classrooms the droning voices were heard--of the
pupils in recitations, or of the teachers as they patiently explained
some point.

The thunder rumbled nearer and nearer. Now and then a vivid flash of
lightning split the sombre clouds. At such times the nervous girls would
jump in their seats, and there would follow hysterical, though quickly
subdued, bursts of laughter from their more stolid mates, or the boys.

The four who were to go on the walking tour together were in the Latin
class. Amy was standing up, translating--or trying to translate--a
passage from Caesar. She halted and stammered, though usually she got
perfect marks in this study.

"Take it a bit slower, Miss Stonington," suggested Miss Greene, the
teacher. "That is very good. You should know that word--_nequaquam_--take
your time."

"_Nequaquam"_ said Amy faintly, "not ever--"

There was a titter from Alice Jallow, in which Kittie Rossmore joined.
Poor Amy looked distressed. Tears came into her eyes.

There shot across the black heavens a vivid flash of lightning, and a
bursting crash so promptly came echoing that nearly every one of the
girls started from her desk, and a number screamed, while even the boys
were startled.

Then, with a low moan, Amy swayed, and fell backward into the arms of
Betty.

"She's fainted!" exclaimed Miss Greene. "Girls, keep quiet! Some one get
me a glass of water!"

There was a stir among the boys who occupied one side of the big room,
and Frank Haley hastened out.

CHAPTER IV

A TAUNT

With a great crash, a deluge of rain, a wind that swept the spray across
the school room, and the rumbling of thunder, punctuated by vivid,
hissing flashes of lightning, the storm broke. At once the tension--that
of nature as well as that of the nerves of the girls--was relieved. A
sound, like a great sigh, was heard in the room. There were one or two
faint cries, some laughter, and the members of the class were themselves
again. The balance had been restored.

"She will be all right presently," said Miss Greene, quietly, as she
helped place Amy on a couch in her own private room. "Close some of the
windows, girls, the rain is coming in."

Her firm and cheering words, and her calm manner, aided in the work of
restoration that had begun when the nerve-tension was lessened. The girls
were themselves again, most of them going quietly to their seats, while
Betty and Grace helped Miss Greene restore Amy to consciousness.