quite plain that she had a chocolate in her mouth.

“You are simply disgusting, Erica,” said Tessie, coldly. “If you’d wanted another and had asked me I’d have willingly given you as many as you wanted. But to sneak in and take one like that—you really are a disgusting creature.”

The two girls went out. Erica had not been able to say a word. A chocolate was only a chocolate—how dared Tessie speak to her like that? Erica’s cheeks burned and she longed to throw the whole box of sweets out of the window.

But she did not dare to. She went to her desk and slouched down into the seat. “Calling me disgusting!” said the girl, in a fury. “I won’t have it! I’ll pay her out for this! I’ll spoil her precious party! I’ll keep awake tonight till I see them going out of the dormitory—then I’ll find a way to have them all caught!”