lowed to talk to you, but
Miss Beasley didn't tell me not to, so I shall. Look here, Ray, why
don't you end this wretched business?"

"I only wish I could!" groaned Raymonde.

"But you can. There's something behind it all, I'm sure. Take my
advice, and explain it to Miss Beasley. She'd be quite decent about
it."

Raymonde shook her head sadly and silently.

"Yes, she would, if you'd only confess. I can't understand you, Ray.
You were always a madcap, but you never did anything underhand or
sneaky before; even when you were naughtiest you were quite square and
above-board."

"Thank you!" smiled Raymonde faintly.

"I can't think why you should have changed, and conceal everything!
Ray, I appeal to your best side. You signed our Marlowe Grange League,
and seemed quite enthusiastic about it at the time. Won't you try to
live up to it now?"

Raymonde rose to her feet. In her eyes were two smouldering fires.

"You can't understand!" Her voice was trembling with passion. "It's
exactly because I signed that paper and promised to be faithful to my
friends and to speak the truth, that I'm in all this trouble. No, I
tell you I won't explain! If you think so badly of me that you won't
believe my word, it's no use my speaking to you. Oh! I hate everybody,
and I hate everything! I wish I could go home!"

"Better stay and clear things up!" said Veronica. "If I could do
anything for you, I would."

"Would you?" asked Raymonde with a flash of hope. "Could you possibly
get a letter posted for me?"

Veronica shook her head.

"I daren't!" she said briefly. "Miss Beasley trusted me to bring up
your tea, and I mustn't forget I'm a monitress. I shall have to tell
her that I've been speaking to you. I ought to go now. Good-bye!"

Raymonde drank her tea, but left the bread and butter untouched. She
was not hungry, and her head ached. The whole of her gay, careless
world seemed to have crumbled to ashes. She wondered what her chums
were thinking of her. Did they, like Veronica, mistrust her conduct?
She knew that her behaviour was extraordinary. A sense of utter
desolation swept over her, and, pushing aside the tea things, she
leaned her arms on the table, with her hot face pressed against them.

From this despairing attitude she was aroused by Miss Gibbs, who five
minutes later came to fetch the tray.

"Don't give way, Raymonde!" said the mistress, laying quite a kindly
hand on the girl's shoulder. "There's to be proper enqu