e of something I would scorn
to do, and not satisfied with that, visited your petty spite upon a girl
who is the soul of truth and honor. You may say what you choose about me,
but you shall not hurt Grace, and if you don't immediately retract what
you have written I will take measures which may prove most unpleasant to
all of you."

Just what Anne intended to do she did not know, but her outburst had its
effect on the conspirators, and they squirmed uneasily under the lash of
her words. Perhaps, they had misjudged this slender, dark-eyed girl after
all.

Before Anne could say more, Grace spoke quietly.

"Sit down, all of you," she said at last, with a sweetness and dignity
that was remarkable in so young a girl. "I have something to say to you.
It is curious," she went on, "that I was just talking about our basketball
team when you came into the room. I had said to Nora, Jessica and Anne
that I wanted more than anything else in the world to beat the junior
team. Miss Thompson had been praising the team to me, and I said to the
girls that I thought I loved it just as a mother loves her daughters.
There is no sacrifice I wouldn't make to keep up the team's good work, and
that is the reason why I am going to make a sacrifice, now, and decline
to resign. If I had been a poor captain, you would have had a right to
ask for my resignation But I haven't. I have been a good, hard-working,
conscientious captain, and I have made a success of the team. None of you
can deny it. If you took a new captain at this stage it might ruin
everything, and I tell you I have thought too much about it; I have set my
heart on it so firmly that it would just break if we lost the deciding
game."

Her voice broke a little. Nora was sobbing openly. It was hard work for
Grace to control her own tears.

"Of course," she went on, clearing her throat and raising her voice to
steady it, "it will be a sacrifice for me to keep on being your captain
when you don't want me. It's no fun, I can assure you. Perhaps none of you
has ever felt the hurt that comes of being turned out by people who were
once fond of you. I hope you never will. I am still fond of all of you,
and some day, perhaps, you will see that you have made a mistake. At any
rate, I decline to resign my place. It was given to me for the year, and I
won't give it up."

Grace turned her back and walked to the window. She had come at last to
the end of her strength. She leaned against the wi