alking in her sleep!" whispered the girls.
Now in this horrible emergency Marjorie had to act promptly or not at
all. She decided that her best course was to go on shamming
somnambulism. She walked down the corridor, therefore, with a rapid,
stealthy step.
Miss Norton turned on the frightened girls, and, whispering: "Don't
disturb her on any account!" followed in the wake of her pupil.
Then began a most exciting promenade. Marjorie, with eyes set in a stony
glare, marched downstairs into the hall. She stood for a moment by the
front door, as if speculating whether to unlock it or not. She could
hear Miss Norton breathing just behind her, and was almost tempted to
try the experiment of shooting back at least one bolt, but decided it
was wiser not to run the risk. Instead she walked into the house
mistress's study, turned over a few papers in an abstracted fashion,
threw them back on to the table, and went towards the window. Here again
Miss Norton shadowed her closely, evidently suspecting that she had
designs of opening it and climbing out. She turned round, however, and,
with apparently unseeing eyes, stared in the teacher's face, and stole
stealthily back up the stairs. At her own bedroom door she paused, in
seeming uncertainty as to whether to enter or not. Miss Norton laid a
gentle hand on her arm, and guided her quietly into her room and towards
her bed. Marjorie decided to take the hint. Wandering about in a
nightdress, with bare feet, was a very cold performance, and it was all
she could do to prevent herself from palpably shivering. Keeping up her
part, she gave a gentle little sigh, got into bed, laid her head on her
pillow, and closed her eyes. She could feel Miss Norton pulling the
clothes over her, and, with another quivering sigh, she sank apparently
into deepest slumber. The teacher stayed a few minutes watching her,
then, as she never moved, went very quietly away and closed the door
after her.
Nothing was said at head-quarters next morning about the night's
adventures, but Miss Norton looked rather carefully at Marjorie, asked
her if she felt well, and told her she was to go to Nurse Hall every day
at eleven in the Ambulance Room for a dose of tonic. Marjorie, who had
not intended her practical joke to run to such lengths, felt rather
ashamed of herself, but dared not confess.
"There'd be a terrific scene if Norty knew," she said to Betty, and
Betty agreed with her.
In the afternoon, when Ma
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