ether too gently, for "Billie was Miss
Walters' pet"--but called to account nevertheless and before a crowd of
her classmates. That ought to hold her for a while!

As for Billie herself, and Laura and Vi, they were desperate.

"You ought to have told Miss Walters about Amanda, Billie," Laura said
over and over again. "You shouldn't have let that little old sneak get
away with it. Did you see her smile when Miss Walters turned away? Oh,
if I could only give her what I want to give her!" Laura's hands clasped
and unclasped nervously as she talked and her eyes snapped.

"Yes, that's just what she was waiting for," said Vi, hardly less
furious than Laura. "If you only hadn't answered her, Billie. Had just
looked at her with your nose in the air and turned away. That makes her
mad enough to murder you."

"Oh, I know it, I know it," said Billie, still ashamed to look any one
in the face. She had broken one of the rules and had been reprimanded
for it by Miss Walters in public. There was no getting over that. If it
had been one of the "Dill Pickles" she would not have minded so much.
But Miss Walters!

"Never mind," Vi whispered in her ear. "Miss Walters doesn't like Amanda
any more than we do, and she just scolded you because she had to. And I
know she liked the way you refused to tell tales. I saw it in the way
she looked at you."

At this Billie brightened and glanced up hopefully.

"Well, I'm glad if there's something she can like about me," she
answered, and just then the gong echoing through the hall, sent them
scurrying to their classes.

In the excitement of the scene with Amanda the girls had almost
forgotten their mysterious engagement for ten o'clock that evening. But
when they did think of it again it had the effect of making them forget
everything else.

The afternoon dragged on, evening came with supper, and then at last
they were in the dormitory, pretending to undress with the other girls,
while they really left most of their clothing on.

When everything was dark and the whole place seemingly asleep, they got
out of bed quietly, stole softly down the stairs, and finally came out
into the moonlit night.

The old maple tree where they were to meet Connie was a magnificent old
giant which the girls had always admired, set back a little way in the
woods.

The place had probably been picked out because nobody, happening to
look from the windows of Three Towers, would be able to see anything but
shad