ttention. In her sudden sharp resentment at the
preposterous accusation, she had swung around in her chair, and her elbow
had tipped over the inkwell, spilling the contents over the desk. She sat
staring in horrified silence at her ruined drawing.

Finally Ethelwynne puzzled by the continued stillness peered with one eye
from the sheltering fringes. She sprang up with a jump.

"Agnes, your beautiful fungi!"

A knock sounded at the door.

"Come," called Agnes in mechanical response. There was a pause; then the
knob turned and the visitor entered with diffident step.

Ethelwynne hastily smoothed her hair with one hand and felt of her belt
with the other. "Oh, good evening, Professor Stratton," she stuttered
from surprised embarrassment, "I mean, good morning. How do you do? Won't
you sit down?"

Agnes turned to look, and rose in sober greeting.

"You see it is spoiled," she pointed to the ink-splotched drawing. "It
was an accident. You don't know how exceedingly sorry I am, Professor
Stratton. The work on your book can go on without it, I hope."

The older woman forgot her incorrigible shyness in dismay. "What a shame!
How distressing!" She hurried forward impulsively to examine the sheet.
"Since you brought it to me last night I have been exulting in the
thought of it. You have great talent for such work. The time you have
spent on it! How distressing!" She stopped in thoughtful fear that she
might be adding to the girl's disappointment. "An accident, you say? How
did it happen?"

"Something startled me so that I twirled around in my seat, and my elbow
knocked the ink over. I--I am very sorry." Her lips felt stiff.
Ethelwynne watching with miserable eyes saw her moisten them. They were
drooping at the corners.

"It is my fault," she burst out hurriedly, "it is all my fault. I made her
jump. I startled her on purpose. I said mean things to her because I felt
like saying them. I felt like saying them because I had flunked in Latin.
And I flunked in Latin because I took a p-p-pill--oh, no, no! I mean,
because I caught cold from staying out on the ice too long. And I stayed
out long because I wanted to. And the reason why I caught cold from
staying out too long was because my digestion was upset from eating fudge
when the doctor told me not to. And I ate the fudge because I wanted it.
And it is all my fault. It is all because I do things just because I want
to do them and not because I ought to do them or ought no