"If you like to put it that way. Just as if you hadn't a serious thought or a care in the world—as if our situation wasn't—well—decidedly an uncomfortable one?"
"Oh, I don't know. Because I'm a geni-ass, I suppose."
"Shall I tell you what I think? You just do it to keep everybody's spirits up and be cheerful."
"You mean, to make out to people I'm not afraid or I don't care? Yes, perhaps I do," replied Duane, with a note of thoughtfulness in her voice.
"But I don't mean that a bit. You do it just because you aren't afraid."
"Oh, am I not? I feel in an awful funk at times, but I should feel frightfully humiliated if I let anyone see or guess it."
There was another pause. Duane was evidently in a thoughtful and unusually serious mood, for she went on:
"I've an unfortunate manner, I believe, but I've been brought up to think it correct and couldn't get rid of it now if I wanted to try. I always ambled along here happily and serenely enough till all the Carslake Sixth-formers took it into their heads to leave and Prinny sent for me and informed me that she intended giving me the honour of the head prefectship. I funked it horribly, but Prinny was a dear and I had to take it on. Honestly, I meant to do my best, though I felt rather crushed. Do you remember that frightfully serious jaw Prinny gave us, the beginning of last term? But I'm terribly lazy, I know, and as I said, I've an unfortunate manner and I'm afraid I made a hopeless mess of things."
Duane gave her explanations with matter-of-fact, almost impersonal simplicity. Kitty's thoughts were in such a jumble that she hardly knew what to say. She felt she must say something of what was in her mind, though, so she blurted out:
"That's all nonsense. A mess, indeed! Look at Sports Day—look at the hockey match——"