arrot's place for the rest of this term. Miss Burton is coming
from town to-day, and will take over your form from to-morrow morning.
Miss Parrot's unexpected illness has rather upset the usual school
routine to-day, and instead of your classes I am going to set you some
exercises and questions to work out by yourselves. Miss Latham will
come in to you for the last hour this morning and correct your answers
and award your marks. I trust you all to behave well during the time
you are unavoidably left alone; and to show your sympathy with Miss
Parrot by doing all in your power to help her successor. Now, Hilda,
bring me your books, and I will set you some work to do."

The Lower Fifth behaved themselves with exemplary virtue in the
classroom that morning, and in due course the new mistress arrived.
She was not introduced to her form until the next day. The girls were
not very favourably impressed by her appearance. Miss Burton was thin
and rather angular, sandy-haired and spectacled, and she gave the
impression of being both irritable and exacting--an impression which
the Lower Fifth found amply justified when they came into close contact
with their new mistress. Miss Burton was really one of those people
who ought never to have gone in for teaching at all, having no real
liking for her profession, nor any sympathy with or understanding of
girls. She very soon succeeded in ruffling the feelings of the Lower
Fifth, and before the first morning was ended the whole form was in
open rebellion.

It was over Gerry Wilmott that the rupture took place. Margaret
Taylor, who occupied the desk next to Gerry's, was unable to find her
place during the literature lesson, having, through inattention, missed
the announcement Miss Burton made in the beginning of the class. The
girls were reading aloud in turn a play of Shakespeare's, and as her
turn drew nearer and nearer Margaret fumbled desperately with the
pages, finally turning an imploring glance upon Gerry, who was watching
her futile struggles with nervous apprehension. Gerry was only too
glad to do anything for anybody,--the ostracism in which she was kept
by the rest of the form precluded her as a rule from even offering aid
on such an occasion as this,--and she leant over to her neighbour's
desk and pointed it out, just at the very moment when Miss Burton
happened to be looking that way. The new mistress banged on her desk
with such emphasis that the girl who was re