"Why is Carslake's cricket team like a tadpole?"
"Because one day it'll be a frog," hazily returned Hilary, who was in her usual post as scorer for her house.
"No, silly, because it's chiefly tail," retorted Paddy, triumphantly.
"You mean, 'and thereby hangs a tale,'" said Hilary, solemnly, refusing to see the point since it was made against her side.
However, although Carslake's only succeeded in making a moderate total themselves, Kitty's bowling was more successful this time. She not only bowled overhand with remarkable accuracy for a girl, but managed to make the ball break in a formidable fashion; and supported by some really smart ground fielding and catching on the part of the juniors, she dismissed Green's for a more moderate total still, leaving Carslake's victors by about a dozen runs.
This triumph acted as a badly needed tonic, and when, a week later, the house also defeated Green's at tennis, the seniors began to congratulate themselves that the "bad time" was over and the house was at last looking up. Alas! no one had the slightest presentiment of the trouble that Fate had in store for them before that term was ended.
CHAPTER IV
THE RICHOTER SCIENCE PRIZE
Everybody at Easthampton, new girls and old, knew all about the Richoter Science Prize. That and the Essay Medal were the "scholastic plums" of the year, as Hilary said. This year Salome, the head prefect of Sheerston's, was undoubtedly the favourite for the science prize. But a good deal of excitement was aroused when Duane, after returning from a rather mysterious interview with the Principal, announced somewhat lugubriously that Miss St. Leger strongly advised her to enter for the Richoter, and that Miss Vacher spoke highly of her natural ability at the subject and considered that she had a very good chance, if she did her best, of winning the prize.
The other Carslake heroes naturally thought this a brilliant notion on the part of the Principal. Their house would now have a candidate to represent it, and if, by any chance, Duane managed to win the prize, what a triumph for Carslake's! They solemnly assured their doleful-looking head prefect that they would help her as much as they possibly could.