assers on his estate. Did
you go into his plantation to get them?"

"Yes," said Jack.

"Then you acted very wrongly, Jack," the headmistress said gravely. "I
do not suppose that you quite realised it, but what you were doing was
nothing less than stealing. If you had been poor children and had been
caught by the keepers, you would probably have been severely punished.
As it is, I cannot allow you to escape all punishment for your
wrong-doing. You will all three write out, 'I must not steal,' three
hundred times, and hand your lines to Miss Burton not later than
to-morrow evening."

"But, please, Miss Oakley, Gerry didn't steal them. She wasn't with us
out walking, and she didn't know anything about it until after tea,"
said Jack.

"But she helped you to eat them, I suppose?" said the headmistress.

"Y--yes, but she didn't have anything to do with thinking of the plan.
She just happened to be in the sitting-room, so we asked her to join
in," said Jack.

"Well, perhaps her crime wasn't quite so great as yours," said Miss
Oakley, with a little smile. "All the same, since she took part in the
feasting, I think she also must pay for her pleasure. Geraldine,
suppose you write out, 'Chestnuts are bad for the digestion,' one
hundred times--I think that will be enough for your share. Now you may
go."

The three made their way back to the sitting-room, rather crestfallen
at the ignominious ending to their cosy evening, and full of wrath
against Miss Burton for what Jack termed her "beastly sneakiness." At
least, Jack and Nita were full of wrath. Gerry was too unhappy at
having got her friends into trouble to be angry with anybody.

"I'm most awfully sorry, Jack," she said miserably. "If only my
beastly pocket hadn't burst it would have been all right! I always
seem to be getting you into trouble! I am such a stupid ass over
things!"

"Oh, that's all right," said Jack, trying to be magnanimous, although
she could not help agreeing with Gerry about her stupidity. Gerry
certainly seemed an expert at doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.
"You couldn't help your pocket bursting, of course."

But in spite of her words, Gerry could not help feeling that both her
companions blamed her a little for the unfortunate accident--Nita more
so, perhaps, than Jack. It would have been some consolation if she had
been allowed to share fully in the punishment, but Jack, with that
scrupulous honesty of hers, had effect