“Now, now! what have I told you about being good losers?” she demanded, briskly.
“Tha—that’s all right,” stammered Roberta. “We cheered ’em, didn’t we? But I feel it’s my fault. I fumble dreadfully. You know, I always did when I was on the team before. Get somebody else in my place, Mrs. Case—do!”
Naturally Lily Pendleton told all this to Hester; but it only added to Hester’s bitterness of spirit. Deep down in her heart she felt the sting of Central High’s defeat—only she wouldn’t admit it. The team had lost—she believed it, too—because she wasn’t there in her place at forward center!
And Mrs. Case had tried to show her how she might win back, if she would, and Hester had refused. Her bad temper had cut her off from the instructor’s help entirely. She was a pariah—and she felt it.
So she told Lily she was glad the team was having up-hill work and was so nasty about it that Lily, who was feeling bad, too, about the affair, almost got mad herself, and went home early.
“That Hester Grimes can be awfully exasperating when she wants to be,” Lily admitted to her mother.
“Bless me, child! I don’t really see why you associate so much with her. She does come of such common people. Why, Mrs. Grimes is impossible!” sighed Mrs. Pendleton.
[CHAPTER XVII—HEBE POCOCK IN TROUBLE]
The big frost came soon after the Keyport game and Eve excitedly informed her particular friends when she came in to school that the nuts were falling in showers. It was toward the end of the week when this happened and it had already been arranged that a nutting party should take an entire Saturday for the trip to Peveril Pond, some miles beyond the Sitz place.
The Beldings’ car and one of Mr. Purcell’s sight-seeing autos were to carry the party from the Hill, with two seats reserved for Eve and her brother Otto, whom they would pick up at the farmhouse. Prettyman Sweet and Lily Pendleton were invited—indeed, Eve had insisted upon all the basketball team being of the party—and Purt was dreadfully exercised in advance regarding what would be the proper costume to wear.