Adders on the Heath (Mrs. Bradley) by Mitchell Gladys

Author:Mitchell, Gladys [Mitchell, Gladys]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2014-03-17T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Headmaster and Staff

He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. And he made a hundred basons of gold. Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the doors of them with brass.

2nd Chronicles 3, Authorised Version

The preparatory school at which Richardson had taught proved to be a show place on which, it was obvious to Dame Beatrice, (who, in her capacities as mother, grandmother, aunt, honorary aunt, great-aunt, and godmother, had visited many preparatory and public schools), a great deal of money had been spent. She suspected that mulcted parents had been compelled to contribute to the splendour. However, it was easy enough to see where the money had gone.

The Headmaster, who appeared to know her not only by reputation but who claimed to have been present at a dinner where she had been the principal guest, welcomed her with the utmost cordiality. He received her in a large, beautifully furnished study whose windows overlooked the playing fields, and he insisted upon showing her over the school before he heard on what errand she had come.

They visited the swimming bath, the chapel, and the library. To Dame Beatrice’s satisfaction, after they had looked in upon the various classrooms and the woodwork and metalwork rooms, they visited the laboratories. There were two of these, both equipped as though for postgraduate research. One was for biology, the other for chemistry.

Dame Beatrice affected great interest in the first, despite her repugnance to the animals and birds, stuffed and defunct, which, exhibited in glass cases, appeared to be a prominent feature of the room.

“Outside, of course,” said the Headmaster, “we keep our rabbits. The caretaker looks after them during the holidays. So good for the boys to learn to look after animals and it reduces sex instruction to the minimum.”

He seemed about to enlarge upon this when he received an urgent message from someone who urgently desired his presence elsewhere, so, pausing only to apologise to Dame Beatrice for leaving her, and to promise to “send Stevens” to look after her, he departed.

Stevens turned out to be the head boy, an extremely good-looking, scrupulously well-groomed child of about thirteen. He introduced himself.

“Please, Dame Beatrice, I’m Stevens. The Head said to show you the chemistry lab. I don’t think you’ll find it very interesting. It’s only bottles and Bunsen burners and test tubes and beakers and retorts and those sort of things.”

“I feel,” said Dame Beatrice, “that I might hurt the Headmaster’s feelings if I left it out. Is a class going on in there, I wonder?”

“Almost bound not to be. It isn’t much used because we haven’t got a proper stinks master since the last one left.”

“Dear me! How long ago was that?”

“Soon after Mr. Richardson went.”

“So I suppose a laboratory boy is no longer employed here.”

“Well, actually, he still is. It

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