Gerry felt very depressed as she put her books listlessly away. Most of the form had departed soon after Miss Burton had left the room, only Gerry, and Phyllis and Dorothy, who were comparing notes on their morning's marks, remaining in the classroom. Gerry's eyes were so full of unshed tears that she did not notice that only her two special enemies were left in the room. If she had, she would probably have hurried over her desk-tidying and got out of their way. She always tried to avoid being left alone with these two, if she could possibly manage it. But it was not until Phyllis spoke to her suddenly that she awoke to the fact that none of the other members of the form were present.
"Well, sneak," said Phyllis, in a jeering tone. "Your precious Miss Burton, whom you stuck up for so bravely the other night, doesn't seem to thank you much for your championship, does she?"
Gerry said nothing. There really did not seem to be anything to say. With a great effort she choked back her gathering tears, and hastily finished putting away the books in her desk. But Phyllis was not to be baulked of this splendid opportunity of baiting her enemy.
"She's sulky," she said to Dorothy, and the latter rose from her seat and came over to Gerry's desk.
"Perhaps she's forgotten how to talk," she suggested, with an air of mock anxiety. "She's hardly spoken to anyone for three whole days now, you know. They say when people never speak they forget how to use their tongues."
"Oh, do you think she's really forgotten?" giggled Phyllis, entering into the game.
It was all very silly and very absurd, but it seemed to the perpetrators of the unkind humour that it was deliciously funny, while to poor Gerry it was almost unendurable. She shut her desk and rose to her feet.
"Why can't you let me alone?" she pleaded, with quivering lips. "Why must you always keep on at me like this?"
"Oh, she hasn't forgotten—she still knows how to say a few words," said Phyllis, with an air of mock surprise.
Gerry made towards the door, but Phyllis was blocking the nearest path, and to escape she had to make a detour round the desks. Before she could reach the door, Dorothy gave a little shriek.