At the order for dismissal everyone filed off back to the houses. Salome wanted to seek out the winner and offer her congratulations, but somehow felt that such a course was now impossible. It would seem such a farcical proceeding after that dreadful silence in the hall. She felt still more uncomfortable when one of her own seniors said to her, "Hard luck, Salome! Duane Estevan ought to have been disqualified for her sneaking attempt at cheating."
Salome checked such remarks as well as she could, pointing out that, whether Duane had attempted to spoil her experiment or not, her own work must have been the best or she would not have gained the highest total.
"Oh, she's clever enough. We all know that," remarked one Upper Fifth-former rather bitterly. "In fact, she's a bit too clever sometimes."
Meanwhile Duane had returned to her own house with the Carslake seniors in an uncomfortable silence. She herself uttered no words and the others did not know what to say. The climax came when they entered the common-room. The girls were standing about in idle groups, though the supper bell had gone. The head prefect spoke as she passed through.
"You shouldn't be standing about like this, you know. You ought to be in the dining-room. The bell has gone."
Everybody stopped talking and looked up. No one moved, however; then someone hissed deliberately and one or two laughed sneeringly. Duane bit her lip and the colour ran up under her skin. For a moment she stood irresolute, then turned and walked off. The rest of the girls went in to supper, but the head prefect's place was vacant. After supper the seniors drifted upstairs together into Hilary's study where they conversed desultorily on the holidays, now very near. In a few minutes Duane appeared and sauntered into the room. The six girls looked up uncomfortably. It was Duane who spoke first, with a drawl that was more than usually pronounced.
"I've just given in to Miss Carslake my resignation of the head prefectship."
"You've resigned, Duane?" stammered Margaret.
"No, you haven't really!" cried France.
"Yes, I have. What else could I do? As matters are, it's a mere farce my being head prefect."