spleasure, and at once
proceeded to dismiss her.

"I desire your presence in the study for a few moments, Adelaide. Perhaps
you will be kind enough to precede me thither."

He held the door open for her with elaborate ceremony, and Mrs. Lorimer
had no choice but to obey. She departed with a scared effort to check her
tears under the stern disapproval of his look.

He closed the door upon her and advanced to the table, gazing round upon
them with judicial severity.

"I am here," he announced, "to pass sentence."

Jeanie, crying softly in her corner, made desperate attempts to
control herself under the awful look that was at this point
concentrated upon her.

After a pause the Vicar proceeded, with a spiteful glance at Avery. "It
is my intention to impose a holiday-task of sufficient magnitude to keep
you all out of mischief during the rest of the holidays. You will
therefore commit to memory various different portions of Milton's
_Paradise Lost_ which I shall select, and which must be repeated to me in
their entirety without mistake on my return from my own hard-earned
holiday. And let me give you all fair warning," he raised his voice and
looked round again, regarding poor Jeanie with marked austerity, "that if
any one of you is not word-perfect in his or her task by the day of my
return--boy or girl I care not, the offence is the same--he or she will
receive a sound caning and the task will be returned."

Thus he delivered himself, and turned to go; but paused at the door to
add, "Also, Mrs. Denys, will you be good enough to remember that it is
against my express command that either you or any of the children should
enter any part of Rodding Park during my absence. I desire that to be
clearly understood."

"It is understood," said Avery in a low voice.

"That is well," said the Reverend Stephen, and walked majestically
from the room.

A few seconds of awed silence followed his departure; then to Avery's
horror Gracie snatched off one of her shoes and flung it violently at the
door that he had closed behind him. Luckily for Gracie, her father was at
the foot of the stairs before this episode took place and beyond earshot
also of the furious storm of tears that followed it, with which even
Avery found it difficult to cope.

It had been a tragic day throughout, and she was thankful when at length
it drew to a close.

But when night came at last, and she lay down in the darkness, she found
herself much too