crocodile,
which, however, would soon split up and distribute its various members.
It was a lovely, fresh autumn day, and the girls stepped along briskly.
They wore their school hats, and badges with the brown, white, and blue
ribbons, and the regulation "exeat" uniform, brown Harris tweed skirts
and knitted heather-mixture sports coats.

"Nobody could mistake us for any other school," said Marjorie. "I feel
I'm as much labelled 'Brackenfield' as a Dartmoor prisoner is known by
his black arrows! It makes one rather conspicuous."

"Trust the Empress for that!" laughed Mollie Simpson, who was one of the
party. "You see, there are other schools at Whitecliffe, and other
girls go into the town too. Sometimes they're rather giggly and silly,
and we certainly don't want to get the credit for their escapades.
Everybody knows a 'Brackenfielder' at a glance, so there's no risk of
false reports. The Empress prides herself on our clear record. We've the
reputation of behaving beautifully!"

"We haven't much chance of doing anything else," said Marjorie, looking
rather ruefully in the direction of Miss Norton, who brought up the
rear.

At the cross-roads the Andersons found their cousin, Elaine, waiting for
them, and were handed over into her charge by their teacher, with strict
injunctions that they were to be escorted back to their respective
hostels by 6.30.

Marjorie waved good-bye to Mollie, and the school crocodile passed along
the road in the direction of Whitecliffe. When the last hat had bobbed
round the corner, and the shadow of Miss Norton's presence was really
removed for the space of four whole hours, the two girls each seized
Elaine by one of her hands and twirled her round in a wild jig of
triumph. Elaine was nearly twenty, old enough to just pass muster as an
escort in the eyes of Miss Norton, but young enough to be still almost a
schoolgirl at heart, and to thoroughly enjoy the afternoons of her
cousins' visits. She worked as a V.A.D. at the Red Cross Hospital, but
she was generally off duty by two o'clock and able to devote herself to
their amusement. She had come now straight from the hospital and was in
uniform.

"You promised to take us to see the Tommies," said Marjorie, as Elaine
turned down the side road and led the way towards home.

"The Commandant didn't want me to bring visitors to-day. There's a
little whitewashing and papering going on, and the place is in rather a
mess. You shall come another