to have so distinguished a pupil as myself," pursued Rosie,
dancing down the hall with the others close in her rear.

They followed Violet to the room Grandma Elsie had spoken of, and found
it large and airy, with windows down to the floor,--opening out upon the
veranda on that side of the house,--the walls prettily papered and
adorned with good pictures, handsomely framed; the floor covered with
fine matting, furniture handsome, a pretty clock and vases on the
mantel. On one side of that was a door to which Rosie flew and, throwing
it wide open, brought to view a large closet.

"There!" she exclaimed, "didn't I tell you, girls and Walter?" for he
was in the company by that time, "here's the place of incarceration for
those who shall dare to disobey Captain Raymond. I for one shall
certainly try to behave my prettiest, for I wouldn't like to be shut up
in the dark."

"Well, it appears to me that you are more likely to come to it than any
of the rest of us," observed Walter quietly, as he turned on his heel
and walked away.

"Did you ever hear the like?" cried Rosie, opening her eyes very wide in
pretended astonishment.

"What's all this?" asked a familiar voice at the door, and turning at
the sound they saw Captain Raymond standing there, looking very grave
and slightly reproving, but with a perceptible twinkle of fun in his
eyes.

"We were just looking at the closet you are going to use for the
incarceration of the naughty ones, for this is to be your schoolroom,
you see, sir," returned Rosie demurely.

"And you expect to enjoy a sojourn there?" he queried, coming forward
and himself taking a survey of the interior. "It strikes me it would
suit better as a receptacle for school-books and the like."

"So it would," she said, with a sigh of pretended relief; "and we, your
pupils that are to be will venture to hope that you will see best to
devote it to that use."

"A hope in which you will not be disappointed, I trust," he replied, in
a kindly tone, and laying a hand lightly upon her shoulder.

"There girls!" she exclaimed, "you may thank me for extracting such a
promise beforehand. I do really believe his honor intends to treat us
well if we are reasonably well behaved."

"And the rest of us are quite sure of it," added Evelyn, with a bright
look up into the captain's face.

"Thank you for your confidence, my dear," he returned. "I have little
doubt that we will have pleasant times together in this very p