? There, I
believe I've used up all the string! What a nuisance! Can anybody get me
any from anywhere?"

"I'll find you some in half a jiff," said Dorrie Barnes, whisking off
immediately.

Since the formation of the Junior Rainbow League, Dorrie had taken a
liking to Lispeth which amounted to absolute infatuation. She followed
her like a pink-faced shadow, and was always at her elbow, sometimes at
convenient and sometimes at embarrassing moments. She fled now, like a
messenger from Olympus, with the fixed determination of procuring string
for her goddess from somewhere. It was not an easy task, for string was
a scarce commodity; what there was of it had mostly been already used,
and what was left was jealously guarded by its proprietresses, who
refused to part with it, even on the plea that it was for the head
prefect. Dorrie, however, was a young person of spirit and resource, and
she did not mean to be done. One of the trestles that supported the
secondary exhibits of toys had rather come to grief, and had been
patched up temporarily with stout twine. Her sharp eyes had noted this
fact, so, going down on her hands and knees, she managed to creep
unobserved under the table, cut the twine with her penknife, and unwound
it. She was just congratulating herself upon the success of her
achievement when the unexpected happened, or, rather, what might have
been expected by any one with an ounce of forethought. The damaged
trestle, no longer held together, promptly gave way, and the table
collapsed, burying a squealing Dorrie amid a shower of toys. She was
pulled out, agitated but uninjured, and the scattered exhibits were
carried to another table. In the confusion of their transit she managed
to secrete the piece of twine, the loss of which had been the cause of
the whole upset, and presented it quite innocently to Lispeth, who, not
knowing that she was receiving stolen goods, thanked her and tied the
parcel. Ingred, who had watched the whole comedy, laughed, but did not
give away the secret.

"That child's an imp!" she said to Quenrede. "But she's a very
accomplished imp. I'll tell you the joke afterwards, not now! Lispeth
little knows where her string comes from, and she's wrapping up that
parcel so placidly! Isn't the Snark looking quite pretty this afternoon?
Never saw her with such a color! Well, if you're ready, Queenie, we'll
go over to the hostel and get my things. We can just catch the four
o'clock train, if we'r