One Saturday morning, when Winona, Betty and Doris were in the town shopping, they happened to meet Clarice Nixon, who stopped to chat, and ask for school news.

“I feel fearfully out of things now I’ve left,” said Clarice.  “It’ll be a stale winter without hockey.”

“Why don’t you join a Club?” suggested Winona.

“Shouldn’t care to!  It would be no fun to play with a team I don’t know.  The Seaton Ladies’ Club is the only decent one, and I hear they’re so cliquey.  I wish we could get up an Old Girls’ Hockey Club!”

“Why, that would be simply glorious!  What a splendiferous idea!  Oh, do let us try!  Then we could have a Past versus Present match.  Oh! wouldn’t it be precious?”

“Have you settled up your fixtures?”

“Very nearly.”

“Then we ought to get this thing in hand at once.  You’re Games Captain, so you ought to organize it.  Write round to-day to all the old girls you know, and ask them to come to a meeting on Monday.”

“Isn’t that rather soon?” said Betty.

“Not a bit.  No time must be wasted, if the club’s to be a going concern for this season.  Don’t let the grass grow under your feet, is my advice.”

Winona was naturally impulsive.  The idea appealed to her so immensely, that she straightway bought a packet of postcards and a number of halfpenny stamps, and sent out her invitations.  As she was bound to report herself in the hostel at 4.15, she decided to call the meeting there at 4.20.  It could be held in the sitting-room, and there would be plenty of time to discuss matters before five o’clock tea.  She wrote to Margaret Howell, Kirsty Paterson, and all the former members of the Sixth, and was already exulting over the success which she hoped would accrue.  She was sure every one in the school would like the notion when they heard about it.

On Monday morning when she walked into her form room, she noticed several of the prefects talking together.  They looked at her significantly as she entered, and Evelyn Richards made a movement as if about to speak.  Grace Olliver, however, laid her hand on Evelyn’s arm, and pointed to the clock, as if deferring the matter.  At eleven “break,” as the girls filed out of the room, Agatha James laid a paper on Winona’s desk.  It bore the words: 

“Kindly report yourself at once in the prefects’ room.”

Rather mystified, Winona obeyed the summons.  She found the prefects assembled in their den, looking dignified and perturbed.

“Winona Woodward,” began Linda Fletcher, “are you responsible for this post-card?” showing one of the invitations which had been written on Saturday.  “Beatrice Howell brought it to me first thing this morning, by Margaret’s advice.  Margaret couldn’t understand why you had sent it to her.”

“I explained on the card,” replied Winona eagerly.  “It was to try to get up an Old Girls’ Hockey Club!”