“You seem to have thought out your defense very well, Miss Morse,” said Gee Gee, sternly. “But it will not do. It is too serious a matter to overlook. I shall send for Mr. Sharp,” and she touched the button which rang the bell in the principal’s office.
CHAPTER XII—COUNSEL FOR THE DEFENSE
“Come to order!” commanded Miss Carrington, rapping on her desk with a hard knuckle.
She quickly gave the class in general a task and sent Jess to her seat.
“I will speak with you later, young lady,” she said, in her most scornful way.
Jess’s eyes were almost blinded by tears when she went back to her seat. But they were angry tears. The unkind suspicion and accusation of the teacher cut deeply into the girl’s soul. She could see some of the girls looking at her askance—girls like Hester Grimes and Lily Pendleton, and their set. Of course, they had not heard all that Miss Carrington said; but they could easily suspect. And the whole class knew that the trouble was over the disappearance of the papers for the review.
Bobby wickedly whispered to her neighbor that she hoped the papers wouldn’t ever be found. But that would not help Jess Morse out of trouble.
To Jess herself, hiding her face behind an open book, the printed page of which was a mere blur before her eyes, it seemed as though this trouble would overwhelm her. It was worse than the poverty she and her mother had to face. It was worse than having no party dress fit to be seen in. It was worse than being refused credit at Mr. Closewick’s grocery store. It was worse than having old Mr. Chumley hound them for the rent
Reviewing the whole affair more calmly, Jess could understand that Miss Carrington would consider her guilty—if she could bring herself to think any girl of Central High would do such a thing.
Jess sat there, dumb, unable to work, unable to concentrate her mind on anything but the horribly unjust accusation of her teacher. How she disliked Gee Gee!