ats made little impression upon the girls and boys. They
were--for the time--exhausted. Ruth went home in tears--although she had
not drawn one word or look of critical comment from the sharp-spoken
director. Tess was very solemn, and continued to repeat her part of
Swiftwing over and over to herself--although she knew it perfectly.

Dot danced along, saying: "Well! I don't care! _I buzzed_ all right--I
know I did! Buzz! buzz! buzz-z-z-z!"

"Goodness gracious!" ejaculated the nervous Agnes, who felt for them
all, though not having a thing to do with the play---- "Goodness
gracious! you were wishing for a 'buzzer,' Dot Kenway. I don't think you
need one. Nature must have made a mistake and meant you for a bee,
anyway. I don't see how you ever came to be born into the Kenway family,
instead of a bee-hive!"

Dot pouted at that, but quickly changed her expression when she saw
Sammy Pinkney careering along the street like a young whirlwind. Sammy,
for his sins, had been forbidden to participate in _The Carnation
Countess_--not that it seemed to trouble him a bit! Anything that
occurred in the schoolhouse was trial and tribulation to Master Pinkney.
They could not fool him into believing differently, just by calling it a
"play!"

"Oh, bully! bully! bully!" he sang, coming along the street in a "hop,
skip and a jump pace," the better to show his joy. "Oh, Dot! oh, Tess!
you never can guess what's happened."

"Something _awful_, I just know," said Tess, "or you wouldn't be so
glad."

"Huh!" grunted Sammy, stopping in the middle of his fantastic dance, and
glaring at the next to the youngest Corner House girl, "You wait, Tess
Kenway! You're 'teacher's pet'; but nobody else likes old Pepperpot. I
guess it will be in the paper to-night, and everybody will be glad of
it."

"What has happened to Miss Pepperill?" demanded Ruth, seeing into the
mystery of the boy's speech--at least, for a little way.

"Then you _ain't_ heard?" crowed Sammy.

"And we're not likely to, if you don't hurry up and say something,"
snapped Agnes.

"Well!" growled Sammy. "She's hurt-ed. She was run down by an automobile
on High Street. They wanted to take her to the hospital--the one for
girls and babies, you know----"

"Oh! Mrs. Eland's hospital!" gasped Tess.

"Yep. But she wouldn't go there. They say she made 'em take her to her
boarding house. And she's hurt bad. And, oh, goody! there won't be any
school Monday!" cried the young savage, be