nd."

"A shiny black cover with a paper label on the back."

Miss Drake lifted up the loose papers with her pretty white hands, laid
them daintily on one side, and proceeded to examine the exercise books
one by one, while Dreda stood by in hopeless silence. One might search
all day and all night, but it was impossible to find what was not there.
Her eyes looked listlessly on the map book, the arithmetic book, the
French exercise book; even the big untidy note book roused no flicker of
animation, though if it chanced to fall open it would reveal caricature
drawings of school authorities which must needs draw confusion upon her
head. She would never have the heart to draw caricatures again! The
thick book with the mottled cover contained the compositions which had
won praise and distinction. She had felt so proud of the "Excellent"
written in pencilled letters at the end of the final sentences. Never
again would she know what it was to be happy and gay! The big drawing-
book must have suffered from its fall--for the leaves appeared to be
bent and doubled back. Dreda felt the calm indifference of despair, but
Miss Drake frowned and made a clicking sound of disapproval.

"My dear! Your drawing-book! You are really incorri--"

She stopped short in the middle of the word, for the moment that the
drawing-book was opened her quick eye had caught sight of a shiny black
cover behind the crumpled papers. She lifted it rapidly, saw the
printed label on the back, and held it out towards her pupil with a
mingling of triumph and impatience.

"My dear Dreda! What did I tell you? All this fuss for nothing. You
are really too trying. Why didn't you look properly before coming to
me?"

Dreda's exclamation of bewilderment was echoed by another, as Susan
entered the room on her return from her unsuccessful search upstairs.
She added her own quiet testimony to Dreda's excited protestations that
the synopsis was not, could not conceivably have been in the desk when
she had turned it out ten minutes before, but Miss Drake refused to
listen. Her temper was ruffled, she enforced silence with an imperative
gesture, bade Dreda follow her to the study, and seated herself at her
desk with her most severe and school-mistressy expression.

As for Dreda, she feebly dropped into a chair and sat staring blankly
before her, the image of limp dejection. The very stars in their
courses seemed conspiring to fight against her, for no or