Girls of Central High at Basketball; Or, the Great
Gymnasium Mystery (Girls of Central High #3)
Gertrude W. Morrison
World Syndicate Publishing, 1914
Genre:
Sports, Mystery, School, Realistic
Description
Mrs. Case, the new basketball coach, really has it out for
Hester. She complains that she is so good at book matters that none of the
other teachers ever get to see her temper. In the locker room after basketball practice,
Hester confronts Bobby about talking behind her back. She goes to slap her and
accidentally hits Nellie who is trying to prevent a fight. Bobby says that if
it wasn't for Gee-Gee's favoring of her she would have been kicked out of
Central High long ago.
Later that night Nellie tells her father, a doctor, about
the fight in the locker room and he tells her that it would be best if she just
ignores Hester. The next day when the girls arrive at school they discover that
their gym has been broken into and vandalized. Bobby and Nellie know exactly
who hates the girls so much they would do this—Hester. Bobby quickly spreads
the gossip and soon all the girls are talking about how Hester declared her
hatred of the girls. Luckily, when Principal Sharp calls a meeting he declares
that the vandalism and the intent behind it is well beyond any hatred of the
students. After school that day, Hester goes to the park and sees Rufus and
Johnny Doyle. Rufus, an “innocent” and “half-whitted” young man (the 1914
“polite” way of saying mentally handicapped), does not see three-year-old
Johnny fall into an open sewer grate. Hester follows him down into the six-foot
water because she can swim and saves Johnny's life.
Many of the girls at school believe Hester did do the damage
to the gymnasium or possibly hired someone else to do it for her. Luckily for
her the adults in charge don't believe she is responsible and everyone wonders
how the culprit got in and out of the building without the custodian noticing.
The girls seem to have better things to worry about as their first game of the
season is against East High, who beat them last season. It is also Bobby's
first game on the team. When the ball goes to Hester, her opponent quickly
snatches it and the referee yells at her for over guarding. The captain is
forced to replace her. They end up losing the first half. Nellie discovers that
Hester has left the locker room and won't even be around for the second half.
They end up tying the game. The referee admits that if Hester were in the
second half they probably would've won. Naturally, the girls blame Hester for
their loss and decide that they want her off the team. A number of the girls
get together to write a petition to give to Mrs. Case.
Later that night, Nellie feels bad when her father tells her
how Hester saved Johnny Doyle's life. When she arrives at school the next day she
discovers another raid has occurred in the gym but this time it is a case of
arson. The police did find some tracks to an open window this time so they
think they know how the culprit got in but they still do not know how he got
out. Mr. Sharp tells Mrs. Case to remove Hester from the basketball team but
rumors about her involvement in these attacks need to be stopped. Laura,
Nellie, Jess, and Bobby decide to investigate. They quickly discover that the
footprints outside the window can't be Hester's as they are clearly a man's.
Laura deduces that the man did not get inside the building from the window; in
fact, he exited the window. She points out how the scuffs on the footprints
show that the man was actually walking backwards.
On Saturday a number of the girls go to visit Eve Sitz's
farm and they learn that her new $150 colt, Jinks, was stolen. They decide to
head to the Four Corners, were notorious gangs hang out, and see a boy riding
Jinks. They give chase. Laura yells at him and he says that the horse belongs
to his brother, Hebe, one of the most notorious liars in town. Eve smacks him.
As the girls are fighting with a gun holding Hebe, Hester's mother shows up in
a car. Hester is there too but won't even look at the girls. Her mom looks at
Hebe and says that he's never had the money to afford a cult like that and demands
that he give the horse back. She yells at the women who were gawking at the
scene and tells them to clean themselves up. She comments about how she can't
believe she used to live here among these people who are a disgrace, which
embarrasses Hester. The reason why Hester refused to knowledge the girls is
because earlier that morning Mrs. Case showed up at her house with the petition
to remove her from the basketball team. Because of all the gossip and rumors
Hester has found herself shunned by everyone, including her best friend Lily.
Hester discovers that her father has finally bought a car
for her and she demands that she should be taught how to drive it immediately.
When she is out with the chauffeur she kicks him out because she doesn't need
him chaperoning her. As she is driving along by herself the car stalls. As
she's trying to fix it a car with Laura and her friends drive by and save her.
They're coming back from a game they won without Hester on the team. She
decides to head back the way she came from despite the warnings of a forest
fire nearby and proceeds to get caught right in the path of the flames. She
runs across a man and helps him get into her car. They decide to take a short
cut road to warn other farming families of the danger. For two hours they drive
around the small town and save more than 40 people. It takes a few days for her
parents to learn that she is considered a hero even though she didn't want her
name in the paper.
The big game against Keyport High is upon the basketball
team. Halfway through the girls are behind by two points. Some girls lament at
Hester still being gone (Nellie and Laura) while some of the girls are happy
(Jess and Bobby) and don't think they need Hester to win the game. Nellie then
informs them of Hester's latest daring deed—saving people from a forest fire.
The girls end up winning by six points. The next Saturday all the teens are
gathered at Eve's farm. Laura tells Nellie that Jackway, the school custodian,
admitted that the night of the first act of vandalism Rufus had slipped into
the building somehow. Could Rufus be the culprit? While laughing and telling
stories, they hear some shouts from some fishermen. It turns out that Hebe was
out on a rock which twisted and rolled onto his leg trapping him under with his
head barely above the water line. Laura sends the boys to look for rope so that
they can hopefully get enough leverage to move the rock and free him. They succeed
in getting him out and they take him to the hospital.
The girls’ next game is against Lumberport. They do alright but
at halftime Nellie sprains her ankle. Mrs. Case refuses to let her play.
Nellie, however, bandages of her ankle and demands to play and they end up
winning by eight points. It is the beginning of a winning streak for them. One
of the boys, Chet, goes to visit Hebe in the hospital and discovers that he is
mad that he didn't get the job at the school as Jackway should have been fired.
Billson, the old man Hester saved from the fire who happens to be Hebe's
roommate, tells Chet that that job is all the man talks about. He can tell that
Chet believes Hester is responsible for vandalism and he tells him that he is
going to prove that she didn't do it.
Meanwhile, Nellie is terrified and disgusted at the same
time to learn that Johnny has developed anemia and needs a blood transfusion or
he'll die. Hester volunteers for the procedure. The girls keep winning but they
can't move beyond third place in the rankings. Bobby declares that while she
hates Hester she does kind of wish she was back on the team so that they'd win
the championship. Nellie informs them of Hester's latest daring deed—saving
Johnny's life again. Chet has been trying to get more information out of
Billson but the man refuses to talk to him because he thinks Chet is against
Hester. The girls decide to sign a new petition to request Hester being put
back on the team. Hester agrees. The girls soon face off against East High
again, this time winning and moving up to second place.
The final game is between Central High and Keyport High.
This will determine the championship. After a tough game they end up winning
all because of Hester's final goal. Billson is released from the hospital and
decides to talk to Chet. He admits that everyone is praising her because of
what she did for Johnny but they still think that she is the one that
vandalized the gymnasium. Rufus is there with his mother to visit Johnny and
Billson tells Chet to go and get Rufus. Rufus comes into the room and Billson
shows him Hebe sitting in the bed. Rufus starts shaking and crying while
Billson asks Rufus why he is scared of the man in the bed. Rufus replies that
the man is a bad man who said that he would kill him if he told. He says that
he saw the bad man in the gym the night of the vandalism and Hebe, knowing he had
been caught, admits to causing the damage in an attempt to get the job as the
custodian. He gets transferred to a prison hospital and after he is healed he
looks forward to three months of hard labor.
Thoughts and
Nuggets of Wisdom for Research
This book was a fun read. I enjoyed how Hester kept doing
daring deeds! The book mainly focuses on physical descriptions of the girls and
some major sexist and gender stereotypes when it comes to girls and sports.
Let’s start with the physical descriptions.
Hester is the main character and a lot of time is spent
talking about her, her temper, and her family’s economic status.
On page 1 Hester is described as “a rather heavily built
girl for her age, with a sturdy body and long arms—well developed in a muscular
way, but without much grace.”
She is the “only daughter of the very wealthy wholesale
butcher . . . She was one of those girls who fairly ‘boss’ their parents and
everybody around their homes. She had bought the friendliness of some weak
girls by her display in the lavish use of spending money” (p. 8).
Page 36-37 – description of Hester's family:
For some years now, her daughter
had grown quite beyond her control and Mrs. Grimes had learned not to comment
upon Hester's actions. Yet, oddly enough, Hester was neither a wild girl nor a
silly girl; she was merely bold, bad tempered, and willful.
Mrs. Grimes was a large, lymphatic
weighty, given to loose wrappers until late in the day, and the enjoyment of
unlimited novels. “Comfort above all” was the good lady's motto. She had
suffered much privatization and had worked hard, during Mr. Grimes's beginnings
in trade, for Hester's father had worked up from an apprentice butcher boy in a
retail store—was a “self-made man.”
Mr. Grimes was forever talking
about how he'd made his own way in the world without the help of any other
person; but he was, nevertheless, purse-proud and arrogant.
Page 38:
Under these circumstances it may be
seen that the girls home life was neither happy nor inspiring. The kindly,
gentle things of life escaped Hester Grimes. She unfortunately scorned her
mother for her “easy” habits; she admired her father's bullying ways and his
ability to make money. And she missed the sweetening influence of a well
conducted home where the inmates are polite and kind to one another.
Hester was abundantly healthy,
possessed personal courage to a degree—as Dr. Agnew had observed—was not
naturally unkind, and had other qualities that, properly trained and molded,
would have made her a very nice girl indeed. But having no home restraining
influences, the rough corners of Hester Grimes's character had never been
smoothed down.
Her friendship with Lily Pendleton
was not like the “chumminess” of other girls. Lily's mother came of one of the
“first families” of Centerport, and moved in a circle that the Grimeses could
never hope to attain, despite their money. Through her friendship with Lily,
who is in a miniature already a “fine lady,” Hester obtained a slight hold up
on the fringe of society.
Nellie gets an earful from her
father about women in sports (p. 19):
Loyalty. That's the kernel—loyalty.
If athletics and games they don't teach you that, you might as well give 'em
up—all of you girls. The feminine sex is not naturally loyal; now, don't get
mad! It is not a natural virtue—if any virtue is humanly natural—of the
sex. It's only the impulsive, spitfire girls who are naturally loyal—the kind
who will fight for another girl. Among boys it is different. Now, I am not
praising boys, or putting them in iota higher than girls. Only, long
generations of working and fighting together has made the normal male loyal to
his kind. It is an instinct—and even our friends who call themselves of the
suffragettes have still to acquire it.
The background into why it is important for girls to compete
in sports is contradictory in nature. On one hand, one would think how awesome
a book in 1914 is for promoting sports for girls. On the other hand, when one
reads the rational for it one realizes it is horribly sexist.
Page 12:
The Girls' Branch Athletic League
of Central High had been in existence only a few months. Gymnasium work, folk
dancing, rowing and swimming, walking and some field sports had been carried to
a certain point under the supervision of instructors engaged by Centerport's
Board of Education for the organization of the girls themselves into an
association which, with other school clubs, held competitions and all beams,
and other, athletics for trophies and prizes.
Page 13:
Public interest had long since been
aroused in the boys' athletics; but that and girls' a similar development had
lagged until the spring previous to the opening of our story.
Page 53 – 55:
Basketball is perhaps the most
transparent medium revealing certain angles of character in young girls. At
first the players seldom have anything more than a vague idea of the proper
manner of throwing a ball, or the direction in which it is to be thrown.
The old joke about a woman throwing
a stone at a hen and breaking the pain of glass behind her, will soon become a
tasteless morsel under the tongue of the humorist. Girls in our great public
schools are learning how to throw. And basketball is one of the greatest helps
to this end. The woman of the coming generation is going to have developed the
same arm and shoulder muscles that man displays, and will be able to throw a
stone and hit the hen, if necessary!
The girl beginner at basketball
usually has little idea of direction in throwing the ball; nor, indeed, does
she seem to distinguish fairly adverse between her opponents and her
team-mates. Her only idea is to try to propel the ball in the general direction
of the goal, the thought that by passing it from one to another of her team
mates she will much more likely see it lands safely in the basket never
seemingly entering her mind.
But once the girl has learned to
observe and understand the position and function of her team mates and
opponents, to consider the chances of the game in relation to the score, and,
bearing the things in mind, can form a judgment as to her most advantageous
play, and act quickly on it—when she has learned to repress her hysterical
excitement and play quietly inserted boisterously, what is it she has gained?
It is self-evident that she has one
something besides the mere ability to play basketball. She had learned to
control her emotions—to a degree, at least—through the dictates of her mind.
Blind impulse has been supplanted by intelligence. Indeed, she has gained,
without doubt, a balance of mind and character that will work for good not only
to herself, but to others.
Playing basketball seriously will
help the girl player to control her emotions and her mind is far higher and
more important matters than athletics.
Lastly, there is one minor racist element featuring Mammy
Jinny, the Beldings’s old black cook (p. 145):
“It's jest de beatenes' what disher
fambly is a-comin' to. Gits so, anyhow, dat de hull on youse is out 'most all
day long. Eberything comes onter Mammy's shoulders.”
