human
Renie's so fearfully important, complained Betty.
gpt
I asked her something this morning, and she said: 'Don't interrupt me, child,' as if she were the King busy on State affairs.
human
She'll hardly look at us nowadays,
gpt
I'll tell you what, suggested Marjorie.
human
Let's get up a secret society of our own. It would take the wind out of Renie's sails tremendously to find that we had passwords and signals and all the rest of it. She'd be most fearfully annoyed.
gpt
It's a good idea, assented Sylvia,
human
Well, why not have it a sort of patriotic one, to do all we can to help the war, knit socks for the soldiers, and that kind of thing?
gpt
We knit socks already,
human
That doesn't matter, we must knit more, that's all. There must be heaps of things we can do for the war. Besides, it's the spirit of the thing that counts. We pledge ourselves to give our last drop of blood for our country. We've all of us got fathers and brothers who are fighting.
gpt
Chrissie hasn't anybody at the front,
human
That's not Chrissie's fault. We're not all born with brothers. Because you're lucky enough to have an uncle who's an admiral, you needn't quite squash other people!
gpt
How you fly out! I was only mentioning a fact.
human
Anybody with tact wouldn't have mentioned it.
gpt
What shall we call the society?
human
How would 'The Secret Society of Patriots' do?
gpt
The very thing! assented Marjorie warmly.
human
Trust Chrissie to hit on the right name. We'll let just a few into it--Patricia, perhaps, and Enid and Mollie, but nobody else. We must take an oath, and regard it as absolutely binding.
gpt
Like the Freemasons, agreed Sylvia.
human
I believe they kill anybody who betrays them.
gpt
We'll have an initiation ceremony, purred Marjorie, highly delighted with the new venture.
human
And of course we'll arrange a password and signals, and I don't see why we shouldn't have a cryptogram, and write each other notes. It would be ever so baffling for the rest to find letters lying about that they couldn't read. They'd be most indignant.
gpt
Right you are! It'll be priceless! We'll do Irene this time!
human
, but the outside public eagerly seized at such an opportunity, and nicknamed them