a-things; Oswald felt to see if his necktie was in position,
and Robert hunched his shoulders and rolled his eyes at Mellicent in
distracting fashion. Each one sat with head cocked on one side, in an
attitude of eager attention. The front door banged, footsteps
approached, and Mrs Asplin's high, cheerful tones were heard drawing
nearer and nearer.

"This way, dear," she was saying. "They are longing to see you!"

The listeners gave a simultaneous gulp of excitement, the door opened,
and--Peggy entered!

She was not in the least what they had expected! This was neither the
blonde beauty of Maxwell's foretelling, nor the black-haired elf
described by Mellicent. The first glance was unmitigated
disappointment.

"She is not a bit pretty," was the mental comment of the two girls.
"What a funny little soul!" that of the three big boys, who had risen on
Mrs Asplin's entrance, and now stood staring at the new-comer with
curious eyes.

Peggy was slight and pale, and at the first sight her face gave a
comical impression of being made up of a succession of peaks. Her hair
hung in a pigtail down her back, and grew in a deep point on her
forehead; her finely-marked eyebrows were shaped like eaves, and her
chin was for all the world like that of a playful kitten. Even the
velvet trimming on her dress accentuated this peculiarity, as it
zigzagged round the sleeves and neck. The hazel eyes were light and
bright, and flitted from one figure to another with a suspicious
twinkling; but nothing could have been more composed, more demure, or
patronisingly grown-up than the manner in which this strange girl bore
the scrutiny which was bent upon her.

"Here are your new friends, Peggy," cried Mrs Asplin cheerily. "They
always have tea by themselves in the schoolroom, and do what they please
from four to five o'clock. Now just sit down, dear, and take your place
among them at once. Esther will make room for you by her side, and
introduce you to the others. I will leave you to make friends. I know
young people get on better when they are left alone."

She whisked out of the room in her impetuous fashion, and Peggy Saville
seated herself in the midst of a ghastly silence. The young people had
been prepared to cheer and encourage a bashful stranger, but the
self-possession of this thin, pale-faced girl took them by surprise, so
that they sat round the table playing uncomfortably with teaspoons and
knives, and irritably cons