Instantly there was a chorus of excited exclamations.
"I know she was out of the dorom last night," Betty went on excitedly. "I heard her come in, and for a moment I saw her face clearly. Only a minute or so later Miss Sutton switched on the lights and looked in. I wondered what Stella had been up to then. And ever since I've heard of the hooded figure, I've been wondering more than ever."
Quickly Trix turned to Stella.
"You don't have to tell me you weren't the hooded figure," she said quietly.
With a flushed face Stella faced the Fourth Formers.
Quietly she explained her reason for being out of the dorm.
"But I wasn't the hooded figure," she went on. "Surely you don't think I'd do such a thing as rubbing soap over the gym floor?"
Betty Wood still looked suspicious.
"You were the keenest of us all about the gym display," she commented. "I know how upset you were when it was decided the Fifth should represent St. Kate's."
"That doesn't make me the hooded figure," Stella insisted.
For the moment she was tempted to explain about seeing the figure and about giving chase to it. But she bit back the words.
The hooded figure must have been a Fourth Former -- there must have been another girl out of the dorm. If only she had thought to look closely at all the beds. Surely only a disgruntled Fourth Former would have gone to the lengths of spreading soap over the gym floor. And if the hooded figure was a Fourth Former, then she didn't want to put the unknown on her guard.
For there was something she had remembered -- something that might help her to solve the mystery.
"Of course Stella couldn't be the hooded figure," Trix exclaimed loyally. "Has anyone ever known Stella do a mean action? Then don't be so silly about it."
But Betty Wood turned away.
"To think there's such a rotter in the Fourth," she commented. "I feel I'll never be able to hold up my head again. The Fifth will hate the very sight of us from now on."
She stalked out of the Common-room and several girls followed after her. They were making it plain that Stella was still under suspicion.
Trix took her chum's arm. "Don't worry, Stella," she said quickly. "You know how easily Betty loses her temper. She'll be running after you to apologise before the day is out. And in any case, it's time we were on our way to breakfast."
Towards the end of the meal Miss SUtton appeared in the dining hall. And the headmistress was a very angry woman.
Breifly she told of what had happened in the gym that morning.
"As a result of the dangerous trick," she went on, "one Fifth Form girl has sprained her ankle. It is doubtful if she will be able to take part in the Clayport Festival."
She looked at the sea of serious faces in front of her. "If I ask the culprit to own up," she said then, "I suppose I shall only be wasting my breath."
Nobody in the hall moved.
"Very well!" Miss Sutton cried. "The matter will not be allowed to rest where it is. And now -- one other thing. It has been suggested to me that what happened this morning was the result of jealousy. That is something with which I have no patience at all. And so I must warn you that, if anything out of the way again happens where the drill display is concerned, then the school will withdraw its entry for the Clayport Festival. "
Both Fourth Formers and Fifth Formers gasped alike. This was the last thing anyone had anticipated. Just because there was a mean-spirited girl in the school there was a chance that neither Form would appear at the festival. And Stella knew that anger against the unknown hooded figure would now be intensified a hundred times.
And she flushed when she saw the way in which Betty Wood and several other girls were looking at her.
After breakfast the Fifth made it clear that they were cutting the Fourth. Even so, they had many angry comments to make.
Stella and Trix were in the quad when they were passed by Ada Robson and Lena Kirby.
"I think the whole of the Fourth Form should be gated," the tall, languid girl said loudly. "I've never heard of anything so spiteful in my life. I've been inclined to dispise this gym display, but now you can count on me as one of your strongest supporters. And if I ever discover the identify of the hooded figure I'll lose no time in going to Miss Sutton."
Stella and Trix walked on with flushed faces.
"The dreadful thing is," Trix commented, "that the hooded figure must belong to the Fourth. If -- if I knew who she was I think I'd go direct to Miss Sutton, too."
Stella made no comment. For that night she was going to make an attempt to unmask the unknown. Even though she was under suspicion herself, she was going to take the risk of leaving the dormitory again after lights out.
Lessons that day came as a relief to Stella. It stopped her wondering over the fact that she had come under suspicion.
And there was still practice that afternoon for Miss Sutton had closed the gym until further notice. She was making sure there would be no risk of further accidents by having the floor thoroughly cleaned.
During the afternoon Stella pondered the problem. Who could the unknown be? She thought of every gilrl in turn, only to shake her head.
Could the hooded figure have been Betty Wood? Betty had been so quick to accuse her. And Betty had been the only one awake in the dorm when she, Stella, had returned.
Besides, Betty had been one of the keenest members of the drill class.
"But there's something mean about Betty," Stella decided. "She does things in anger and then regrets them afterwards. She's not the sort of girl to plan a mean campaign against the Fifth."
Would she discover a clue that night?
For Stella was remembering what had happened when she had chased afetr the hooded figure the night before. When the lights had been switched on there had been no sign of the figure ahead of her.
"She couldn't have run all thaht fast," Stella told herself. "I could see the whole length of the passage. I'm sure now that she ran down the passage to the crypt."
The crypt! It was always kept locked, but perhaps the unknown had found a key for herself. And surely the crypt was the safest place in the school to hide a hooded gown.
"I'll slip down tonight," Stella told herself. "If the door is locked I can still get into the crypt. And if I find the hooded gown I'll be halfway to discovering the unknown's identity."
The dorm bell couldn't sound quickly enough for her then. But when she went up to the dorm she was acutely conscious of the strangeness in the atmosphere. Betty Wood and several of her chums still avoided her. And Betty hadn't apologised as Trix had forecast she would.
For once there was very little conversation in the dorm after lights out.
Impatiently Stella waited. She must not leave until everyone was fast asleep -- she must not risk being seen again.
The minutes dragged by. She heard the seniors go up to bed and still Stella waited.
At last she was out of bed and pulling on her dressing-gown. She was sure that everyone was asleep. And nobody made any sound as she tip-toed to the door. Then she was creeping down the wide staircase and turning into the crypt passage.
Coming to the door she listened, but no sound at all came to her. She pulled down the latch and instantly the door began to swing open.
Instantly her eyes were alive with excitement. Surely she had worked things out correctly. The door should have been locked. Had it been recently opened by the unknown? Was the hooded figure abroad tonight? Was she going to catch her in the act of carrying out further mischief?
Stella peered down the steps into the darkness. No sound came to her at all. Then she switched on the torch she had brought with her.
Slowly it travelled over the stone floor. Then Stella was hurrying forward and gazing down into a corner. Here there was a pile of small splinters of wood. It seemed that someone had been breaking up wood int he crypt. And only recently, too, Stella decided as she examined one of the splinters.
Could the unknown be responsible? If so, for what reason had she been breaking up wood?
And then Stella gave a violent start. For she had heard a low chuckle and it had come from the top of the steps. Swiftly she swung round and the light of her torch focused upon the door.
Just in time to see it close!
Then, as Stella started forward, she heard the sound of a heavy key being turned!
She was locked in the forbidden crypt! And the hooded unknown must have been the one responsible!
CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO READ CHAPTER THREE
