“Well, what is it? Don’t keep me in suspense any longer.”
“Why, it’s just this: Flossy Fisher overheard Miss Oliphant say——”
“Oh, if Flossy was eavesdropping I don’t want to hear what she heard.”
“No, she wasn’t eavesdropping; honest, she wasn’t, Patty. But she was just passing through the hall, and she couldn’t help hearing Miss Oliphant say it to Miss Fenton. Miss Oliphant had just come out of her private study, where she had been making up the averages. And she said to Miss Fenton that you and Lorraine were exactly even.”
“What? Lorraine!”
“Yes; I told you it was surprising. But you know Lorraine hasn’t missed a day, and she generally has her lessons perfect. She’s like me; her greatest trouble is with her Themes. But even they have been pretty good lately, and so, you see, her average has crawled up. So I wanted to tell you as soon as I could, because you must work harder and get ahead of Lorraine, somehow. Of course we all want you to have the prize, but unless you’re careful Lorraine will get it.”
“I would like to get the general prize,” said Patty, “but I’d like for Lorraine to get it, too. If we’re just even, perhaps Miss Oliphant will divide it between us.”
“She can’t; it’s always a book; a great big gilt-edged affair, of poems, or something like that.”
“It isn’t the book I care for, it’s the honor. Papa would be so pleased if I won the general prize, and so would Grandma, and so would all my friends—and so would I.”
“So would we all of us; and you must win it. You can do it easily enough, now that you know you have to spur up a little to get ahead of Lorraine. And of course it isn’t likely that you two will stay just even. If you don’t get ahead of Lorraine, she’ll probably get ahead of you. Only your marks happen to be even just now.”