, help clear up this mess, and then I'll find the
paper. I can give the finishing touches to the closets and bureau drawers
to-morrow."

All turned to with more ardor than skill, and in a very few moments the
conglomeration upon the floor had vanished. How it fared with Ruth and
Edith when it came time to dress has never been disclosed. However, the
room restored to outward order, twelve girls set to work to fashion caps
and masks, and, as the last one was completed, the dressing-bell rang and
all scattered to prepare for dinner.

The evening hours at Sunny Bank were very pleasant ones, for during the
winter, while days were short and nights were long, there was not much
opportunity for outdoor diversion. Immediately after dinner Miss Howard,
the literature teacher, would place her snug little rocking-chair before
the cheerful open fire in the big hall, and the girls would gather about
her; some on chairs, some on hassocks, and some curled upon the large fur
rug in front of the blazing logs, while she read aloud for an hour. A fine
library in Mont Cliff supplied books of every imaginable sort, and the
girls were allowed to take turns in selecting them; providing, of course,
their selections were wise ones. But with Miss Howard as guide they could
not go far astray, and many a delightful hour was passed before the fire.
Just at present the books chosen were those relating to English history,
and contained good, hard facts, but, when the girls grew a little tired of
such substantial diet, historical novels came handy for a relish. As
England was cutting a prominent figure in the world just then, the girls
were encouraged to keep in touch with the current events, and to talk
freely about them. The last book read, at least the one they were just
concluding, was one which brought into strong contrast the reigns of
England's two greatest queens, and the subject was discussed in a lively
manner.

The book was finished shortly before the hour ended, and, laying it upon
her lap, Miss Howard began to ask a few leading questions in order to get
the girls started. As always happens, there were some girls not wildly
enthusiastic over historical subjects, and such books did not hold their
attention as a modern novel filled with thrilling situations would have
done. But these were the very ones whom Miss Howard most wished to reach,
and, feeling sure that her chances of doing so through such methods were
far greater than could be ho