Читать книгу The Secret Play - Ralph Henry Barbour - Страница 5

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The Brents lived in a fine, large house two blocks beyond Gordon. Mr. John Brent was Clearfield’s richest and most influential citizen, and “Brentwood,” as his estate was called, was quite the most luxurious in town. The house stood back from the street in a full block of land, and to-night, as Dick and his sister Grace, a pretty, dark-haired girl of thirteen, approached it from the gate, lights shone from many windows and it looked most imposing. As the evening was mild, Louise Brent, hostess for the occasion, assembled her guests on the big screened porch at the side of the house which was much more like a room than a veranda. There were gaily-colored rugs on the floor, many comfortable wicker chairs, a table that held a broad-shaded electric lamp, and plants in tubs and boxes. When all had gathered the chairs were filled and Morris Brent, Louise’s brother, removed a plant from a willow stool and took its place, trying, as Gordon said, to look like a begonia!

Morris was a handsome, finely built boy of sixteen. He was sometimes accused of snobbishness, but in justice to him it should be said that his snobbishness was more apparent than real. Being the only son of John Brent had always made it a little difficult for Morris to win acceptance amongst the fellows on his own merits. Louise resembled Morris but little. While, like him, she was tall, unlike him she had a very fair skin, hair that was more nearly yellow than brown, and blue eyes. Her prettiness was due more to her expression of sweetness and animation than to her features. She was a year younger than Morris.

The other girls of the party were Grace Lovering, Nell Sawin and May Burnham. Nell was sixteen, a round, good-natured girl whom everybody liked, and May Burnham was fourteen, slim, dark and quiet. She was a cousin of Louise’s.

Lansing White completed the quartette of boys. Lanny was sixteen, having reached that mature age within the past fortnight, a lean, capable-looking youth with flaxen hair and eyes so darkly brown that at first glance they seemed black, an illusion probably due to the contrast with the very light hair. He was perhaps the most popular boy in high school, and his popularity was not entirely due to his athletic prowess. He had the fine faculty of making friends instantly and keeping them afterwards. There wasn’t a kinder-hearted or more thoughtful fellow in town than Lanny White, and if he had an enemy no one knew it. Lanny was captain of the eleven, caught on the nine and was a sprinter of no mean ability.

It was May Burnham who explained the project, since it was she who had originated it, and afterwards they all discussed it. Mr. Grayson’s birthday fell on the twenty-fifth of October, and, as Morris pointed out, they had only some five weeks in which to prepare for it. Louise read from a list the articles necessary to a thorough refurnishing of the Principal’s office at the High School. There must be a new rug, a flat-topped desk, a swivel-chair, an easy-chair, a straight-backed chair, a revolving book-case and a filing-cabinet; although, as Louise explained, the latter wasn’t so important since the one now in use was in good condition.

“Only,” she said, “we thought the other furniture ought to be mahogany, and the filing-cabinet there now is oak and it would look sort of funny, I suppose, with the other things.”

“How much would all that cost?” asked Lanny anxiously.

“We don’t know exactly. We can get the furniture from a New York store where papa buys things and they will give it to us at a discount.”

“How much of a discount?” asked Dick.

“Thirty per cent.,” replied Morris. “That would make quite a difference. Read the prices we figured, Louise.”

“Rug, sixteen dollars,” announced his sister, referring again to the paper; “desk, forty-five; revolving book-case, twelve; swivel-chair, twelve; easy-chair, twenty; straight chair, five; filing-cabinet, eighteen. Total, one hundred and twenty-eight.”

There was a moment’s silence. Then Gordon whistled expressively. Dick shook his head.

“That’s a lot of money to have to get in four weeks,” he said.

“Five,” said Morris.

“Well, five, if you like, Morris, but we’d probably have to pay for the things before we got them and it would take a week to get them here, I guess.”

“There are nearly three hundred students in school,” said Grace Lovering, “and if each only gave fifty cents we’d have a hundred and fifty.”

“I know, but some won’t give anything—a few won’t, that is—and some will give nearer a quarter than a half.”

“And a lot will give a dollar,” protested Nell Sawin. “I’m going to give two dollars, and so is May, and Louise says she will give five!”

“Let’s start the list now,” said Louise. “Get some paper, Morris, and a pen, won’t you? I think either Dick or Lanny ought to head it.”

“I’m afraid I can’t give more than a dollar,” said Dick. “So perhaps someone else had better start it.”

“You do it, Louise,” suggested Gordon. “Five dollars will look pretty good at the top of it.”

“I thought of that,” said Louise, “but we were afraid it would look as if we expected everyone to give as much. And of course we don’t want anyone to give more than he feels he can afford.”

“It’s up to Lanny, then,” said Morris, returning with paper and pen. “Who’s going to write this, and what do you want to say?”

“You do it,” replied his sister. “Just write ‘The undersigned agree to subscribe the amounts set against their names for the purpose—the purpose——’”

“For the Twenty-fifth of October Fund,” suggested Dick. “Better not put it down on paper. And I’d add that the subscriber hereby promises to keep still about it.”

“Good idea,” commended Morris, writing under the lamp. “How’s this, then? ‘Subscription List. The undersigned agree to subscribe to the fund known as the Twenty-fifth of October Fund the sums set down against their names, and hereby promise not to divulge the purpose of said fund.’”

“A good many ‘funds’ in it,” objected Lanny.

“Let’s hope so,” replied May, with a laugh. “Don’t be critical. I think it’s lovely, Morris.”

“All right. Here’s the pen, Lanny. Put your ‘John Hancock’ on the first line.”

“Your slang pains me, Morris,” murmured Lanny. “It’s only going to be two dollars, folks.”

“Only two dollars!” said Gordon. “Gee, that’s a lot! Who’s next? You are, Dick.”

Dick signed and the list went to Louise and then to Morris, the latter duplicating his sister’s subscription.

“Seems to me,” said Morris, as he handed the pen to May Burnham, “May should have headed it. She started the trouble.”

“Of course!” agreed Louise. “Perhaps there’s room above Lanny’s name. Is there?”

“Yes, but I’d rather not,” replied May. “I’ll write here, and”—she looked around almost defiantly—“I believe I’ll say three instead of two!”

“Then I will!” exclaimed Nell. “We don’t have to pay for four weeks, do we?”

“We’d ought to pay when we sign, I think,” said Dick, “but I can’t, and so I don’t insist.”

“Neither can I,” said Lanny. “Who’s next? Has Gordon signed? Be a sport, Gordie, and put down a hundred!”

“I’m doing it,” answered Gordon, “only I’m putting a dot where it will do the most good.”

When the list was finally returned to Louise that young lady exclaimed delightedly, “Why, we’ve got twenty-one dollars already! Isn’t that fine?”

“Enough to get the easy-chair!” said Nell. “Why, at this rate it won’t take us any time to get it all!”

“Maybe the others won’t be enthusiastic, though,” replied Gordon. “By the way, were those prices you gave the prices we’ll have to pay for the things, Louise?”

“Why, no! We forgot that! We won’t have to pay nearly so much, will we? Thirty per cent. of one hundred and twenty-eight is—is——”

“Thirty-seven-forty,” said Morris.

“Thirty-eight dollars and forty cents,” corrected May. “Then we will have to pay only about—about ninety dollars! That’s lovely!”

“Say a hundred, to be on the safe side,” advised Dick. “I guess we can manage that. The question is now, how are we going at it? Wouldn’t it be well to have several lists and——”

“Have four,” said Lanny. “You take one and Gordon will take one——”

“Thank you!” muttered Gordon.

“And Louise and Nell can have the other two.”

And so it was arranged, in spite of Gordon’s lack of enthusiasm, and that necessitated the making of four new lists with two signatures on each.

“I want to see you destroy that first subscription of mine,” announced Lanny. “If I had to pay two dollars twice I’d be broke all the Fall!”

“Observe, then,” replied Morris. “Across and across! There! Now let’s have those eats, Sis.”

While they devoured the sandwiches and cake and lemonade that Louise brought in a minute later they elected that young lady Treasurer of the Fund, appointed her and Morris and May a Committee on Purchase and finally broke up, Dick declaring that since school began in the morning he believed it would be a good idea to glance at one or two books. After saying good night to the others, he and Grace took their departure, followed a few minutes later by Lanny, Gordon, May and Nell. Having escorted the girls to their homes, Lanny and Gordon walked back together to B Street. Quite naturally, their conversation had to do with football affairs, and Lanny confessed that he was getting pretty discouraged.

“Mr. Grayson says we ought to get along without a coach and use what money we’d pay one to repair the grandstand and the fence. There isn’t a bit of good spending money on that grandstand, Gordon. We need a new one. And I just wish Grayson had my job awhile! He’d find out what a lot of fun it is to turn out a football team without a coach. I put my name down for two dollars for a present to him, but I think I’d a heap rather kick him in the shins sometimes!”

Lanny’s laugh, however, threw doubt on his assertion.

“We play Highland Hall Saturday, don’t we?” asked Gordon.

“Yes. Highland doesn’t trouble me any, though. We could beat her with the Scrubs. But Locust Valley comes the Saturday after, and those fellows have a mighty good team as a usual thing. I don’t suppose it would hurt us to get beaten. Might be a good thing. Still, if you’re captain you sort of like to have a clean slate, if you can.”

“Have you heard from the man at Westport? Cotner said you were after someone there.”

“Not yet. I don’t even know that he’s still there. I don’t suppose he will want to come, anyhow. We can’t pay enough to make it worth his while. It’s a shame we can’t have a graduate coaching system, as Springdale has. She doesn’t seem to have much trouble getting coaches. That chap Newman who has been coaching her for three or four years is a dandy. I’ll bet she’ll beat us again this year; maybe worse than she did last!”

“Don’t you believe it, Lanny! Cheer up and hear the birdies sing! Things will turn out all right in a few days. You see if they don’t.”

“Hope so, I’m sure. I’m willing to do my level best, but I can’t be captain and coach and everything else. We’ve got a poor lot of new men this Fall, too. And then there’s Morris’s leg to worry about. The doctor says he can play and Morris says his leg’s all right, but if we go to work and build up the team around his kicking and then he has another injury to it or his father says he can’t play we’ll be in a nice fix! We’ve got to develop a couple of punters somehow, but I’m sure I don’t know where to look for them. Wayland isn’t so poor, but he doesn’t seem to get the hang of it. Well, good night, Gordon. Sorry I’ve bothered you.”

“That’s all right,” laughed the other. “It will do you good to get it off your chest. You’ll find, though, that the fellows will all work harder, Lanny, if they’ve got it to do. And—and I’ll tell you what I’ll do.”

“Spring it!”

“I’ll bet you the sodas at Castle’s that we have a coach within a week.”

“Take you! I’d buy Castle’s whole soda fountain if I could get a coach that way. Good night!”