ved prejudice against the
aristocrat of the school, she could not repress a certain amount of
admiration.

Mabel had a very fair complexion, with cheeks pink as apple blossom, a
pair of frank, thoughtful blue eyes, straight features, and a quantity
of beautiful red-gold hair that hung almost to her waist. Her expression
was particularly pleasant and winning, and as she crossed the room in
response to Ursula's call, and smiled a welcome to the new-comer, Aldred
began already to reverse her unfavourable opinion.

"I'm glad we shall be eight in class now," said Mabel. "It's a much
nicer number than seven. Don't you remember, last term Miss Drummond
said she hoped we should get a new girl? Of course, we were Third Form
then, but it has not made any difference to be moved up to the Fourth,
except that we are going to have Miss Bardsley for a teacher, instead of
Miss Chambers--we're just the same set altogether."

"I like our new classroom far better than the old one," remarked Ursula.
"The desks are more comfortable, and there's a nicer view out of the
window. From my place I can catch a little glimpse of the sea, if I
screw my neck."

"Miss Bardsley won't let you crane your neck in school, I'm sure," said
Phoebe Stanhope, who had joined the group. "She has the reputation of
being much stricter than Miss Chambers."

"Ugh! Then I wish I could go back to the Third," declared Ursula.

"We'd a fairly easy time with Miss Chambers," said Lorna Hallam. "One
could always give a headache as an excuse, if one didn't know one's
lessons."

"I don't care for a slack teacher like poor Miss Chambers," put in Agnes
Maxwell. "She has no more idea of keeping order than a jellyfish; I
could teach as well myself."

"Go and tell Miss Drummond so, and propose that you should take the
Third," laughed Ursula. "I should like to see her face when you suggest
it!"

"There's the dressing-bell! Aldred, you must go and get tidy for tea,
which will be ready in exactly ten minutes."

There was no doubt that Mabel Farrington was a particularly nice girl;
the more Aldred saw of her, the more she liked her. Her popularity at
The Grange was thoroughly well deserved, for it rested more on her
character than on her social standing. She was extremely high-principled
and conscientious, a plodding worker, and always anxious to uphold the
general tone and credit of the school. If she had a fault, it was her
exclusiveness. So far, though she was pleased