oak of reserve, she proved a most
delightful and winning comrade, and it gave a special zest to her
confidences to feel they were shared by no one else. Aldred knew well
that she was regarded as supremely lucky by the rest of the class, each
one of whom would have jumped at the chance of being Mabel's room-mate,
and envied her good fortune. She held her head a little high in
consequence, and was ready almost to patronize those who, while they had
had a much longer acquaintance with the school favourite, had not been
considered worthy of her particular esteem.

It was about a fortnight after the establishment of this friendship,
when the two girls had already grown very fond of each other, that
Aldred happened one day to be standing inside the book cupboard in the
classroom. It was quite a large cupboard, almost like a separate little
room; and it had shelves all round, where spare exercise-books, bottles
of ink, and boxes of chalk for the blackboard were kept. No one but the
monitress was supposed to enter, and that only by the mistress's orders;
so Aldred had no business there, and had gone in out of curiosity to see
what it contained. She was examining the new pens, paper fasteners,
bundles of pencils, and other articles which she found, when she heard
voices in the classroom. Mabel Farrington and one or two other girls had
evidently come in, and, to judge from their conversation, were
discussing no less a person than herself. Aldred pricked up her ears.
What were they saying about her? Strict honour urged her to step out of
the cupboard at once, before she heard any more; but prudence advised
her to stay where she was, and not to let her companions know that she
had been prying in a place where she was not allowed to go: and it was
the latter counsel that prevailed.

"Yes, I think she's pretty," said Phoebe Stanhope, "and she's very
clever, and can make herself pleasant; but (if you'll excuse my saying
so, Mabel) I can't quite see why you admire her so blindly as you do."

"Because she deserves it!" exclaimed Mabel, with enthusiasm. "She did
such an absolutely splendid thing that I feel proud to know her."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll tell you. I didn't say a word about it before because I wanted to
see if Aldred would mention it herself; but she's never hinted at the
matter, and that's raised her higher still in my opinion. There are few
girls who would not have made some reference to it."

"But what did she do