“It—it was a long way from here,” responded Nancy, slowly.
She couldn’t bear to tell even Jennie—with whom she so desired to be friends—where Higbee School was located. Of course, Jennie noticed this point of mystery, and she looked at Nancy curiously. The latter couldn’t find another word to say.
She skated off by herself. The ringing ice was delightful. Nancy skated as well as any boy, while she was naturally—being a girl—more graceful in her motions.
She sped like a dart across the river, came around in a great curve, like a bird tacking against a stiff breeze, and then started back “on the roll.”
Hands in her jersey pockets, her skates tapping the ice firmly as she bore her weight first on one, then on the other foot, Nancy seemed fairly to float over the frozen river.
She saw a group of girls and boys standing about where the Hall boundary was; but she did not recognize any of them until she was rolling past. Then she heard Grace Montgomery’s shrill voice:
“Oh, she’s only showing off. Her name’s Nelson. Cora knows all about her.”
“No, I don’t,” snapped Cora Rathmore’s voice. “But she’s chummed on me.”
Nancy heard no more. She didn’t want to. She realized that, after all, behind her back these girls were speaking just as unkindly of her as ever.
Suddenly she realized that the group had broken up. At least, one of the boys had darted out of it and was racing down toward her.