ollowed by an irritated dapper little
man.

"Adam, my dear, we have a guest. This is Isabelle's father."

A gasp went round the table--audible, visible. Never in his life had
Wally Bryce made such a sensation. He stared at these girls who turned
such strange looks upon him. As for Isabelle, at the moment she would
not have hesitated at patricide, but that being out of the question, she
burst into peal after peal of hysterical laughter.

Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin were perfectly aghast at the behaviour of the
school, and Wally remarked irritably,--

"Shut up, Isabelle; shut up!"

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

That supper proved to be a most difficult meal! Usually when there were
guests, the girls talked and behaved very prettily, but on this occasion
they sat like silent, accusing ghosts, eating in unbroken stillness.
Mrs. Benjamin tried to lead them into conversation, but in vain. There
were cross currents of feeling which she could not understand or cope
with. Isabelle babbled on, with intermittent fits of hysterical
laughter. Whenever she spoke, black looks were concentrated upon her;
when Wally spoke, they were transferred to him. Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin
did their best, but they were relieved when the ordeal was over and the
girls went off to the study room.

Isabelle was excused, because of her guest. She was glad of every moment
that postponed her hour of reckoning. Wally could be disposed of, but
the girls must be met. The Benjamins had duties to attend to, so Wally
and his daughter were left alone for a quarter of an hour, in the
library.

"Look here!" he burst out at her. "What's the matter with those kids?"

"Matter?"--innocently.

"They glared at me as if I had murdered their mothers! Do they always
eat in dead silence like that?"

Isabelle cast a glance over her shoulders to see that they were quite
alone.

"This is what I tried to save you from," she whispered.

"You mean that's why you bundled me off this morning, and barred me out
this evening?"

She nodded solemnly.

"The machine balked, the tire blew out, I had to come back," he
apologized. "What's the matter with 'em anyhow?"

"You see we have a society for the Discouragement of Visiting Parents."

"What's the point?"

"You see, we endure a great deal from our parents, at home, but here we
are free. The minute they begin visiting us, the trouble begins. So when
they come, we are pledged to act like this, and they