A Popular Schoolgirl Angela Brazil (best novels for beginners TXT) 📖
- Author: Angela Brazil
Book online «A Popular Schoolgirl Angela Brazil (best novels for beginners TXT) 📖». Author Angela Brazil
“You’re an absolute trump!” she assured him.
“Well, a fellow’s always got a decent sister to take about, anyway,” he replied enigmatically, a remark over which Ingred pondered, but could not fathom.
She mentioned the jaunt at the family supper-table on Friday evening. To her immense surprise her innocent remark had somewhat the effect of a bomb. Mr. Saxon turned to his son with a sudden keen expression, as if he had convicted him of a crime. Mrs. Saxon’s face also was full of suppressed meaning, while Egbert colored furiously, looked thunderous at his sister, and relapsed into sulky silence. Poor Ingred felt that she had, quite unconsciously, put her foot in it, though how or why she could not tell. She said no more at the time, and when, afterwards, she ventured to refer again to the subject, she was so tremendously shut up that she saw clearly it was discreet to make no further inquiry. Plainly there was some tremendous quarrel between Egbert and his father, for they were barely on speaking terms.
Mr. Saxon threw out occasional inuendoes that caused his son finally to stump from the room. Mrs. Saxon went about with a cloud of distress on her face, and Quenrede, to whom Ingred applied for enlightenment, promptly and pointedly changed the subject. It was miserably uncomfortable, for father and son were like two Leyden jars charged with electricity, and ready to let fly at any moment. It was only the mother’s influence that averted a family thunderstorm. Athelstane, too, seemed in the depths of gloom. He was willing, however, to communicate his woes.
“I want a whole heap more medical books,” he confided to his sister, “and Dad says he can’t get them, and I must manage without. How on earth can I manage without. What’s the use of my going to College if I haven’t the proper textbooks? I can’t always be borrowing. If I fail in my exams, it will be his fault, not mine. He’s the most absolutely unreasonable man anybody could have to deal with. Of course I know they’re expensive, and funds are low, but I’ve simply got to have them, or chuck up medicine!”
“It’s so terrible to be poor!” sighed Quenrede, thinking of the old, happy prewar days at Rotherwood, when everything came so easily, and there were no struggles to make ends meet.
She talked the matter over afterwards with Ingred.
“If I could only help somehow!” she mourned. “I’ve often thought I might go out and earn something, but Mother’s not strong, and I really do a great deal in the house. If I went away and left her with only ‘The Orphan,’ she’d be laid up in a fortnight. As it is, she tries to do far too much. How could we possibly get some money for Athelstane’s books? We’d rather die than ask our friends!”
Ingred shook her head sadly. Wild ideas surged through her mind of disguising herself and sweeping a crossing—there were stories of wealthy crossing-sweepers—or rivaling Charlie Chaplin on the cinema stage, but somehow they did not seem quite practicable for a girl of sixteen. She left Quenrede’s question unanswered. It was only late on Saturday afternoon that a great idea came to her. Great—but so overwhelming that she winced at the bare notion. It was as if some inner voice said to her: “Sell Derry!” Now Derry, the fox terrier, was her very own property. He had been given to her two years before by a cousin as a birthday present. He was of prize breed, and had brought his pedigree with him. He was a smart, bright little fellow, and on the whole a favorite in the household, though he sometimes got into trouble for jumping on to the best chairs and leaving his hairs on the cushions. It had never particularly struck Ingred that Derry was of
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