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It proved to be so full of "ginger" that the editorial staff of Macintyre's was delighted, and made suggestions as to another article; at which point Thyrsis made a desperate effort and summoned up his courage, and insinuated politely that his stuff was worth five cents a word. The editor-in-chief replied promptly that that seemed to him proper. Two hundred dollars for an article!
"Who are her young ladies, and why?" he asked. "Allison, Kitty, Betty, and I. You see, Sylvia's grandfathah was the MacIntyre's coachman befoah the wah, and her mothah is our old Aunt Cindy. She considahs that she belongs to us and we belong to her."
The girls were not allowed to be questioned as to their intentions in this open competition, and the teachers therefore assumed that although the different essays had gone to the head-mistress in their sealed envelopes under feigned names, and the other prizes had been competed for and were waiting a judgment in Mrs Macintyre's room, Holly would doubtless have plenty of time to perform something brilliant, and they only hoped not too reckless, early on the following day.
'I don't think I ever saw so wicked a girl, thought Magsie to herself. The wicked girl in question thought, however, that prudence was the better part of valour, and went downstairs without delay to Mrs Macintyre's beautiful private sitting-room. She looked cross; she looked sulky; she looked, in short, all that a poor jealous nature could look, and there was not a trace of repentance about her.
'And for my sake you 'll abstain from tricks in the school? 'I 'll not promise; but, at the same time, I 'll do my level best. Hollyhock, notwithstanding Mrs Macintyre's great kindness, spent a really wretched day.
Macintyre's first act was to subject the propeller nut to a very careful examination, after which he fixed a big spanner in position and threw his whole weight upon it, assisted by Jack, who was pulling at a rope attached to the extreme end of the spanner handle.
'I am, replied Hollyhock. 'That's a dear child; and now you will try not to get into further mischief. But to this speech of kind Mrs Macintyre's Hollyhock made no answer, for mischief was the breath of life to her, and to live without it was practically to live without air, without food, without consolation.
Except for a broader grin in token that they heard Mrs. MacIntyre's questions, they were as unresponsive as six little black kittens, and Keith, coming up just then, was sent to find Miss Allison. "They always talk for auntie," he said. "She is over in one of the tents, and I'll go get her." Keith was right.
Bob, Bob, they're not thinking of us at home in the old place I'll warrant, and to-morrow we may be stricken corpses for the king without so much as Macintyre's stretching-board to give us a soger's chest and shoulders."
On the other side of the fence lay the railroad track, which skirted the back of Mrs. MacIntyre's place for over half a mile. "Do you see that hand-car?" asked Keith, pointing with his riding-whip to one on the track. "The section boss let Malcolm and me ride up and down on it all afternoon one day this winter.
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