"Yes," assented Violet, her curiosity now thoroughly aroused.
"Well," said Clara, "I've very good reason to believe that gambling goes on at Helmsford College."
"Clara!" Violet's voice was shrill with astonishment.
"Hush! Don't speak so loud as that. Listen, and I'll tell you what I've discovered. You know Cicely and I have a small room to ourselves? Well, Agnes Hosking sleeps in a big room next to ours with three other girls—the two Pelhams and Kitty Majendie—and they sit up late at night playing cards—for money. Oh, no wonder you look incredulous, but it's true!"
"But I thought—surely I've heard you say that one of the governesses always makes a round of the bedrooms every night at ten o'clock in order to see that the girls are in bed and the lights out?"
"Oh, yes! Miss Wilcocks has charge of the rooms on our landing; some of the governesses occasionally pay surprise visits, but she never does. The other night, after she'd been round as usual, I had a most violent attack of toothache; it came on suddenly just as I was dropping off to sleep, and, as you may imagine, it made me wide awake in a minute. I lay still for some time hoping it would pass, but it didn't, and by-and-by I could stand it no longer and determined to go to Miss Wilcocks' room and ask her to give me something to ease the pain—I remembered having heard her say she had some toothache tincture which she had never known fail to effect a cure. Cicely was asleep, so I got up very quietly, put on my dressing-gown, and slipped out into the passage which was all in darkness."
"Well, as I was passing the door of the next room I thought I heard voices, and it occurred to me that one of the girls might have something for toothache, and that if so I need not disturb Miss Wilcocks, so I put my hand on the door handle and turned it, but the door wouldn't open. That surprised me, because there are no keys allowed in the bedroom doors here. I listened and still heard voices, then I gave a gentle knock with my knuckles, and suddenly the voices ceased."
"I waited to see what would happen, and presently I heard something—a box it sounded like—dragged from before the door, and the next minute Agnes Hosking, wrapped in a dressing-gown and shawl, opened the door to me. She was pale and trembling and looked very frightened, but as soon as she recognised me her expression changed; she seemed tremendously relieved and began to laugh in a silly, giggling fashion, and pulled me into the room and shut the door."
"Yes?" said Violet eagerly, as her companion paused to take breath—she had been speaking quickly and excitedly.
"Agnes asked me what I wanted, but I didn't answer at once for I was looking about the room. The three other girls were in bed, but when they saw who it was that had disturbed them they got out, and they were all in their dressing-gowns, too; and Kitty Majendie, who had a pack of cards in her hands, explained that they'd been having a game of Bridge and said that of course I wouldn't tell on them and they would trust to my sense of honour to hold my tongue. Then I inquired if they had any toothache tincture, but they hadn't, so I said good-night and went back to my own room; and, do you know, my toothache had actually gone—I believe the shock I had experienced had driven it away, for it really had been a shock to me to discover what was going on. The next day I asked Kitty Majendie if they played for money, and she admitted that they did, though not for high stakes."