s of
those letters and understood. Margaret fancied she detected a certain
sense of relief in her mother's letters after she knew that Gardley had
gone East. Were they worrying about him, she wondered, or was it just
the natural dread of a mother to lose her child?

So Margaret settled down to school routine, and more and more made a
confidant of Bud concerning little matters of the school. If it had not
been for Bud at that time Margaret would have been lonely indeed.

Two or three times since Gardley left, the Brownleighs had ridden over
to Sunday service, and once had stopped for a few minutes during the
week on their way to visit some distant need. These occasions were a
delight to Margaret, for Hazel Brownleigh was a kindred spirit. She was
looking forward with pleasure to the visit she was to make them at the
mission station as soon as school closed. She had been there once with
Gardley before he left, but the ride was too long to go often, and the
only escort available was Bud. Besides, she could not get away from
school and the Sunday service at present; but it was pleasant to have
something to look forward to.

Meantime the spring Commencement was coming on and Margaret had her
hands full. She had undertaken to inaugurate a real Commencement with
class day and as much form and ceremony as she could introduce in order
to create a good school spirit; but such things are not done with the
turn of a hand, and the young teacher sadly missed Gardley in all these
preparations.

At this time Rosa Rogers was Margaret's particular thorn in the flesh.

Since the night that Forsythe had quit the play and ridden forth into
the darkness Rosa had regarded her teacher with baleful eyes. Gardley,
too, she hated, and was only waiting with smoldering wrath until her
wild, ungoverned soul could take its revenge. She felt that but for
those two Forsythe would still have been with her.

Margaret, realizing the passionate, untaught nature of the motherless
girl and her great need of a friend to guide her, made attempt after
attempt to reach and befriend her; but every attempt was met with
repulse and the sharp word of scorn. Rosa had been too long the petted
darling of a father who was utterly blind to her faults to be other than
spoiled. Her own way was the one thing that ruled her. By her will she
had ruled every nurse and servant about the place, and wheedled her
father into letting her do anything the whim prompted. Twice h