s a King Charles
spaniel's," jeered Dora.

"Stuffy old aunt! She isn't stuffy in the least. She's a little
old-fashioned; that's all. Grandmother has taken quite a fancy to her."

Dora smiled a very provoking smile as she said,--

"Perhaps the Pelhams, when they come, will take a fancy to her too, and
to that pretty name of Peggy."

The hot color rushed to Tilly's cheeks and the tears to her eyes as she
turned away. She knew perfectly well that Dora was thinking: "Oh, your
grandmother is only another old woman a good deal like Mrs. Smith,--what
is her judgment worth?"

Dora was a little ashamed of herself as Tilly left her. Indeed, she had
been a little ashamed of herself for some time,--ever since, in fact,
she had ranged herself on Agnes's side after the tennis affair; but
once having taken that side she was determined to stick to it, and to
believe that it was the right side, in spite of some qualms of
conscience.

Her cousin Amy followed in the same path, and Agnes spared no pains to
keep them there. She felt that she could not afford to lose her only
allies. Every minute that had elapsed since she had flung down her
tennis racket in such anger and mortification had but increased this
mortification, and strengthened her resolve to show those boys and Tilly
Morris that she was right and they were wrong about "that girl."

Of course, when she set her face in this direction, she was on the
lookout for everything unfavorable; and everything, pretty nearly, was
turned into something unfavorable, so perverted and distorted had her
vision become. It was "Dora, did you notice this?" and "Amy, did you see
that?" until the two began to find the incessant harping upon one
subject rather wearisome, especially as the particular details thus
pointed out had never yet developed into matters of any importance.

"I wish Agnes wouldn't keep talking about that Smith girl all the time,
unless there was something more worth while to talk about," broke forth
Dora impatiently to Amy just after the interview with Tilly.

"So do I," Amy responded emphatically; then, laughing a little, "unless
there was some real big thing to tell."

"But I don't wonder Agnes doesn't like the girl, with Tilly and Will
taking up for her and making such a fuss;" and Dora indignantly repeated
Tilly's accusations. Amy caught at the word "persecution," as Dora had
done, and together they defended themselves against these accusations
with a zeal and in