Then Kitty had an inspiration.
"I say, girls, I've got a brain-wave. Duane'll be coming along in a minute, you know, when Miss Carslake's finished with her. Isn't there a match against St. Magdalene's to-morrow?" and Kitty proceeded to impart her "brain-wave" to her interested audience.
When Duane, a little later, strolled into the hall with leisurely step and tranquil mien, and found the whole school assembled there and regarding her with ludicrously solemn, immovable faces, a little of her coolness deserted her. She eyed them uneasily for a moment. Why this remarkable silence? Why did they all stare at her so hard?
Then Salome called from the dais at the top end of the room:
"Oh, is it you, Duane? Just the person we want. Come along up here. We have a little business transaction to carry out."
Duane recovered her customary calm, and, mounting the dais, bowed exaggeratedly to Salome.
"Well met by gaslight, proud Titania."
Somebody giggled, then subsided with a little squeak.
Salome looked at Duane. "The school sports club have great pleasure in presenting you with this," she said gravely and very distinctly. "They have also put your name down in the eleven for the match against St. Mary Magdalene's to-morrow, and hope you will play. They also wish me to say," and there was a slight tremor in her voice, "that they are quite convinced that you have always worn it with honour in the past, and they know you will continue to do so in the future."
The tension relaxed with a tumultuous burst of applause. Duane, her old hockey colour tightly clutched in the hand that hung at her side, bit her lip hard to control its trembling. But only for the moment. With the loud, delighted yells of "Speech, Speech!" from everybody sounding on all sides, she turned and faced them, speaking in the old familiar drawl as soon as the noise had died down.