"Well, you are certainly light and skinny rather than fat," she admitted, "and you look as if you could run. Come on round with me and let's see how long you can last."
Nat started off with a burst of speed, but glancing round after covering two or three hundred yards she found that Monica was only a few feet behind her. "Yes, you can run quite fast," she jerked out, then dropped into a jog-trot. When they had circled the garden several times, Nat pulled up, breathing deeply; Monica was still a few feet behind her, red in the face and panting, but showing no signs of wanting to give up yet.
"I really believe you could do it," Nat declared. "Well, I'll try to work it for you, but I don't know if the rest of the girls will be willing, particularly the Fifth."
When Nat announced that she had chosen Monica as her fellow-hare, there was a general chorus of disapproval.
"But why not?" Nat persisted. "What's your objection? She's quite a good runner or I wouldn't have chosen her."
"You know why not," replied Glenda coldly. "We object to having a girl like that sharing in our pastimes."
"But why do you object?"
"You know why, well enough. Because of what happened a week ago."
"But are you going on punishing her for that for the rest of her life at school? She's done nothing else so desperately wicked. Besides, she hasn't really been proved guilty yet. Prinny said she was going to wait a few days before making any decision. Time enough for us to follow suit when Prinny sets the example."
Some of the more peace-loving, milder-tempered girls looked at each other, obviously impressed by Nat's arguments. After all, you couldn't keep the hymn of hate going for ever.