.

She arrived at Ion heated and out of breach, and, as a glance at the hall
clock told her, fully fifteen minutes late.

Hair and dress were in some disorder, but not thinking of that, in her
haste and perturbation, she went directly to the supper-room, where the
family were in the midst of their meal.

They all seemed busily engaged with it or in conversation, and she hoped
to slip unobserved into her seat.

But to her consternation she perceived, as she drew near, that neither
plate nor chair seemed to have been set for her; every place was
occupied.

At the same instant Mr. Dinsmore, turning a stern look upon her, remarked,
"We have no place here for the rebellious and insubordinate, therefore I
have ordered your plate removed; and while you continue to belong to that
class, you will take your meals in your own room."

He dismissed her with a wave of the hand as he spoke, and, filled with
anger and chagrin, she turned and flew from the room, never stopping till
she had gained her own and slammed the door behind her.

"Before Mr. Lilburn and everybody!" she exclaimed aloud, stamping her foot
in impotent rage.

Then catching sight of her figure in the glass, she stood still and gazed,
her cheeks reddening more and more with mortification. Hair and dress were
tumbled, the latter slightly soiled with the dust of the road, as were her
boots also, and the frill about her neck was crushed and partly tucked in.

She set to work with energy to make herself neat, and had scarcely
completed the task when her supper was brought in. It consisted of
abundance of rich sweet milk, fruit, and the nicest of bread and butter.

She ate heartily; then as Agnes carried away the tray, seated herself by
the window with her elbows on the sill, her chin in her hands, and half
involuntarily took a mental review of the day.

The retrospect was not agreeable.

"And I'll have to tell papa all about it in my diary," she groaned to
herself. "No, I sha'n't; what's the use? it'll just make him feel badly.
But he said I must, and he trusted me, he _trusted_ me to tell the truth
and the whole truth, and I can't deceive him; I can't hide anything after
that."

With a heavy sigh she took her writing-desk, set it on the sill to catch
the fading light, and wrote:

"It has been a bad day with me. I didn't look over my lessons before
school, as I ought to have done, but went out in the grounds instead.
While I was there, I broke a rule. Gra