CHAPTER V

HESTER AT HOME

If Hester had arrived at the Grimes's house in two cabs instead of one it would have aroused her mother to little comment; for, for some years now, her daughter had grown quite beyond her control and Mrs.

Grimes had learned not to comment upon Hester's actions. Yet, oddly enough, Hester was neither a wild girl nor a silly girl; she was merely bold, bad tempered, and wilful.

Mrs. Grimes was a large, lymphatic lady, given to loose wrappers until late in the day, and the enjoyment of unlimited novels. "Comfort above all" was the good lady's motto. She had suffered much privation and had worked hard, during Mr. Grimes's beginnings in trade, for Hester's father had worked up from an apprentice butcher boy in a retail store--was a "self-made man."

Mr. Grimes was forever talking about how he had made his own way in the world without the help of any other person; but he was, nevertheless, purse-proud and arrogant. Hester could not fail to be somewhat like her father in this. She believed that Money was the touchstone of all good in the world. But Mrs. Grimes was naturally a kindly disposed woman, and sometimes her mother's homely virtues cropped out in Hester--as note her interest in the Doyles. She was impulsively generous, but expected to find the return change of grat.i.tude for every kindly dollar she spent.

They had a big and ornate house, in which the servants did about as they liked for all of Mrs. Grimes's oversight. The latter admitted that she knew how to do a day's wash as well as any woman--perhaps would have been far more happy had she been obliged to do such work, too; but she had no executive ability, and the girls in the kitchen did well or ill as they listed.

Now that Hester was growing into a young lady, she occasionally went into the servants' quarters and tried to set things right in imitation of her father's bl.u.s.tering oversight of his slaughter house--without Mr. Grimes's thorough knowledge of the work and conditions in hand. So Hester's interference in domestic affairs usually resulted in a "blow-up" of all concerned and a scramble for new servants at the local agencies.

Under these circ.u.mstances it may be seen that the girl's home life was neither happy nor inspiring. The kindly, gentle things of life escaped Hester Grimes. She unfortunately scorned her mother for her "easy"

habits; she admired her father's bullying ways and his ability to make money. And she missed the sweetening influence of a well-conducted home where the inmates are polite and kind to one another.

Hester was abundantly healthy, possessed personal courage to a degree--as Dr. Agnew had observed--was not naturally unkind, and had other qualities that, properly trained and moulded, would have made her a very nice girl indeed. But having no home restraining influences, the rough corners of Hester Grimes's character had never been smoothed down.

Her friendship with Lily Pendleton was not like the "chumminess" of other girls. Lily's mother came of one of the "first families" of Centerport, and moved in a circle that the Grimeses could never hope to attain, despite their money. Through her friendship with Lily, who was in miniature already a "fine lady," Hester obtained a slight hold upon the fringe of society. But even Lily was lost to her at times.

"Why ain't I seen your friend Lily so much lately?" asked Mrs. Grimes, languidly, the evening of the day Hester had plunged into the sewer and rescued little Johnny Doyle.

"Oh, between dancing school and Purt Sweet, Lil has about got her silly head turned," said Hester, tossing her own head.

"My goodness me!" drawled Mrs. Grimes, "that child doesn't take young Purt Sweet seriously, does she?"

"Whoever heard of anybody's taking Pretty seriously?" laughed Hester.

"Only Pretty himself believes that he has anything in his head but mush! Last time Mrs. Pendleton had an evening reception, Purt got an invite, and went. Something happened to him--he knocked over a vase, or trod on a lady's dress, or something awkward--and the next afternoon Lil caught him walking up and down in front of their house, trying to screw up courage enough to ring the bell.

"'What's the matter, Purt?' asked Lily, going up to him.

"'Oh, Miss Lily!' cries Purt. 'What did your mother say when you told her I was sorry for having made a fool of myself at the party last night?'

"'Why,' says Lil, 'she said she didn't notice anything unusual in your actions.'

"Wasn't _that_ a slap? And now Lil is letting Purt run around with her and act as if he owned her--just because he's a good dancer."

"My dear!" yawned her mother. "I should think you'd join that dancing cla.s.s."

"I'll wait till I'm asked, I hope," muttered Hester. "Everybody doesn't get to join it. We're not in that set--and we might as well admit it. And I don't believe we ever will be."

"I'm certainly glad!" complained her mother, rustling the leaves of her book. "Your father is always pushing me into places where I don't want to go. He had a deal in business with Colonel Swayne, and he insisted that I call on Mrs. Kerrick. They're awfully stuck-up folks, Hess."

"I see Mrs. Kerrick's carriage standing at the Beldings' gate quite often, just the same," muttered Hester.

"Yes--I know," said her mother. "They make a good deal of Laura. Well, they didn't make much of me. When I walked into the grounds and started up the front stoop, a butler, or footman, or something, all togged up in livery, told me that I must go around to the side door if I had come to see the cook. And he didn't really seem anxious to take my card."

"Oh, Mother!" exclaimed Hester.

"You needn't tell your father. I don't blame 'em. They've got their own friends and we've got ourn. No use pushing out of our cla.s.s."

"You should have gone in the carriage," complained Hester.

"I don't like that stuffy hack," said her mother. "It smells of--of liv'ry stables and--and funerals! If your father would set up a carriage of his own----"

"Or buy an automobile instead of hiring one for us occasionally,"

finished Hester.

For with all his love of display, the wholesale butcher was a thrifty person.

With Lily so much interested for the time in other matters, Hester found her only recreation at the athletic field; and for several days after the mysterious raid upon the girls' gymnasium there was not much but talk indulged in about the building. Then new basketb.a.l.l.s were procured and the regular practice in that game went on.

In a fortnight would come the first inter-school match of the fall term--a game between Central High girls and the representative team of East High of Centerport. In the last match game the East High girls had won--and many of the girls of Central High believed that the game went to their compet.i.tors because of Hester Grimes's fouling.

There was more talk of this now. Some of the girls did not try to hide their dislike for Hester. Nellie Agnew did not speak to her at all, and the latter was inclined to accuse Nellie of being the leader in this apparent effort to make Hester feel that she was looked upon with more than suspicion. The mystery of the gymnasium raid overshadowed the whole school; but the shadow fell heaviest on Hester Grimes.

"She did it!"

"She's just mean enough to do it!"

"She said she hated us!"

"It's just like her--she spoils everything she can't boss!"

She could read these expressions on the lips of her fellow students.

Hester Grimes began to pay for her ill-temper, and the taste of this medicine was bitter indeed.

CHAPTER VI

THE FIRST GAME

It would have been hard to tell how the suspicion took form among the girls of Central High that Hester Grimes knew more than she should regarding the gymnasium mystery. Whether she had spoiled the paraphernalia herself, or hired somebody to do it for her, was the point of the discussion carried on wherever any of the girls--especially those of her own cla.s.s--met for conference.

Older people scoffed at the idea of a girl having committed the crime.

And, indeed, it was a complete mystery how the marauder got into the building and out again. Bill Jackway, the watchman, was worried almost sick over it; he was afraid of losing his job.

Bobby Hargrew was about the only girl in Central High who "lost no sleep over the affair," as she expressed it. And that wasn't because she was not keenly interested in the mystery. Indeed, like Nellie, she had seen at the beginning that suspicion pointed to Hester Grimes. And perhaps Bobby believed at the bottom of her heart that Hester had brought about the destruction. Bobby and Hester had forever been at daggers' points.

Bobby, however, was as full of mischief and fun as ever.

"Oh, girls!" she exclaimed, to a group waiting at the girls' entrance to the school building one morning. "I've got the greatest joke on Gee Gee! Listen to it."

"What have you done now, you bad, bad child?" demanded Nellie. "You'll miss playing goal guard against East High if you don't look out. Miss Carrington is watching you."