. Of course, if
nobody here is guilty we must believe that some passer-by ventured down
upon the river while crossing Pinewood estate.

"Now, young ladies, I need say nothing more on this subject, I believe.
After recitations to-day, those who wish may enjoy the pleasure and
exercise of ice-skating. The boathouse will be warmed. Samuel will be
there to sharpen skates for those who wish. And he can supply you with
extra straps or other appliances. You understand that he makes a little
extra money that way, and I approve of it."

Then she touched the rising bell, and instantly the girls arose and a
bustle of low converse and the rustle of dresses and clack of shoes on
the polished floor made up the usual confusion of sounds as the girls
separated for their classrooms. Nearly four hundred girls manage to make
considerable noise.

Nancy went immediately to the Madame's office. It was the first time she
had ever been called there; it was the first time, indeed, that she had
ever been accused of any kind of a fault since arriving at the school.

So she did not feel very happy. She had not known of the rule which
Madame Schakael had said was so well understood. She had not meant to
break the law.

But she could see very clearly that the rule was a just one. She had no
business to venture on the ice without asking permission. And her heart
throbbed and her face flushed and paled by turns as she waited for the
principal to appear.

But when Madame Schakael entered the anteroom she was not alone. Nancy,
from within, heard another voice--a shrill and unpleasant voice which
she very well knew.

"Well, I don't care what you say, Madame, it _was_ her. There's no other
girl in the whole school who gets up so early and disturbs us other
girls--so now! She's stirring around half the night, I declare! And she
was the _only_ girl out of doors this morning so early."

"And she is your roommate; is she, Miss Rathmore?" interrupted the
Madame's smooth, low voice.

"Well! I never wanted her! I wrote home and told my mother she was a
nobody----"

"Your mother was kind enough to write to me on the subject," said the
principal of Pinewood Hall. "But I could not allow any change in the
dormitory arrangements for the inconsequential reasons given. Nancy
Nelson is quite the same as any other girl at the Hall. I wish to hear
nothing more on _that_ topic, Cora.

"But this other matter, of course, is different. If a rule has been
broken