n of Doctor Hugh's authority, when something happened
that took the matter out of her hands.

Late in October, one frosty morning on her way to school, Sarah made
what was to her a great and lucky discovery. Shirley and Rosemary
had gone on ahead of her, but Winnie had called her back to pick up
the clothes she had strewn about her room with her customary
careless abandon. Since the opening of school, Aunt Trudy had
patiently made beds and put the rooms in order and she would never
mention to her favorite Sarah a little matter like slippers in the
middle of the rug, bath-robe flung down on the bed and every
separate bureau drawer wide open and yawning. This morning Aunt
Trudy was going to the city to shop, and the task of bed-making
would devolve upon Winnie who had no intention of having her duty
complicated by others' neglect. A hasty glance into the room shared
by Sarah and Shirley, and Winnie had summoned the former, in no
uncertain voice, to "come up here and put your clothes away this
instant." Sarah, complaining that she would certainly be late for
school, had obeyed and if she had hurried could easily have reached
the school before the assembly bell rang.

But crossing a vacant lot, Sarah came upon that which could make her
forget school and time. A faint rustle under the dead leaves caught
her quick ear and, stooping down, she uncovered a little snake,
languid from the cold. Perhaps he had been on his way to winter
quarters and the frost had caught him unaware. Anyway, he was numb
and Sarah, murmuring affectionate nothings to him, slipped him into
her pocket and then spent a valuable ten minutes poking about among
the leaves in the hopes of discovering another, believing implicitly
that snakes "always go in pairs." However, if the snake had a
companion, diligent search failed to uncover it and Sarah was forced
to take her reluctant way to school with only one snake to comfort
and love. While she was still some distance from the gate she heard
the bell ring, and as she reasoned, she was late then, so why should
she hurry when it would not save her a tardy mark? Morning exercises
were in progress in the auditorium when Sarah entered the building,
and she had her class room to herself. She hung up her hat and coat
and took another peep at the snake. He seemed to be feeling better,
but some fresh wave of sympathy led her to regret the necessity for
leaving him to spend a lonely morning in the cloak room. With Sar