h another
communicating door, was the room occupied by Ruth and Edith, but the door
was always fastened. Perhaps Miss Preston considered three communicating
rooms altogether too convivial, and decided that "an ounce of prevention
was always worth a pound of cure."

As the stealthy footfalls passed on down the hall, a light tap fell upon
Toinette's door, and, springing out of bed, she flew to give a
corresponding tap, and listen for what might follow.

"Sh-h!" came in a whisper from the other side.

"Yes," was the low reply.

"Did you hear the 'Princess' walk down the hall?" The Princess was the big
Maltese house cat, and a privileged character.

"A pretty big _cat_," was whispered back.

"That was Mother Stone, and she was just as anxious to avoid being heard
by Miss Preston as she was anxious to hear what might be going on in our
rooms. If Miss Preston caught her listening at anybody's door, she would
be angrier than if we sat up all night."

"What does she think we're up to, anyway?" whispered Toinette.

"No telling, but she knows we had a frolic last night and is on the
lookout for another to-night, I guess."

"Maybe she won't look in vain," laughed Toinette, softly.

Twelve o'clock had just been struck by the tall clock in the lower hall,
when a white figure walked slowly down the corridor. Her hair fell in
long, waving ringlets far below her waist, her pretty white hands were
outstretched in front of her, and the great eyes, wide open, stared
straight before her with a strange, unseeing stare. As she walked along
she whispered softly to herself, but the words were hardly audible. On she
went, through the long corridor, down the little side hall, which led to
the pantry below, still muttering in that uncanny manner.

It had long been a standing joke in the school that Mrs. Stone slept like
a cat, with one eye open and one ear alert for every sound, for she was
continually hearing burglars, or marauders of some sort or other. So it is
not surprising that before that ghost had gone very far another white
figure popped its head out into the hall and uttered a smothered
exclamation at sight of number one.

"Dear me! dear me!" she murmured, "my suspicions were not amiss. Poor,
dear Marion, is so very self-confident. I was sure the last night's folly
would lead to something else. Such is invariably the case," and she
followed rapidly after the figure which was just vanishing around the turn
in the lower hall