The Youngest Girl in the Fifth

Gwen! Gwen Gascoyne! Gwen! Anybody seen her? I say, have you all gone deaf?Don't you hear me? Where's Gwen? I-want-Gwen-Gascoyne!"The speaker-Ida Bridge-a small, perky, spindle-legged Junior, jumped on to thenearest seat, and raising her shrill voice to its topmost pitch, twice shouted the"Gwen Gascoyne", with an aggressive energy calculated to make herself heardabove the babel of general chatter that pervaded the schoolroom. Her effort, though far from musical, at any rate secured her the notice she desired."Hello, there! Stop that noise! It's like a dog howling!" irately commanded a girl inspectacles who was cleaning the blackboard."And get down from my desk this minute! Who said you might climb up there?""Look here, you kid, what are you doing in our classroom?""Take yourself off at once! Fly! Scoot!"The "kid", however, stood her ground."Shan't move till you've answered my question," she replied with aggravatingimpudence. "I want Gwen Gascoyne.""Why, there she is all the time!""Where?""Under your very nose, you stupid baby! Get down from my desk, I tell you!"The Junior cast what was intended to be a withering glance before she descended."Gwen Gascoyne, why couldn't you answer when I called you?" she demandedabruptly. Gwen paused in the act of sharpening a lead pencil, and eyed the intruder."Who asked you to come in here?" she retorted."You babes must keep to your own classrooms! Hey, presto! Vanish! And be quickabout it!" interposed Myra Johnson."Shan't! Not till I've spoken to Gwen.""Cheek!