09 Winter Term at Malory Towers by Pamela Cox

Author:Pamela Cox [Cox, Pamela]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-08-19T09:45:13+00:00

10

Miss Tallant strikes again

Sylvia and Olive had returned to the common-room, having failed in their search for the fourth formers. Olive, in particular, felt very disgruntled. She looked across at Sylvia, and thought what a dreadful chatterbox the girl was. Sylvia had kept up a constant stream of talk throughout the search, endlessly speculating on where the girls could be, what they could be doing, and what form any trick they were planning might take. Olive had soon grown heartily tired of her, and thought what bad luck it was that they were thrown together so much.

Just then the door opened, and the rest of the fourth form poured noisily in.

Sylvia and Olive eyed them suspiciously, but Susan grinned warmly and said, ‘Did you think that we had got lost?’

‘Well, Olive and I did wonder where you had got to,’ said Sylvia. ‘It’s been awfully quiet in here.’

The girls had already decided what story they were going to tell, and Julie said, ‘We all popped down to the stables. You see, Lucy has taught her horse Sandy the most marvellous trick. He can count up to five by pawing the ground with his hoof.’

‘Yes, I taught him how to do it in the holidays,’ said Lucy. ‘And, of course, the others were simply dying to see it.’

‘I should have liked to see it too,’ said Sylvia, looking a little put out. ‘I’m very fond of horses, you know.’

‘I didn’t realise,’ said Lucy. ‘If I had known I should have asked you to come along too, Sylvia. Never mind, perhaps I can take you to see Sandy tomorrow.’

That cheered Sylvia up, and she was able to dismiss her worries about the girls playing a trick on her. Julie sat down beside her and asked, ‘Do you have a horse at home, Sylvia?’

‘No, for we don’t have any stables,’ Sylvia answered. ‘My young brother and sister and I go to a local riding school in the holidays, though.’

‘How old are your brother and sister?’ asked Julie with interest.

Of course, Sylvia needed very little encouragement to talk about herself, and was soon telling Julie all about her home and family.

Felicity, nearby, turned to Susan and said, ‘Clever Julie! She is getting Sylvia to talk about her family in the hope that she might let something slip.’

‘Good idea!’ said Susan. ‘If only we could do the same with Olive, but she will just clam up, as she always does.’

‘Perhaps the reason she never talks about her family much is because she has something to hide,’ suggested Felicity. ‘Like an aunt, who also happens to be the most unpopular mistress at Malory Towers.’

‘I wouldn’t be at all surprised,’ said Susan. ‘I must admit, I feel far more inclined to suspect Olive than Sylvia. Sylvia is so open, and will chatter away about herself to anyone who will listen. Hardly the behaviour of someone who is hiding a dark secret!’

‘Miss Tallant never seems to take much notice of Sylvia,’ observed Felicity thoughtfully. ‘Yet she came down hard on Olive over the mouse trick.

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