ny little swastika inside the envelope, and I made three
crosses over it with my right forefinger," confessed Hilary, "but I
don't suppose it's any use; they'll probably come packing back."

"Well, if they do you must send them to some other magazine," said
Stuart hopefully.

Diana felt a little cheered up after reading three chapters of
_Ivanhoe_, but she was still angry with Hilary. She felt that she would
like to play a trick upon her. It would really serve her right for being
so generally disagreeable. There was no need at all for prefects to take
advantage of their office and ride roughshod over the intermediates. How
could she possibly pay her out and settle the score between them? She
pondered for a while, then had a sudden brain-wave and chuckled. First,
she ascertained that the senior room was empty, then she paid a
surreptitious visit to the pantry and purloined a pepper-pot. Hiding
this for safety in her pocket she went back to the senior room, opened
Hilary's desk, and put a plentiful sprinkling of pepper inside.

"It'll make Hilary just sneeze her head off to-morrow!" triumphed Diana.
"She'll think she's got a touch of 'flu', and she'll be in _such_ a
scare! I'd give worlds to see the fun. Only, of course, I daren't show
myself, or she'll find out. No, that would never do."

Putting the pepper-pot back in her pocket, she was in the act of leaving
the room, when in the dusk she collided with Geraldine. The astonishment
was mutual.

"What are you doing here, Diana?" asked the head prefect sharply.

"Oh, nothing in particular. I was just taking a roam round the school,
that's all."

"You've no business to roam into the senior room. Keep to your own
quarters. We can't have juniors coming in here!"

"I'm not a junior!"

"Well, intermediates are quite as bad, if not worse!"

Diana beat a retreat, for the supper-bell was ringing. She marched into
the dining-room with a defiant twinkle in her eyes, and meeting Wendy,
could not refrain from whispering:

"Done 'em brown for once! Hilary'll get the surprise of her life
to-morrow."

"Sh! Sh!" warned Wendy too late.

Geraldine, who was exactly behind, and who had evidently overheard,
glared at the couple, but forbore to speak. Indeed there was not time
for her to do so, for the girls were taking their seats, and Miss Todd
was waiting to say grace. It is undignified for a head prefect to take
too much notice of the chance remarks of intermediates, so Gera