can't see
why you should concern yourself with our affairs."

"Do your own exercises, and leave us to do ours," said Doris Kennedy.
"We don't want to belong to your silly society."

After meeting with such a rebuff, Patty felt very diffident about
mentioning the matter to the remaining members of the class. She had no
wish to be considered self-righteous and interfering, but, all the same,
she thought she was bound to try and use her influence to set straight
what was certainly a doubtful practice, and she meant to persist even at
the risk of being called hard names. She found Muriel and her three
friends alone in the recreation room one afternoon, and screwed up her
courage sufficiently to broach the subject to them.

"I wasn't aware that anybody cheated," said Muriel coldly, pausing for a
moment in the letter she was writing. "If they do, by all means get
them to take your pledge. It doesn't concern me."

"Nor me either," said Vera. "I go my own way, and don't trouble about
other people."

"We thought perhaps you'd join, as so many of the girls have done so,"
said Patty, timidly.

"It's quite unnecessary," said Vera, "and for Maud and Kitty too. You'd
better take it to the Fifth Class."

Kitty Harrison said nothing, but she came to Patty afterwards and asked
that her name might be placed on the list.

"I think I can persuade Maud too," she said; "only you must promise
faithfully not to let Vera or Muriel know anything about it. I'm glad
you've got it up, Patty, because we all did really look back at the
chapter in the history exercises, even Vera, though she won't confess
it. Nobody will dare to cheat now that so much notice has been taken of
it, and we'd all rather not, if everyone else will keep square. I always
felt dreadfully mean, only I didn't like losing marks."

It was a great triumph for Patty to have won both Kitty and Maud to her
side, and she had the added satisfaction of afterwards securing the two
members of the lower division who had at first refused. Thanks to her
exertions, the standard of the class seemed undoubtedly raised, and the
Fifth Form girls, who shared the recreation room, and heard most of what
was going on, took up the idea, and formed a society of their own. It
was as if Patty had cast a stone into a smooth pond, and the ripples
were spreading in an ever-widening circle. Without in the least
realizing it, her school-fellows were influenced by her pleasant, sunny,
unselfish way