“Cheer up, Billie,” whispered Vi, slipping a loyal hand into hers. “You’re not afraid of missing the prize, are you? Why, you couldn’t miss it if you tried.”
Billie did not say anything, but she gripped Vi’s hand hard. And she was still holding on to it when Miss Walters ascended the platform and a deep hush spread over the room.
“As you all know,” came the clear, sweet voice of the head of Three Towers Hall, “I have come here this morning to announce the winners of the composition prize.
“I and my associates have had difficulty in choosing the winning essays, for the reason that they are all so excellent. We are only sorry that we have not a prize to attach to each.”
A buzz broke out in the audience, but when Miss Walters raised her hand it instantly died down again.
“And now,” she said, “not to keep you any longer in suspense, we will announce the winners.”
Billie’s grip on Vi’s hand tightened till it hurt.
Then into the tense silence Miss Walters threw the bomb of her announcement.
“The first prize goes to Amanda Peabody,” she said. “Will she please step up upon the platform?”