t the first time you have done a heroic deed!"

She woke with a start. The words seemed so clear, she could almost
believe Mabel had really spoken them. Certainly she had done nothing
particularly heroic that day; indeed, her conscience told her that she
was mainly responsible for that unpleasant adventure. It was she who had
begged the others to leave the post office, and urged them to go down
the promenade and along the pier. But for her it would not have occurred
to them to break bounds; they would have waited until Blanche and Freda
returned, walked straight back to school, and considered that they had
had an enjoyable afternoon, without transgressing rules. None of them,
however, had accused her of this. They appeared perfectly ready to take
the full blame--indeed, they had hinted that, as a new girl, she would
probably escape the consequences of the escapade more easily than they.

"After all, it's mostly their fault, for they'd no need to come, even if
I asked them," she decided hastily. "I'm not bound to explain everything
and get into extra trouble. No one is likely to ask who suggested it."

She tried to stretch her cramped limbs, and felt so stiff that it was
pain to move. But it was worse to remain in the same position; so,
making an effort, she dragged herself up, and crept out from under the
rock. The rain had stopped, and a full moon was shining outside, so
clearly that she was able to consult her watch and ascertain that it was
a little after ten o'clock. She roused the others immediately.

"Look--look!" she cried, shaking them eagerly. "It's bright moonlight!
The tide will have gone down. We must try to get on to the sands at
once."

Yawning and stretching, the girls emerged from the cave. It was
sufficiently light for them to see their way over the rocks, so they set
off without further delay in the direction of the shore. They were now
able to cross easily at the place where the channel had stretched a few
hours earlier, and found themselves, after a considerable amount of
scrambling, on the beach at the farther side of the promontory.

It was the queerest walk home that they had ever experienced. Sands are
generally associated with blue sky and bright sunshine, and those seemed
very eerie and weird and strange in the moonlight, with the deep, dark
shadows under the cliffs, and the sea gleaming silver in the distance.
With one consent they took each others' arms. Aldred certainly did not
feel suf