The Slow Girl at St. Jane's [antikvár]

CHAPTER I THE WEAKLY BOARDER " AND there was a shipwreck," said Tony Martin in a low XX voice, " and my father and mother were drowned. Off Port EUzabeth. But Mr. Maplestone, our head girl's father, was on board and saved us, saved my twin sister and me. We were only three months old then. That's why I must always be decent to Muriel Maplestone, his daughter. You understand. Toby and I owe the Maplestones everything" " But you don't like Muriel," said the French girl called Renée Landu. " She is ugly; she is foolish." " I never said I liked her. But it's a most strange chance that she and I should be at St. Jane's school together, and of course I want awfully to shake hands with her father, and thank him for saving my life and Toby's. And he's never been back to England, but he is coming home next year from Africa, and he's coming here, and I shall be able to thank him," said Tony cheerfully. " Meanwhile now and ever after I must stick up for Muriel. Rather!" They were in the fourth form cubby-hole at St. Jane's School in the Isle of Wight, snatching a few minutes' leisure, and the three of them, Tony, her friend Jill, and her admirer Renée, were busily modelling with lumps of plasticine. Tony, thinking of the head girl, thinking also of that stormy night long ago, of rain and tempest, and of the strong kind hands that had saved her and her twin, began absently enough to model a litde head of Muriel. Jill looked at it with glowing eyes. " It's awfully good, Tony! "