THE GHOST IN DORMITORY A

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 3, 4 January 1941, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE GHOST IN DORMITORY A

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naze] Arnold, clad in hockey costume and flushed with exe.-cise, flung open the door of the study she tihared with three other fourth formers. Dori* Hardy, the solitary occupant of the room, looked up from her 'l>ook. "Connie's gone. She wrote home about the ghost and her dad came for her. That make* three in ten days." "Well, I don't blame her. Three apparitions in one week are enough to upeet anyone." Doris eyed her chum curiously. "You're not going to clear out, surely!" Haieel Hushed. "I—l don't know, I'm not going to pretend I like it." "But we've got to think of the school. It's up to tie to set an example. Besides, we ought to back up t'rarice now she's turned out euch a brick." "I suppose so. Hullo, there goes the dress bell. I must rush." Hesitttnn High School for girl* wa«* one of the first establishments of its kind in the south-west of Kngland. But lately it had been the scene of something so alarming that the whole school had been thrown into a ferment, and parent* were beginning to withdraw their children. The school building was a converted mansion, just the sort of plaeo one might expect to harbour tho traditional gentleman in ehninn or a headless lady. But despite the usual viigue tales associated with most old buildings, nothing (if a ghostly character had ever boen seen until suddenly the occupants of dormitory A had been nearly era red to death by two startling happenings, To understand what happened, it is necessary to know something about the locale. Dormitory A. occupied by the upper and lower fourth, war. a large room in the west wing and had a somewhat gloomy appearance, due to the fact that it had windows on only one side, and \va* overshadowed by the east wing, which was separated from it by a small quadrangle. A door at one end led to what was known as the staff wing, and one at the other end to the north corri<ior and staircase. The next corridoi was the one used by the girls, and out of it opened dormitories B and C. A yard from one side of the room—the "side farthest from the windows—ran a row of eight beds in curtained cubicles, which had once l>eeii occupied by tho sixth form, who now had their own

dormftorv. Only one of these beds was now used, by the prefect responsible for keeping order. A mistress occupied a room opening on the staff corridor, and it was her duty, when the girls were in bed, to turn off the dormitory lights, which were controlled by a switch from her own room. This arrangement effectual! v prevented reading in bed. but had the disadvantage that no light was quickly available in case of emergency. Briefly, what had happened was this: One night early in November, about one o'clock according to the prefect, the girls (or all lint the very heavy sleepers) had been awakened by a series of groans. Then, as. tliey sat up 'in alarm, a vague white figure had appeared near , the north door, and the groans hnd l>een repeated, to the -tune of shrfeks from the girla. As to what happened aftor , that there were conflicting accounts, due no doubt to the fact that most of , the girls had promptly dived under the bedclothes. The prefect. Clarice Hooper, wax a heavy sleeper. an<l it was not until the S'r's began to shriek that she wa» aroused. She sprang up at once i and drew the curtains, but the "ghost" i had vanished. Ihe mistress a]*o arrived too late. Doris Hardy had pluckilv run , the gauntlet of the "dark room to ask . her tp switch on the light, but when this ] wn*» done no trace of anything ipiusual i was to be found except that the north ; door was now open instead of closed, as J every one agreed it had been when the 1 girls retired. ( Miss Frazcr. no doubt annoved at J having her night's rest disturbed, had ' pooh-poohed -the whole affair. It was. she said, nothing but imagination, and she had scathingly remarked that she would ask the head to provide them with night-lights. Her want of consideration had been in marked contrast ' with the behaviour of the prefect, who. although she had seen nothing herself. : had proved unexpectedly kind and I sympathetic. After the mistress had . retired, Clarice had donned her dressing , gown and had gone the rounds of the beds, reassuring the girls, and chatting « quietly for a time with the younger • ones. Moreover, she had promised that 1 she would patrol the room for the re- < mainder of the nijrht. and. fortified with • this assurance, all but the more nervons girls composed themselves to sleep. J Prior to the advent of the ghost, 1 Clarice had been very unpopular*" with I the Lower School, and her appointment t as dormitory prefect to the unruly i fourth-formers had nearly precipitated r a mutiny. She was young for a sixth n former, and it was commonly said that her sudden elevation to prefect-orial rank

had gone to her head. Like manv new brooms, she swept almo-t too clean, -f| and. as the junior-; put it. ihe was "alto- jl •.-ether too lH.sr-y.-' But Miss Armstrong 1 was not the sort of mistress to allow her conduct to he questioned, and in every case when Clarice fell foul of her 1 charges she liad received the. liead'e full ;N| support. 1 hus (he fourth-formers had soon learnt that it was wise to obey".-f% Clarice, however much they might dig- i]| like her. The prefect's behaviour over tlie ghost affair had, however, completely changed their views, and now they conM "!» not speak too well of her. Her "bossi- " ness" was now recognised as evidence I of self-confidence nnd a capacitr for M leadership. She had been tried and not -1 found wanting. So in one sense "ghost" had done good. If the matter was reported to the >11 head (as to which the girls were uncertain) she apparently took the same vkw%| ns Miss Frazer, for nothing was done. >11 Then, a few days later, had oome the Jf second scare, but this time Mary Otway was the only girl to see the apparition. iM It had been but a momentary appear* "fs ance, a ltd there had l>een no groans, bat 3§ Mary's shriek had effectually wakened'"§ll cry one. By that time, however, tin :3 ghost had vanished—according to Marr ft - through the floor. On tliia occasion $4§jl the girls were without the moral cnp.'TM fort of Clarice, who had developed if temperature and lieen sent to sleep in ' the sanatorium in the east wing. Gladys:3m lhirlbv. the sixth-former who fcailJi <lepnt ised for her. proved a broken reed,?!! and was the first to flv. squealing 'Sjgß hysterically, into the staff corridor. HI where most of the girls followed her; and it was Doris Hardy who had heldHi them in hand until a mistress arrived. "• Doris liad the knack of inspiring eonfidence—she was so obviously herself that her very presence was con- p forting. Some days later, when Armstrong heard of what had she publicly referred to the u coolnejH»| and courage shown by a junior." and although this was obviouslv in* ended mainly as a snub for Gladys, the fourth- d|| formers cheered lustily. The matter had now got bevond a |» joke and when Miss Frazer again re-'.® to take it seriously, Claricp. at i.% nic girls' urgent request, appealed dirert ~\*i to jlie he»d. Apparently the prefect was successful in convincing Miss Annstrong that it was not "all imagination." for a searching inquiry followed. The head evidently discounted the ghost, '-ll theory, for after prayers nest dav Vhe £j§ issued a stern warning that unless the culprit confessed at once she would be '|i 9 expelled on discovery. But no one been expelled, and, as far as the frirh knew, no one had confessed. Meanwhile s| the more nervous spirits bad been writing alarmist letters home, and one by ? i one the girls were being removed by anxious parents. ~3j|| (To be continued.)