CHAPTER XVI
The Autumn Term
Next day the monitresses reassembled in their sanctum at four o'clock to hold the short meeting which had been proposed. Laura had drawn up a list of very sensible and necessary rules, which it was their duty to see kept, and these were read, approved, and carried unanimously.
"It's all very fine for Laura to draft rules, but will she enforce them?" whispered Maudie Stearne to Bess Harrison. "I wish we could get her to be firmer with those juniors. She lets them take liberties continually."
"We'll try and keep her up to the mark," replied Bess, "and we must do all we can ourselves. It's well to have something to go upon, at any rate. I bless Laura for this list. I shall hold it over the heads of my set of youngsters, and make a special black roll of any sinners who transgress the least fraction of it."
"Woe betide IVb if they talk in the hall or make signals to each other across the studio again!" said Lottie aloud. "I think these regulations will about fix up the juniors, and if we stick to them we'll have no more trouble. Is this all the biz, or has anybody anything else to put to the meeting?"
"I have an idea," said Mildred. "You know you said yesterday that you wished your Twelfth Night revels could have the advantage of an orchestra. You're afraid the piano alone will sound so thin. Well, I've been thinking it over, and I believe we could get up quite a decent little band amongst the Alliance. Mary Fawcett plays the violin very well, and Lizzie Lucian, Clare Verrall, and Mary Langworthy are getting along nicely now with Herr Hoffmann. Then don't you remember the girl who played a solo for Templeton at the Eisteddfod?—Erica Newstead, I think her name was. They've a girl at the Anglo-German, too, who I believe is quite good, though they didn't trot her out at their concert. I'm sure, if we asked her, that Ella Martin would come and help us, and with myself that would make eight violins. Then Millicent Greenwood plays the 'cello, and we'd invite that girl who did the solo for Newington Green—Althea Ledbury. With four first violins, four second violins, two violoncellos, and the piano we should have quite a jolly band. What do you think of my project?"
"Ripping!" agreed the girls.
"It sounds splendid," said Lottie, "but there are just one or two things we ought to make clear. First, who's going to conduct? You and Ella will both be needed to play."