"Rush 'em!" shouted Bob.
Pushing and scrambling, those in the attacking party began to force the
others down the narrow path. The boys were struggling desperately and
the girls were resisting as best they could and some were crying.
"Let us out!" wept Ada. "Ow! You're stepping on me! Let us out!"
She kicked blindly, and fought with her hands. The first person she
grasped was Ruth, who was nearly choked before she could jerk her fur
collar free.
"I will get out!" panted Ada. "Push, girls!"
The circle opened for them, and following Ada they dashed through
straight into a tangle of blackberry bushes. Half mad with rage and blind
from excitement they ploughed their way through, fighting the bushes as
though they were flesh and blood arms held out to stop them. When they
were clear of the thicket their clothes were in tatters and their faces
and hands scratched and bleeding cruelly.
There was nothing for them to do but to go back to the school and try to
invent a plausible story for their condition. All the cold cream in the
handsome glass jars on Ada's dressing table could not heal her smarting
face and thoughts that night.
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